Todd S. Hawkins has been named Western Region vice president, a role he has filled on an acting basis since April. Hawkins is responsible for processing and maintenance operations across the region, including overseeing 140 facilities and a workforce of more than 56,000 employees. In a memo last week announcing the appointment, Postmaster General Louis […]
Letter Carrier John Lavin was recently making deliveries in a San Anselmo, CA, neighborhood when he grew concerned about a customer who had not retrieved packages from her porch as she normally would. After knocking on the door and getting no response, Lavin alerted a neighbor, who noticed that the woman’s second-floor bedroom window was […]
Drinking enough water every day is essential for your health. By drinking water, you can help prevent dehydration, which can lead to unclear thinking, mood changes, lower energy, headaches and constipation. During the summer, bodies cool down through sweating, which in turn can lead to dehydration and other ailments. According to the Centers for Disease […]
Here’s a look at Postal Service employees who received appointments or recognition recently: • Omar R. Coleman was named Tennessee District manager. He previously served as National Operations Command Center director. • David E. Mills, labor relations policy and programs director, retired June 30 after 35 years with USPS. • Mary K. Vincent, the Fort […]
The Postal Service is marking the first anniversary of its first licensed ride-on vehicle for kids. The battery-operated toy, produced by Kid Trax, is geared toward ages 3 to 5 and features a mail slot, rear opening door and working headlights and horn. It also comes with a mailbox and three plastic letters for aspiring […]
The Postal Service wants employees to remember that every USPS facility must comply with federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations. Chapter 69 of the Administrative Support Manual, titled Environmental Management and Compliance, offers guidance on the organization’s policy. The policy is applicable to all USPS facilities, managers, employees, programs, projects, operations, products and […]
Identity theft is one of the nation’s top consumer complaints, with almost 1.4 million reports of stolen identities in 2021, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Thieves have several ways to steal your identity. They can overhear you reading out your credit card number on the phone, buy your information on the dark web or […]
Pete Seeger, the 10th stamp in the Postal Service’s Music Icons series, was dedicated July 21 at the Jane Pickens Theater in Newport, RI. The dedication preceded a concert, “For Pete’s Sake,” which helped kick off the Newport Folk Festival — an event the honoree helped found. “The Postal Service is pleased to present our […]
Rural Carrier Sarah Shaw was recently delivering mail in Tuolumne, CA, when she spotted an unattended brush fire spreading up a tree. Concerned that the blaze was perilously close to a residence with many cars in the driveway, Shaw immediately called 911 and rushed to notify the homeowners, who were hosting a cooking lesson for […]
USPS dedicated its colorful new Mariachi stamps on July 15 at the 30th annual Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque in New Mexico. “The Postal Service is proud to unveil these new Mariachi stamps to celebrate the exuberant sounds of this music that is an integral part of Mexican American culture and has fans around the world,” […]
Postal Service employees can participate in an upcoming webinar on preparing for retirement. The session, “Retirement 101,” will be held July 28 at noon EDT. An Aetna representative will conduct the webinar, which will cover how retirement benefits work, including tools and resources to help employees plan for changes. Participants must register before the event […]
The Postal Service has discontinued the Special Handling — Fragile delivery option, as of July 10. Special Handling — Fragile was an extra service that offered preferential handling of packages for a fee but did not include insurance. After a thorough study, USPS concluded that operational concerns warranted ceasing the service entirely. Customers should be […]
Editor’s note: As of 2 p.m. ET, July 19, both items listed in the story below have sold out at usps.com, which expects to restock them in the coming weeks. The game and puzzle can also be ordered at theop.games. The Postal Service now offers two licensed products designed to appeal to game and puzzle […]
The Postal Service had the most participation of any federal agency in 10K-A-Day, the spring wellness challenge for federal employees. The challenge, which ran from May 2 to June 12, was designed to build healthy habits while allowing participants to travel virtually around the globe. Participants were urged to track physical activity, access recipes, answer […]
Letter Carrier Carlos Gomez Sr. was recently on duty at a Post Office in Portsmouth, NH, when a crisis erupted: A fellow carrier, Steven Staples, started choking on food. Staples used hand signals to let Gomez know help was needed, and Gomez immediately performed the Heimlich maneuver on Staples until the food was dislodged. Staples […]
Freddie Mercury liked to ride his bicycle, as Queen fans know. But the legendary singer had another childhood hobby fans are less aware of: stamp collecting. The Postal Museum in London will display Mercury’s stamp album July 13 until Oct. 30 to mark the 50th anniversary of the U.K. Pride movement. Visitors will also be […]
Mariachi, stamps celebrating the lively Mexican musical tradition, will be released July 15. The term “mariachi” can refer to the music, the person playing it, or anything associated with the genre. Each of the five stamp designs depicts a single mariachi dressed in distinctive, eye-catching garb — an outfit called a traje de charro. These […]
The Postal Service is a unique hybrid: part government agency, part commercial enterprise. Because of this, the organization has a special exemption from certain requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a law designed to create transparency in government. Information of a commercial nature — that is, information related to commerce, trade, profit or […]
The Postal Service has started a series of training sessions on how to use technology to better evaluate the work performed on city routes and quickly align route growth and decline to improve customer service. The weeklong training sessions using this technology are part of the Technology Integrated Alternate Route Evaluation and Adjustment Process (TIAREAP), […]
The Postal Service has released “Evolution of a Medium,” a series of four videos designed to help businesses and marketers understand how the combination of direct mail and digital innovation can help grow their business. The videos explore Informed Delivery, Informed Visibility, retargeted direct mail and digitally enhanced mail. “We have transformed the digital mail […]
Postal Service employees can save 20 percent on tuition for the American College of Education. The online college is based in Indianapolis and focuses on education, health care and nursing. USPS employees can apply the discount to any degree, certificate or class. The college’s website and the Employee Deals LiteBlue page have more information. For […]
President Joe Biden has ordered U.S. flags flown at half-staff to honor Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan who was assassinated this week. Flags should be flown at half-staff until July 10 at sunset. Earlier this week, Biden ordered flags lowered to honor the victims of the mass shooting in Highland Park, IL. […]
Aaron Tromsness, the officer in charge at the Galena, KS, Post Office, recently had a special delivery to ensure: His pregnant wife, Lindsey, had gone into labor with their fourth child, and as Aaron drove her to a hospital, they realized they would not make it there before she gave birth. Aaron immediately stopped on […]
USPS is upgrading the Customer 360 platform with a new interface and features. Customer care centers, Consumer Affairs offices and Post Offices use Customer 360 to create, investigate and resolve customer issues. The platform, also known as C360, shows when, where and how often a customer has previously contacted the Postal Service for help, and […]
The USPS Wellness team and the University of Phoenix will offer “Mastering Self-Motivation,” a webinar, on July 13. The session will be offered at 12:15 p.m., 3:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Eastern that day. Postal Service employees can register on the webinar website. Participation is voluntary. Nonexempt employees may only participate off the clock or […]
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy updates employees on the Delivering for America plan in his latest video message. Topics include the organization’s steady progress in service performance and upcoming significant improvements to the processing and delivery network and USPS transportation strategies. The video, released July 5, is available on Link and other postal websites and will […]
Rural Carrier Associate Jason Holleran was delivering mail on a February day in Tarentum, PA, when he came upon an older customer in need of assistance. The man had slipped and fallen in his driveway, leaving him stranded in temperatures below freezing as he desperately yelled for help. Holleran rushed to the customer’s aid, called […]
If your job requires you to travel internationally or regularly interact with foreign officials, keep in mind that the Postal Service has rules about accepting gifts from abroad. Generally, recipients may keep gifts from a foreign government of “minimal value,” determined to be a U.S. retail value of $400 or less. The definition of minimal […]
Video highlights from the recent National Postal Forum are now available on Blue and LiteBlue. The National Postal Forum, also known as NPF, is the mailing and shipping industry’s largest annual conference. The event allows the USPS executive leadership team to present business customers with new information and updates on a range of topics, including […]
There was a pallet pileup outside the Louisville Processing and Distribution Center — and it was growing into quite a nuisance. Private shippers would abandon the wooden pallets outside the Kentucky facility, drawing scavengers who would scour the stacks for recyclable items. The unauthorized foragers would often leave their own discards scattered on the access […]