A new Postal Service video explains the price changes that took effect Jan. 27. The changes raised Mailing Services product prices approximately 2.5 percent. Shopping Services price increases vary by product. USPS released the 1-minute, 10-second video this week. The Retail and Customer Service Operations Blue page has a 2019 price change kit for Postmasters. […]
I am constantly amazed and proud of the USPS employees featured in “Heroes’ Corner” who go above and beyond to help their fellow workers and customers. […]
USPS is seeking nominees for the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program, which honors employees who go above and beyond the call of duty. The program, which will mark its 16th year in 2019, is based on a simple idea: Postal Service employees know the habits of their customers and the rhythms of their communities, and are […]
Scanning snapshot. The Postal Service’s national scanning rating was 97.54 percent during the week ending Jan. 11, up from one week earlier. Western (97.82 percent) led the areas, while Dakotas (98.91 percent) topped the districts. Scanning allows customers to track their packages and mail, and it helps USPS improve efficiency and network management. To see […]
USPS Sales employees registered more than 13,600 Informed Delivery users last fall. The national sales group, which oversees sales teams for Postal Service areas and districts, conducted an Informed Delivery sign-up challenge from October-December. Employees competed to see who could register the most users for Informed Delivery, a free feature that allows consumers to preview […]
USPS will release its Year of the Boar stamp, the 12th and final entry in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series, Thursday, Jan. 17. Lunar New Year, an important holiday for many Asian communities, is celebrated primarily by people of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan and Mongolian heritage. The Year of the Boar begins Tuesday, Feb. […]
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday that commemorates the civil rights leader’s birthday, will be observed Monday, Jan. 21. King (1929-1968) was a Baptist preacher who became a leader in the American civil rights movement. He helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, […]
You hear a lot about Informed Delivery these days, but do you understand how it works and why it’s important to USPS? If not, here’s what you should know: • Informed Delivery bridges digital and physical communications. The free feature allows users to digitally preview their incoming mail and manage their packages from computers, tablets and […]
Link’s recent year-end retrospectives remind us of the Postal Service’s best resource: its employees. […]
Deptford, NJ, Letter Carrier Michelle Hansen was recently making deliveries when she grew worried that a 94-year-old customer had not picked up her mail as usual. Hansen alerted police and asked them to check on the woman. Officers soon discovered that the customer had suffered a stroke and was in dire need of medical attention. […]
Scanning snapshot. The Postal Service’s national scanning rating was 97.44 percent during the week ending Jan. 4, up from one week earlier. Great Lakes (97.67 percent) led the areas, while Dakotas (98.76 percent) topped the districts. Scanning allows customers to track their packages and mail, and it helps USPS improve efficiency and network management. To […]
The Postal Service will soon begin using simplified categories and enhanced analysis capabilities to improve the mail inventory process. Mail Condition Visualization (MCV), an Informed Visibility module, will provide users with near-real-time conditions of mail and packages in processing facilities. Here’s a look at the categories that are part of MCV: • On Hand: This […]
The Postal Service will release Hearts Blossom, this year’s first stamp, Thursday, Jan. 10. The stamp is part of the Love series and features the word “Love” in cursive script below 12 colorful hearts. The color palette includes red, pink, purple and orange. Antonio Alcalá, a USPS art director, designed the stamp, which will be dedicated at […]
Chief Human Resources Officer Jeffrey Williamson will leave the Postal Service this week to return to the private sector. Williamson has served in his current role since 2013, overseeing all aspects of human resources for USPS and its 640,000 employees. Under his leadership, the organization expanded workforce training, negotiated new labor agreements, renewed its focus […]
Robert Williams, a maintenance operations supervisor at the Harrisburg, PA, Processing and Distribution Center, was at home recently when a neighbor came to his door, urgently seeking medical assistance for her husband. Williams rushed to the couple’s residence, where he found the man unresponsive on a couch. He immediately called 911, moved the man to […]
Link’s recent year in review articles are among the best I have ever read. You published some great stories in 2018. […]
The Postal Inspection Service is hiring. The agency will accept applications for postal inspector positions from Monday, Jan. 7, at 10 a.m. CST through Saturday, Jan. 12, at 10 a.m. CST. Only USPS career employees can apply to this announcement. Postal inspectors are federal agents who enforce laws that defend the nation’s mail system from […]
Darius Downer always says no to the throw. The Gaffney, MO, letter carrier takes pride in delivering customers’ packages carefully. “Throwing or tossing packages onto a customer’s property is never acceptable,” Downer says. USPS encourages employees who deliver mail and packages to do so with care. The organization wants customers to know they can trust […]
Do you know your cholesterol numbers? If not, you should find out. More than 102 million adults have high cholesterol, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cholesterol is measured in milligrams per deciliter, commonly abbreviated as “mg/dl.” A total cholesterol number at or above 200 mg/dl is referred to as high […]
High five to Ruben Hernandez, the Fresno, CA, letter carrier profiled in “Just perfect” who hasn’t missed a day of work in more than three decades. […]
Letter Carrier Victor Brownlee Sr. was recently delivering mail in Plainview, NY, when he detected a strong gas odor at a customer’s residence. Brownlee approached the homeowner and urged him to contact the gas company. Utility workers soon arrived and discovered a significant leak and degraded equipment that threatened the safety of the customer, his […]
Scanning snapshot. The Postal Service’s national scanning rating was 97.27 percent during the week ending Dec. 28, down from one week earlier. Great Lakes (97.7 percent) led the areas, while Dakotas (98.73 percent) topped the districts. Scanning allows customers to track their packages and mail, and it helps USPS improve efficiency and network management. To […]
A new year is upon us, and you’ve probably set a resolution or two. If you’re like most people, you might have plans to become more active, lose weight or eat healthier. Also, like most people, your efforts will probably start strong, only to fizzle by March. So why not try a different approach this […]
The Postal Service will release five stamps Jan. 27: Joshua Tree, a Priority Mail stamp that depicts a desert scene Bethesda Fountain, a Priority Mail Express stamp that commemorates one of the most iconic statues in New York City’s Central Park California Dogface, the seventh nonmachineable butterfly stamp for use on irregularly sized envelopes U.S. […]
Anthony Puccio has reached two impressive career milestones with USPS. The New York City letter carrier marked 60 years as a postal employee in December. He’s also on track to soon have almost 4,200 hours of accumulated sick leave. “I’ve been blessed with relatively good health,” said Puccio, who only uses his leave when he’s […]
Postal Service employees were recognized throughout 2018 for heroic responses to criminal activity. Delphos, OH, Letter Carrier Nicholas Coil protected a teenage girl fleeing domestic violence, while Springfield, MA, Letter Carrier Garrett Smola defended a retired doctor who was being mugged. Chino, CA, Letter Carrier Antonio Colon, who aided a 90-year-old customer during an attempted […]
I enjoyed the recent “Heroes’ corner” article about Antonio Walker, the Milwaukee custodian who intervened when a teenage girl was being harassed by a man. I felt a surge of pride when he told her Post Offices are safe places for children who feel scared. […]
Postal Service employees marked significant milestones in 2018. Ninety-one-year-old Los Angeles Processing and Distribution Center Mail Handler Willie Clemmons celebrated 68 years as a postal employee. Two other Los Angeles District employees — Leroy Brown, a Los Angeles International Service Center clerk, and Willie Campbell Jr., a maintenance supervisor at the Los Angeles Processing and […]
Mail continued to bring people together this year. Two women who are both 60 and live about 1,300 miles apart got together in 2018 after sustaining a 50-year relationship almost entirely through letters. “There’s not too many people who have a pen pal for so many years,” one of the women said. It was also […]
This week’s supersized “News quiz” has 10 questions about Link stories that were published in 2018. The correct answers appear at the end. 1. Which Celebrating Lunar New Year stamp was released this year? a) Year of the Dog b) Year of the Monkey c) Year of the Ram d) Year of the Rooster 2. […]