My name is Brandy Freeman and I’m a graphic designer and brand coordinator at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. I joined the organization in 2022. While my job provides a daily creative outlet, I have another passion in my downtime — performing in karaoke team competitions. After college, I found myself without a singing outlet […]
The Postal Service will dedicate its Black Heritage stamp honoring Allen Toussaint on Thursday, Jan. 30, in New Orleans. The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Eastern at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz and Heritage Center, 1225 N. Rampart St. The speakers will include Gary Barksdale, the Postal Inspection Service’s chief postal inspector. […]
The Postal Service will introduce redesigned money orders in February. The new design will enhance already strong security features to further deter counterfeiting and other fraudulent activities. The current — or “legacy” — money orders will be sold until stock is depleted. The redesigned money orders feature a new bank routing number and are red, […]
A snapshot of Postal Service scanning data shows the national rating was 96.55 percent during the week ending Jan. 17, down 1.14 percent from one week earlier. The data was collected Jan. 22. WestPac led the four areas with a rating of 97.43 percent, while Central ranked last with a 95.88 percent rating. Among the […]
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USPS shipping services price changes took effect Jan. 19. The changes raise shipping services prices approximately 3.2 percent for Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express, 3.9 percent for USPS Ground Advantage and 9.2 percent for Parcel Select. Federal law divides USPS products into two categories: market-dominant and competitive. The market-dominant category includes mailing services such […]
My name is Eugene Leader and I’m a letter carrier on Long Island, NY, in the hamlet of Manhasset. After serving in the Army for many years, I joined the Postal Service in 1990. I stayed active in the Army Reserve, balancing life between traveling for the military and working for USPS. In 2007, I […]
Postal Service employees may participate in an upcoming webinar about anxiety, depression and ways to manage these conditions. The session, “Anxiety and Depression,” will be held Tuesday, Jan. 28, from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern. Representatives from Kaiser Permanente, a provider of health plans for federal employees, will lead the discussion. Participants must register before […]
The Postal Service is reminding Executive and Administrative Schedule employees that virtual courses are available through the Center for Creative Leadership, a provider of leadership development and research. The four courses are designed to elevate frontline leadership capabilities. The lineup includes Frontline Leader Impact, available for EAS-18 to EAS-21 employees; Better Conversations Every Day, for […]
Stamps made their mark in Link last week. First came news of two colorful new additions to the 2025 lineup: Goodnight Moon, a tribute to the classic children’s book, and SpongeBob SquarePants, an homage to the animated Nickelodeon series of the same name. We told you about the sixth in the current Lunar New Year […]
The Postal Service will hold an online veterans roundtable for employees on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 1 p.m. Eastern. Veteran service officers from the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars will provide an overview of the disability claims application process and answer questions. The roundtable will be held via Zoom. The meeting ID […]
Rural Carrier Angela Webb was delivering mail in Mustang, OK, recently when she saw an unusual sight: boxes stacked in front of an older customer’s house. After knocking on the door and not getting an answer, Webb asked a neighbor to check on the customer. The Postal Service employee later learned that the woman had […]
The Postal Service will release its latest Love stamp on Friday, Jan. 17. Love (2025) features an untitled 1985 drawing by artist and activist Keith Haring (1958-1990) that includes two moving figures reaching toward a red heart. It was a theme Haring used throughout his career, making several variations, each in his signature style. Centered […]
Employees in the Postal Service’s Florida 1 District helped make the holiday brighter for U.S. military members serving overseas. The employees helped accept and process more than 100 care packages prepared through Treat-A-Troop, a program operated by the Florida Blue health insurance organization and VetNet, a nonprofit that serves veterans. Volunteers prepared the packages, which […]
“News Quiz” is a weekly feature that lets you test your knowledge of recent Link stories. The correct answers appear at the end. 1. What is the maximum amount of money that a Postal Service employee can contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan in 2025? a) $22,500 b) $23,000 c) $23,500 d) $24,000 2. True […]
My name is Chevelle Hallback and I’m a mail handler at the Tampa, FL, Processing and Distribution Center. When my day ends there, I go to the gym to train for my role as a professional boxer. When I was 5, my mother took me to see “Rocky.” While the main character and Apollo Creed […]
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be observed Monday, Jan. 20. King helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his landmark “I Have a Dream” speech. He also helped pave the way for the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In 1964, at […]
A snapshot of Postal Service scanning data shows the national rating was 97.43 percent during the week ending Jan. 10, down 0.04 percent from one week earlier. The data was collected Jan. 15. WestPac led the four areas with a rating of 97.74 percent, while Southern ranked last with a 97.13 percent rating. Among the […]
The Postal Service dedicated its latest Lunar New Year stamp celebrating the Year of the Snake during a ceremony in Boston on Jan. 14. The Lunar New Year holiday is celebrated in many Asian cultures around the world and historically marks the arrival of spring. It has become a popular observance in the United States, […]
The Postal Service is offering an optional retirement opportunity that includes an incentive to certain employees represented by the American Postal Workers Union and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union. The incentive offer is available to the following career full-time, part-time flexible and part-time regular employees who are eligible for optional retirement or voluntary early […]
The Postal Service has announced two more stamp releases for 2025: • Goodnight Moon, based on the iconic “Goodnight Moon” picture book that revolutionized children’s publishing when it debuted in 1947. The pane of 16 stamps will feature eight images from the book, which was illustrated by Clement Hurd and written by Margaret Wise Brown. […]
The Postal Service offers several resources for employees who have made professional development one of their goals this year. Some options include: • The Learning Library, an online platform that offers more than 120,000 self-development resources, including videos, books, audiobooks, certification preparation tools and textbooks. The content is designed to offer a structured path for […]
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Last week, the life and legacy of President Jimmy Carter was front and center in Link. We told you about the national day of observance on Jan. 9, when most Postal Service functions were suspended to honor the former president, who died at 100 in his hometown of Plains, GA, on Dec. 29. We also […]
James Gray, a highway contract route driver, was arriving at the Branson Annex in Hollister, MO, recently when he noticed a departing colleague’s truck coasting into the intersection. Gray safely parked his vehicle and ran to catch up to the errant truck. He jumped into the cab, placed the truck in park and pulled out […]
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Postal Bulletin’s latest edition, published Jan. 9, details the services USPS offer customers in obtaining passports. Updates to the organization’s policies, procedures and forms are also included. Employees can go to usps.com to read and download the latest Postal Bulletin, along with past issues. […]
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Southern California and the Los Angeles area have experienced ongoing wildfires in recent days. The Postal Service will continue to deliver in affected areas where it is safe to do so. The usps.com Service Alerts and Newsroom pages have the latest updates on service disruptions and operational adjustments. […]
Postal Service employees can contribute as much as $23,500 to the Thrift Savings Plan in 2025, up from $23,000 in 2024. The Internal Revenue Service recently announced the new contribution limits for the retirement savings plan, also known as the TSP. Employees 50 and older can contribute an additional $7,500 to the plan in 2025, […]
The Postal Service is offering virtual courses for Executive and Administrative Schedule (EAS) employees through the Center for Creative Leadership, a provider of leadership development and research. The four courses are designed to elevate frontline leadership capabilities and include a mix of instructor-led, moderated and self-paced training. Here’s the lineup: • Frontline Leader Impact, available […]
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As the new year dawned last week, Link looked back at 2024 — and looked ahead. We told you how the Postal Inspection Service maintained a round-the-clock operations center to safeguard the nation’s Election Mail last fall, offered a special year-end edition of “On the Job” and took another look at some of the best […]
Letter Carrier Nathan Slentz was delivering mail recently to a variety store in Lincolnton, NC, when a robber entered. As the man pointed his rifle at a store clerk, Slentz put his hands up and stepped away from the counter. The Postal Service employee then moved into an aisle as the robber demanded the money […]
The Postal Service will resume acceptance of mail and packages bound for Canada starting Monday, Jan. 6. USPS suspended acceptance of mail and packages bound for Canada as a result of a strike at Canada Post that ended last month. In a statement, the Postal Service said Canada Post has made “significant progress in clearing […]
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