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 […]
Ned Dannenberg and his wife received quite a surprise when they began a home renovation project last fall. A worker removing insulation from the Memphis, TN, couple’s attic stumbled across a bundle of more than 20 letters wrapped in twine. “We were amazed that something that old was still in the house,” Dannenberg said. The […]
A beloved children’s story that was honored with a 2017 stamp release has topped the New York Public Library’s list of its all-time most popular books. To mark its 125th anniversary this year, the library compiled a list of the 10 books checked out most frequently in its history. The No. 1 spot belongs to […]
Only USPS could squeeze a place called Big Bend onto a postage stamp. The new Priority Mail stamp featuring the West Texas region was celebrated this month at a special dedication ceremony where local community leaders and others praised the stamp’s image of the famed Santa Elena Canyon. “This stamp beautifully depicts … one of […]
The stamp honoring acclaimed journalist Gwen Ifill — the 43rd entry in the Black Heritage series — will be released Thursday, Jan. 30. Ifill was among the first African Americans to hold prominent positions in both broadcast and print journalism. She was known for her nonpartisan and in-depth reporting, as well as her personal warmth […]
Scanning snapshot. The Postal Service’s national scanning score slipped during the week ending Jan. 24, although several districts improved their standings. The national score was 97.7 percent, down from 97.75 percent one week earlier. The top-ranked area was Western (98 percent), while the top-ranked district was Dakotas (99.1 percent). Six districts improved their scores: eighth-ranked […]
The Postal Service’s seven areas and most districts saw their scanning scores slip during the week ending Jan. 17, pushing the national rating to 97.75 percent — down more than a quarter of a percentage point from one week earlier. But not everyone was down. Two Eastern Area districts — Western Pennsylvania and Ohio Valley — […]
The Postal Service is reminding employees that they are eligible to receive tuition discounts from several colleges and universities. More than 20 higher education institutions offer discounts. Most of these institutions offer undergraduate and graduate programs that can be completed online, and in many cases, the tuition discounts are also available to USPS employees’ immediate […]
The Postal Service will release its Made of Hearts stamp Thursday, Jan. 23. The stamp, part of the Love series, features horizontal lines of red and pink hearts on a white background. Toward the center, red hearts in varying sizes replace pink hearts in a formation that creates one large red heart, the focal point […]
The Postal Service is adding QR codes to all blue standard and Priority Mail Express collection box labels to provide customers with information on nearby Post Offices. To use this new feature, customers can use the camera on a mobile smart device, or the QR code reader available on the USPS Mobile application, Informed Delivery […]
Scanning snapshot. The Postal Service’s national scanning rate reached 97.91 percent during the week ending Jan. 10, up more than three-tenths of a percentage point from one week earlier. For the second consecutive week, Western (98.17 percent) led the areas and Dakotas (99.14 percent) topped the districts. Major gainers among the 67 districts included Hawkeye […]
The latest Combined Federal Campaign ended this week — but not for everyone. The campaign, also known as the CFC, allows federal employees, retirees and contractors to contribute to charitable organizations during a period that begins each fall. While the CFC officially ended Jan. 12, USPS employees hired after the deadline can make a pledge […]
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday that commemorates the birthday of the civil rights icon, will be observed Monday, Jan. 20. King, born in 1929, helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his landmark “I Have a Dream” speech. He also helped pave the way for enactment of the Civil […]