Gail Etienne-Stripling needed more than a notebook on her first day of school on Nov. 14, 1960 — she also needed police protection. The Tulsa, OK, mail processing clerk was 6 years old when she and two other first-grade girls became the first students to integrate McDonogh 19 Elementary School in New Orleans. Etienne-Stripling, Leona […]
The Postal Service’s national scanning rating slipped to 97.76 percent during the week ending Feb. 21, down from 97.78 percent one week earlier. Each of the seven areas saw their ratings decline, including top-ranked Western, where the rating was 97.99 percent, down 0.23 percent from the previous week. The numbers were also down in most […]
The Postal Service is reminding employees that they are required to abide by the Hatch Act, including the guidelines for using social media. Here’s a quick recap of the law: • The Hatch Act exists to keep politics out of federal workplaces. The law, passed in 1939, limits certain political activities of federal employees, including […]
Postal Service employees did their part to raise awareness of heart disease throughout February, which is American Heart Month. Post Offices, processing and distribution centers, and other facilities hosted health fairs where employees could screen their blood pressure, talk to health care providers and receive tips and information. USPS employees also participated in National Wear […]
The Postal Service has joined the ranks of national leaders in addressing climate change. The organization has achieved platinum status through the nonprofit Climate Registry, the largest group in North America that tracks greenhouse gas emissions. USPS earned this recognition by publicly reporting a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for its operations. This data, which was […]
Scanning snapshot. The Postal Service’s national scanning rating was 97.78 percent during the week ending Feb. 14, an uptick from one week earlier, when the rating was 97.76 percent. Six of the Postal Service’s seven areas saw their overall numbers decline slightly. The exception: Eastern, which ranked second with a rating of 98.01 percent, an […]
The Postal Service’s booth at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was ranked among the show’s best by two media outlets. The 80-by-60-foot booth contained monitors that played videos about what USPS can do for its customers. It also featured three kiosks that attendees could use to answer questions and then receive a code to […]
The Postal Service is encouraging employees to leverage the HERO platform to take ownership of their career development. The most important step is creating a HEROProfile, a feature that allows employees to offer a consolidated view of their professional information. Managers, supervisors and colleagues can then view the HEROProfile to assess the employee’s skills, talents […]
Celebrations bring people together — and now there’s a new stamp to make that easier. Let’s Celebrate! — a stamp that can be used to add a festive touch to greeting cards, invitations, gift-bearing envelopes and packages — was dedicated Feb. 14 at a stamp show in Mesa, AZ. “The bright and cheery stamp is […]
USPS has introduced a tool to help employees log the payment device inspections that are required each day at Post Offices and other retail locations. Employees must perform these inspections to identify tampering, including the presence of skimmers — small, hard-to-detect devices that fraudsters attach to credit card readers to steal information. The new Daily […]
Edward Rehor Jr. is a talker. Rehor, a mail handler at the Flushing Main Post Office in Queens, NY, never misses an opportunity to discuss USPS when he’s out and about in his community. “If [a customer] asks a question, I’ll try to answer it or offer to have an expert contact them. It’s just good […]
My name is Carol Capone and I’ve been with the Postal Service for 33 years. For the past year and a half, I have served as the human resources manager for Los Angeles District. I oversee learning and development, injury and workers’ compensation, safety, employee assistance, labor, staffing and hiring. In all, I have more […]
The Postal Service recently announced its Strategic Learning Initiatives for fiscal year 2020, which include a course on employee political activity and the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act is a law that prohibits postal and other federal employees from engaging in political activity while on duty, while wearing a uniform, while on federal property or […]
The Postal Service has released a brief video that explains how to sign up for Informed Delivery. Informed Delivery — which is available on smartphones, tablets and other devices — allows users to track their packages and digitally preview their mail before it arrives. Users can also interact with special offers, schedule redeliveries and leave […]
Handbook update. The Postal Service has revised Handbook F-66, General Investment Policies and Procedures. The revised handbook, available on the PolicyNet website, provides updated guidance on USPS investment policies and procedures, including requirements for providing decision analysis report business cases and business case modification requests. The Postal Service is evaluating five other handbooks in the […]
Scanning snapshot. The Postal Service’s scanning snapshot for the week ending Feb. 7 doesn’t look much different from the snapshot from one week earlier. The national score was 97.76 percent, down slightly from 97.79 percent. Western (98.02 percent) led the areas and Dakotas (99.09 percent) topped the districts, just as they did during the week […]
This year, Presidents Day is Monday, Feb. 17. The annual observance honoring U.S. presidents began with celebrations commemorating George Washington during the early 19th century. After Washington’s death in 1799, his birthday was celebrated informally across the young nation. In 1879, Congress declared Feb. 22 — Washington’s birthday — a federal holiday. A 1968 law […]
The Postal Service wants employees who plan to retire before Aug. 2 to know they can still support the Combined Federal Campaign after they leave the organization. Retiring employees’ donations to the 2019-20 campaign, also known as the CFC, end when they receive their last paycheck. However, employees can ensure their pledges continue through the […]
Military veterans employed by the Postal Service, or any other federal agency, may be eligible to have their time in the military credited toward their civilian retirement through the Military Buy Back program. Veterans who served on active duty and received an honorable discharge are permitted to request a “buy back” of their time in […]
The Loveland, CO, Post Office hearts Valentine’s Day — big time. The office operates a program that allows customers from around the world to send pre-addressed Valentine’s Day cards and letters to Loveland to receive the city’s heart-shaped postmark before the pieces are mailed to spouses, sweethearts and others. More than 110,000 cards and letters […]
Wesley Sneed, an area maintenance technician at the Oklahoma City Processing and Distribution Center, was recently driving to the Post Office in rural Eufaula, OK, when he saw a vehicle veer off the highway and flip over. Sneed stopped, called 911 and rushed to the aid the occupants: an older man and his two dogs. […]
If you use eBuy2 to purchase supplies and services for USPS, you’ll want to know about important changes that will occur before the requisition system is replaced by eBuy Plus at the end of the month. Feb. 21 will be the last day that eBuy2 will be available for new “on catalog” and “off catalog” […]
My name is Kris Anderson and I work for the Postal Service in Clintonville, WI. I’m a rural carrier, but for the past year and a half, I split my time between delivering mail and training new carriers. My knees are bad, and as they got worse, my Postmaster encouraged me to go into carrier […]
Moncks Corner, SC, Postmaster Kimberly Williams-Smith knew what to do when a customer contacted her recently to inquire about the Postal Service’s shipping rates. The customer, a local business owner who was using another provider to ship his merchandise, wanted to know if USPS offered more affordable options. Williams-Smith took down the business owner’s information […]
The Postal Service wants managers at facilities that store large quantities of de-icing and anti-skidding chemical products to remember these materials may be regulated by environmental laws. These regulations could include mandatory chemical reporting, restrictions on the amount stored, permitting and requirements for on-site storage areas. Under the Postal Service’s zero discharge policy, facilities that […]
Scanning snapshot. The USPS national scanning score was 97.79 percent during the week ending Jan. 31, up from 97.7 percent from one week earlier. Western (98.03 percent) and Dakotas (99.11 percent) occupied their usual positions as the top-rated area and district, respectively. Among the Postal Service’s 67 districts, major gainers included Western Pennsylvania (98.5 percent), […]
If you want to recognize sustainability excellence in your postal workplace, USPS is giving you more time to do so. The organization has extended the deadline to submit nominations for the next round of Postmaster General Sustainability Excellence Awards. The new deadline to submit completed nomination forms is Friday, Feb. 14. The annual awards recognize […]
The Postal Service is offering two mandatory security courses for Payment Card Industry (PCI) and Corporate Developers Registration (CDR) application developers. Developers must log into the HERO learning portal to complete the training by the April 23 deadline. Here’s an overview: • Web Developer. This course focuses on the Open Web Application Security Project. • […]
The Postal Service is highlighting employees who feel pride at work. Inside Blue, a communications initiative that launched last year, features images and quotes from employees discussing their workplace and colleagues. “I’m very proud of our team as we always are in the top five in the country for performance of First-Class Mail and Priority […]
The Postal Service is reminding employees that the percentages used to tax supplemental wages differ from normal taxation percentages. Supplemental wages can include: Annual leave exchanges Awards Back-pay awards Prizes Severance pay Reimbursements for nondeductible moving expenses Currently, supplemental wages are subject to a withholding rate of 22 percent. There’s also a mandatory withholding rate […]