The week before Christmas is the busiest week of the year for USPS employees, but not all the hustle and bustle occurs at Post Offices, mailboxes and customers’ doorsteps. Things get busy online, too. Millions of customers come to usps.com in mid-December for their holiday shipping needs, including using Click-N-Ship and other features to order […]
A new video sheds additional light on the Oregon Humane Society’s use of Informed Delivery to drive a recent fundraising campaign. The nonprofit organization, also known as OHS, rescues and supports more than 11,000 pets each year, relying solely on donations. During the campaign, OHS sent potential donors a direct mailing that highlighted Petunia, a […]
The Postal Service wants employees to keep an eye out for skimmers — small, hard-to-detect devices that fraudsters place over credit card readers to steal information. USPS recently discovered a skimmer attached to a payment device at a retail site in Great Lakes Area’s Gateway District. The skimmer was placed on top of the PIN […]
Office of Inspector General Special Agent Georg Brendel’s job, highlighted in the “Last Frontier” article, sounds amazing. It must be full of adventure. […]
Rural Carrier Associate Elizabeth Ridge was recently delivering mail in Harrison, MI, when she spotted a customer collapsed in his driveway. Ridge rushed to check on the man, who was neither conscious nor breathing. The Postal Service employee immediately called 911 and performed CPR on the customer until paramedics arrived and took over. The man, […]
The new play “Dear Jack, Dear Louise” is a typical boy-meets-girl story. As long as your idea of typical is a West Coast-based Army doctor in 1942 introducing himself via letter to an aspiring actress in New York City. The two become pen pals who eventually fall in love, and their correspondence endures for three […]
The Postal Service has announced plans to release new Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express stamps in 2020. Big Bend, a $7.75 Priority Mail stamp, and Grand Island Ice Caves, a $26.35 Priority Mail Express stamp, will be issued Jan. 18. The Priority Mail stamp celebrates the beauty of the Big Bend region in West Texas, where […]
Sales opportunities never take a holiday — and neither does the need to generate new revenue for the Postal Service. This is why the organization is encouraging employees to keep an eye out for sales leads during the holiday season. If you see a retailer who’s using another shipper — or if you encounter a […]
Here’s Link’s latest “News Quiz,” a weekly feature that invites readers to test their knowledge of recent stories. The correct answers appear at the end. 1. How much money does the Postal Service want to raise during the latest Combined Federal Campaign? a) $1.75 million b) $17.5 million c) $8.3 million d) $83 million 2. […]
City Carrier Assistant William Blish II was recently delivering mail in a Rochester, NY, neighborhood when he heard a smoke detector going off inside a customer’s home. As Blish called 911, he spotted smoke billowing up from the second floor. He rushed to the front door and pounded on it, waking up an occupant who […]
The Postal Service has announced release dates for several of next year’s stamps, along with the cities where the dedication ceremonies will be held: Lunar New Year: Year of the Rat: Saturday, Jan. 11, Monterey Park, CA Black Heritage: Gwen Ifill: Thursday, Jan. 30, Washington, DC Let’s Celebrate!: Friday, Feb. 14, Mesa, AZ Wild Orchids: […]
Postal Service employees nationwide are supporting Operation Santa, the annual program that allows families in need to write letters to Santa Claus for “adoption” by those who want to help. Families in participating cities can mail their letters to Santa’s official address at 123 Elf Road, North Pole 88888, through Friday, Dec. 20, the deadline […]
Although First-Class Mail volume has declined in recent years, greeting cards remain popular with many customers — especially during the holidays. U.S. consumers purchase approximately 6.5 billion greeting cards each year, generating $7 billion-$8 billion in annual sales, according to the Greeting Card Association, an industry trade group. Christmas cards are the most popular type […]
To mark the recent release of the Healing PTSD semipostal stamp, here are seven facts about post-traumatic stress disorder. 1. A wide range of people are affected by PTSD. People with PTSD may relive past events, have trouble sleeping, be dehydrated, feel nauseated and be startled easily. They can also experience uncontrollable shaking, chills, heart […]
Letter Carrier Christopher Paolera was recently delivering mail in a Cambridge, MA, neighborhood when a police officer on duty at a construction site was struck by a dump truck. Paolera leaped into action and alerted the driver that the officer was pinned beneath a tire. While the driver freed the injured man, the Postal Service […]
The Postal Service is reminding employees they can use Checkbook’s Guide to Health Plans to compare their options during this year’s open season. The online tool has information about all plans available through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB). This includes information on copays, deductibles, prescription drug costs and whether dental and vision benefits are […]
Here’s Link’s latest “News Quiz,” a weekly feature that invites readers to test their knowledge of recent stories. The correct answers appear at the end. 1. Fill in the blank: This year’s open season benefits enrollment period ends (blank). a) Friday, Dec. 6 b) Monday, Dec. 9 c) Friday, Dec. 13 d) Tuesday, Dec. 31 2. […]
Holiday stamps. The Postal Service is reminding employees that the organization offers a wide variety of secular and religious stamps for the holidays, including: Birds in Winter Christmas Carols Diwali Eid Greetings Florentine Madonna and Child Global: Poinsettia Hanukkah Holiday Wreaths Kwanzaa “Madonna and Child” by Bachiacca Sparkling Holidays Winter Berries Customers can purchase these […]
A trio of employees at the Cleveland Processing and Distribution Center leaped into action recently when a colleague experienced medical distress. While Training Technician Harold Jones-Bey and Acting In-Plant Support Manager Kennard Everett II rendered first aid to the ill employee, Administrative Assistant Susan Nelson called 911. When paramedics arrived, Nelson guided them to the […]
The Postal Service’s National Printing Center (NPC) prints many items that employees across the nation use every day, including tray labels, forms and training books. But one of the NPC’s most important jobs is printing the postcards and fliers that USPS workers receive during the open season benefits enrollment period. “The postcards and fliers play […]
The importance of flexible spending accounts (FSAs) is explained in a newly updated video from the Postal Service. FSAs, one of several options available to employees during the open season benefits enrollment period, can help employees reduce their taxable income and save on yearly health or dependent care costs. The four-minute video, “2019 Flexible Spending Accounts,” […]
Celebrating the holidays often means dressing up to show your spirit. This goes for mail, too. Each year, USPS offers a variety of secular and religious stamps for the holidays, as well as special postmarks. Both offerings allow customers to dress up their greeting cards, packages and other holiday mail. This tradition goes back more […]
Recipients of the Nobel Prize — which honors achievements in peace, economics, physics, chemistry, medicine and literature — receive their award each year on Dec. 10. Here are five facts about the prize and its recipients. 1. Theodore Roosevelt was a first — twice. The country’s 26th president was the first American and the first […]
Orangevale, CA, Letter Carrier Andres Rendon, featured in a recent “Heroes’ Corner” article, did a good job taking care of a toddler who had wandered into a busy street. […]
Merry mail. To help celebrate the holiday season, all First-Class Mail postage stamps will be canceled using the national holiday postmark from Dec. 2-31. This year’s postmark features a festive wreath — a nod to the new Holiday Wreaths stamps. Another holiday postmark is available through the Greetings from the North Pole Post Office program, […]
Healing PTSD, a semipostal stamp to raise funds for those diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, will be released Monday, Dec. 2. PTSD develops in some children and adults who have survived a traumatic event. The condition can be triggered by experiences such as a natural disaster, car accident, physical or sexual assault, abuse and combat, […]
Do you know the difference between a deductible and a copayment? If you don’t know, you’re not alone. Many people are confused by health insurance terminology. To help you navigate your way through this year’s open season benefits enrollment period, here are some important definitions: • Deductible: This is the amount you pay for covered […]
Another Postal Service employee has received praise after reuniting a customer with a large amount of cash that should never have been mailed. Betzaida Ingram was using a delivery barcode sorter at the Baltimore Processing and Distribution Center when $900 spilled out of a damaged envelope. “As soon as I realized what was inside of […]
The Postal Service is ready again to deliver the holiday items that customers will purchase on Cyber Monday, one of the year’s biggest shopping days. Online purchases on the first Monday after Thanksgiving are expected to hit $9.4 billion in 2019, an 18.9 percent increase from last year, according to market researcher Adobe Digital Insights. […]
Rural Carrier Associate James Wentworth was delivering mail in Stickney, SD, in June when he saw an older customer lying beside a gravel road, waving for help. Wentworth stopped to check on the man, who said he’d been working in a field nearby and fainted while walking back to his house. The Postal Service employee […]