Neither rain nor wind nor gloom of night could stay roughly 200 Boy Scouts, their leaders and others from their annual Barefoot Mailman Hike in South Florida. As fate would have it, rain, wind and gloom of night were part of the equation this year, but the scouts soldiered on. The February hike is a […]
By the time the older couple sought Postmaster LeEtte Duncan’s help last summer in Pacific City, OR, she feared it was too late to stop the financially crippling scam they’d fallen for. A caller impersonating a bank representative had convinced the couple they needed to send a cashier’s check for $99,000 via Priority Mail Express […]
Postal Service employees can participate in an upcoming webinar to learn about the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and Medicare. The session, “Medicare and FEHB,” will be held March 9 at 1:30 p.m. EST. Representatives from GEHA, a not-for-profit provider of health plans for federal employees, will conduct the webinar and explain how Medicare […]
The Postal Service is reminding employees of the importance of stand-up talks on safety matters. Stand-up talks are the organization’s main communication method to inform employees on a wide range of issues. This information is valuable to everyone, regardless of their level or job title. Managers, supervisors and installation heads must regularly deliver safety-oriented stand-up […]
The Postal Service has awarded contracts for 9,250 left-hand drive battery electric vehicles, as well as orders for more than 14,000 charging stations to be deployed at USPS facilities. These awards are part of the vehicle electrification strategy that was announced in December by USPS leaders and senior White House officials. Overall, the Postal Service’s […]
The Postal Service wants employees to remember the rules for submitting and approving eTravel expense reports. Here are some general guidelines: • If you add a meal transaction to an expense report, designate it as nonreimbursable by placing a check mark in the box titled “Personal.” If you purchased the meal on your employee travel […]
The Postal Service issued a high-denomination Floral Geometry stamp Feb. 24 at the San Diego Stamp Show. The $10 stamp joins last year’s $2 and $5 Floral Geometry issues. Each denomination is a different color: The $10 stamp is red, the $2 stamp is green and the $5 stamp is purple. They were designed to […]
The Postal Service’s latest behind-the-scenes video shows viewers how the organization’s spring ad campaign was filmed. The TV commercial, “Orchestrated Delivery,” began airing last week. The seven postal employees in it represent a shift away from the focus on letter carriers in previous campaigns. “This time around, we’re actually featuring a variety of employees because […]
After reading “Vital valentines,” the article about the organization that sends valentines to senior communities to combat the effects of social isolation and loneliness, I wrote a note to an elderly customer. The sweet lady had lost her husband a few months ago and I just wanted her to know that I was thinking of […]
Darren Hale, a St. Louis letter carrier, was delivering mail last summer when a stormy day took a perilous turn: He came upon a neighborhood that was quickly flooding, where he encountered customer Cherry Jackson, who had rushed home from work at the urging of her 11-year-old daughter. The girl was trapped inside the family’s […]
The Postal Service recently released stamps showcasing school buses and sailboats. The School Bus stamp honors the iconic bright yellow form of transportation for millions of students across the United States. The brilliant color of school buses can be attributed to a group of state transportation officials and bus and paint manufacturers who met in […]
After a twister hit the historic Mayfield, KY, Post Office in December 2021, the building was deemed a total loss. To give an idea of how powerful the EF4 tornado was, an LLV from the site was whooshed up and deposited more than six miles away. But among the debris, a group of postal workers […]
Jerelyn Morton, a rural carrier in Stockbridge, GA, was recently delivering mail when she spotted a customer, James Alexander, unconscious in his garage. Morton sprang into action, enlisting the help of his neighbor Roberta Richardson, calling 911 and performing CPR on him for five minutes until emergency responders arrived and took over. Alexander, who has […]
The new puppy and kitten stamps in the Love series are “pawsitively” adorable! Friends and local animal rescuers are eager to use them to show their love for dogs and cats. […]
Postal Service employees can participate in an upcoming virtual cooking demonstration on ways to cut oil and sugar in food preparation. The session, “Cooking Without Oil/Dump the Sugar,” will be held Wednesday, Feb. 22, at noon EST. Representatives from Blue Cross Blue Shield will show healthy ways of cooking and using alternatives to oil and […]
The reimbursement rate for travel related to medical care for participants in the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program will continue to be 22 cents a mile in 2023. The FSAFEDS rate was increased to 22 cents last year on July 1. From Jan. 1-June 30, 2022, the rate was 18 cents a mile. The deadline […]
When World War II separated Farm Credit Administration (FCA) employees-turned-soldiers from their colleagues back home, the mail kept them together. The FCA is an independent federal agency that regulates the financial institutions of the Farm Credit System, which serves the credit needs of the nation’s farmers, ranchers and agricultural cooperatives. Last Veterans Day, the agency […]
The Postal Service wants employees to always choose regular unleaded fuel when purchasing gas for vehicles in the USPS fleet. Using premium fuel is against postal policy. To ensure accuracy, review the receipt after each transaction and report discrepancies in fuel type to the merchant and your manager. An account dispute form is available on […]
Editor’s note: This story has been revised since it was first published. The Skype for Business application will be turned off and removed from all ACE workstations on Feb. 27. As a replacement for Skype, USPS is offering Zoom Team Chat. The application allows users to switch from chat messaging to an instant Zoom meeting. […]
Tawanda Robbins knows a little card can make a big difference. Robbins is the founder of the Love in Action Project, a Charlotte, NC-based nonprofit that aids older people across the nation. February is the group’s busiest time of the year, when volunteers make valentines to send to senior communities to combat the effects of […]
The man living with a traumatic brain injury thought he’d driven from New York. But as he wandered around the parking lot at the Animas, NM, Post Office on a September morning last year — disoriented, distressed, his dog Maggie by his side, no vehicle in sight — Retail Associate Mary McCarty wasn’t sure what […]
The Postal Service has reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 (Oct. 1-Dec. 31, 2022). Here are some highlights: • Revenue. Operating revenue was $21.5 billion, an increase of 1 percent compared with the same quarter last fiscal year. Shipping and packages revenue increased 2.4 percent, and First-Class Mail revenue […]
A new Postal Service video highlights the Ernest J. Gaines stamp release. The critically acclaimed author is the 46th honoree in the Postal Service’s Black Heritage stamp series. The stamp features an oil painting of Gaines based on a 2001 photograph. USPS recently dedicated the stamp at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where Gaines […]
The Postal Service is reminding employees to follow the proper procedures for the handling, storage and disposal of used batteries. Most used batteries contain hazardous components and cannot be tossed in the trash. These batteries are typically regulated as universal waste and include inoperable batteries from mobile scanners, phones, laptops and other electronic equipment. USPS […]
The Postal Service wants employees and contractors to remain vigilant against malware, malicious software specifically designed to compromise computer systems or devices. Malware can be delivered in several ways, including through websites, apps and unsolicited tech support. However, approximately 94 percent of all malware arrives as email attachments. Online criminals often target organizations with phishing […]
Postal Service facilities that store certain quantities of hazardous chemicals must complete and submit the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Tier II form by March 1 each year. Reporting requirements apply to any location that stores threshold quantities of EPCRA-regulated chemicals, such as sulfuric acid in lead-acid and gel cell batteries, gasoline, diesel […]
A company that makes accessories for Apple and Samsung devices is offering a new collection of postal-themed designs. Troy, MI-based Affinity Bands’ line of smartwatch bands and cases for Samsung smartphones, iPhones and AirPods is available on its website. The licensed items will also be sold online by Amazon, Walmart, Target and Etsy, beginning in […]
Letter Carrier Benito Vargas was delivering mail one day last winter in a West Hartford, CT, neighborhood when he came upon an unconscious customer. The man had slipped on ice in his driveway, striking the pavement headfirst. Vargas rushed to the residence to alert the customer’s wife, who called 911, and remained on the scene […]
A new Postal Service video highlights this year’s Love stamps. The two stamps show a puppy and a kitten, each resting their front paws on a big red heart. The release continues a series that began in 1973. The new stamps, available in panes of 20 at Post Offices and usps.com, were dedicated last month […]
The Postal Service wants to remind employees with flexible spending accounts, or FSAs, of some important dates: • Expenses for the 2023 health care FSA (HCFSA) and the 2023 limited-expense health care FSA (LEX HCFSA) must be incurred between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023. • Expenses for the 2023 dependent care FSA (DCFSA) must […]