This year’s Stamp Out Hunger food drive, scheduled for May 9, has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. A new date has not been announced. The National Association of Letter Carriers, which leads the annual one-day drive in which Postal Service employees collect food donations for local pantries, announced the decision last week. “Much […]
The Postal Service has released a video to help customers understand new delivery procedures to promote social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. The one-minute video, titled “Help Us Serve You: Mail Carriers,” explains that letter carriers will knock on a customer’s door instead of ringing a doorbell. Instead of asking a customer to sign for […]
In the new era of social distancing, Postal Service customers who are limiting their interactions with other people can use Informed Delivery to complete their 2020 census questionnaire online. Informed Delivery allows users to preview their incoming mail on smartphones, tablets and other devices. Customers who use the free feature will be able to see […]
The Postal Service has released the Contemporary Boutonniere and Garden Corsage stamps, which form a natural pair to dress up envelopes for wedding invitations, RSVPs, thank-you notes and similar celebratory mail. The dedication ceremony, which had been scheduled for April 2 before being canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, may be held at a later […]
Scanning snapshot. The Postal Service’s national scanning rating dropped to 97.39 percent last week, down from 97.65 percent one week earlier. This marked the second consecutive week the number fell. As usual, Western (97.93 percent) led the areas, while Dakotas (99.09 percent) dominated the districts. All seven areas and most of the 67 districts experienced […]
Sgt. Hilda Griggs clearly remembers the time she spent sorting mail during World War II. In 1945, Griggs was assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit composed of African American women to be deployed overseas. Nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight,” the 855 women were charged with […]
If you’re a Postal Service employee who wants to stay informed on the organization’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, don’t forget about Link mobile. A mobile-friendly version of the Link site, Link mobile offers news reports, feature stories and informational videos, including the latest coronavirus-related content. The site is particularly helpful to craft employees and […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has launched a website to combat the spread of false claims circulating about COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The Coronavirus Rumor Control site highlights myths about the virus and counters them with facts. One myth, according to the site: It’s necessary for people who are sheltering […]
Scanning snapshot. The Postal Service’s national scanning rating slipped to 97.65 percent during the week ending March 20, down from 97.86 percent one week earlier. Each of the organization’s seven areas saw their numbers decline week to week, including top-ranked Western (98.03 percent). Almost all 67 districts also saw declines, including top-rated Dakotas (99.17 percent). […]
Letter Carrier Crystal Ramaker was recently making deliveries in Dutch Hollow, IL, when she grew concerned that a customer’s mail was piling up. Ramaker alerted the woman’s neighbor, who soon called 911. Emergency responders discovered that the woman had been trapped for several days after falling between a bed and a wall. She was in […]
“The List” on Friday the 13th was a fun read. I’m a big fan of Link’s “The List” feature. I use them to delight and amaze my family and friends! […]
If you’re a Postal Service employee, watch out for scams that attempt to use the coronavirus pandemic to con you into revealing personal information. Emergency situations are prime opportunities for criminals to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. Scammers are creating websites devoted to the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. These […]
Postal Service employees can sign up to receive informational alerts from the organization during emergencies, including the coronavirus pandemic. The alerts are sent to employees via email or text messages on their personal devices. The alerts will include national communications and local information based on the employee’s work site. To sign up, employees can go […]
My name is La-Vora Chambers Better and I’m a Postal Police supervisor. I work at the Curseen-Morris and Southern Maryland processing and distribution centers in the Washington, DC, area. The Postal Police protect USPS employees, property and facilities. One of the first things supervisors do on a daily basis is conduct a roll call. We […]
Race is on. The Race for a $Billion campaign has generated more than $447 million in estimated annualized revenue for the Postal Service so far. The initiative, which began last fall, aims to raise $1 billion through employee-provided sales leads before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30. Individual Post Offices are reaching important milestones in […]
Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan is praising USPS employees for their service to the public during the coronavirus pandemic. “Across the nation, Postal Service employees are continuing to accept, process and deliver mail. They know that our customers count on us to deliver their medicine, supplies, checks and other critical mail. I thank all of […]
The National Postal Forum, the mailing and shipping industry’s largest annual conference, won’t be held this year. USPS and the National Postal Forum organization announced the cancellation this week, citing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health authorities that have recommended no large gatherings in the United States during […]
The Postal Service is sharing a video from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that shows the steps to properly wash your hands. “Handwashing is one of the most important ways you can keep from getting sick and spreading germs to others,” Michele Hlavsa, a CDC epidemiologist, says in the video. CDC recommends […]
Scanning snapshot. This week’s scanning snapshot looks a lot like last week’s scanning snapshot. The national rating was 97.86 percent for the week ending March 13, up from 97.77 percent from one week earlier. The top three areas were Western (98.18 percent), Eastern (98.03 percent) and Great Lakes (97.95 percent) — the same areas that […]
The interest arbitration panel chaired by Arbitrator Stephen Goldberg has notified the Postal Service that it has reached a decision and an award. The award is intended to resolve the differences between USPS and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) that resulted from an inability to reach a negotiated collective bargaining agreement after the prior […]
Scanning snapshot. Things are looking up on the scanning front. The Postal Service’s national rating was 97.77 percent during the week ending March 6, up from 97.66 percent one week earlier. Like they usually do, Western (98.07 percent) led the areas, while Dakotas (99.1 percent) dominated the districts. None of the areas improved their overall […]
The Postal Service is reminding employees about a training course that is designed to help them build trust in their workplaces. The six-hour course, Engagement Matters, is geared toward all bargaining unit employees and is conducted in a classroom setting by USPS engagement ambassadors. The course will help participants learn to be more involved, committed, […]
The Postal Service will release a stamp Sunday, March 15, to help mark the 200th anniversary of Maine’s statehood. The date marks the anniversary of Maine’s admission to the union in 1820. Known as the Pine Tree State for its extensive pine forests, which have fueled its lumber industry, Maine is also famous for its […]
A new Postal Service video features highlights from the Year of the Rat stamp dedication ceremony. The event was held in January during a Lunar New Year festival in Monterey Park, CA, and featured several guest speakers, including U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, who represents the area, and Luke Grossmann, the Postal Service’s finance and strategy […]
The Postal Service is the most trusted brand in the nation, a new survey has found. The poll — conducted by Morning Consult, a market research firm — focused on almost 2,000 brands. For each brand, an average of 16,700 consumers were interviewed. The results show USPS is the top-rated brand overall, with more than […]
Spring is around the corner and you’re ready for a fresh start. Why not borrow a page from the nation’s first Postmaster General? Benjamin Franklin kept a daily schedule that reveals an appreciation for the kind of “life hacks” that would later make Marie Kondo famous. Here’s an example of some of his enduring wisdom: […]
The Postal Service is providing its managers with new training to help them protect the organization’s data. CyberSafe Managing User Access, a mandatory course, will show participants how to properly manage user access and conduct periodic reviews. This is important because threats to digital information are growing in frequency and sophistication worldwide. Protecting USPS employee, […]
Rob Early, a Washington state Postmaster, was recently honored for his efforts to support employees who serve in the military. Early received the Patriot Award for his support of Jeremiah Creelman, a letter carrier who was called to duty by his Coast Guard unit in 2019 and spent almost six months deployed to the southern […]
Scanning snapshot. The Postal Service’s national scanning rating dipped to 97.66 percent during the week ending Feb. 28, down from 97.76 percent one week earlier. This is the second consecutive week the national rating declined. Western led the areas with a rating of 97.86 percent, down 0.22 percent from one week earlier, while Dakotas topped […]
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 […]