Thursday, October 31, 2024
Is your contact information up to date?
USPS employees can make changes through LiteBlue
With the Southeast United States still reeling from recent major storms, the Postal Service is urging employees to verify or update their personal and emergency contact information on file with USPS.
This information is vital because it enables the organization to contact you or your loved ones when a hurricane or other natural disaster strikes.
Keep personal contact information current using a physical address — not a PO Box — and mobile telephone number. Go to the LiteBlue homepage and update your address if necessary.
Emergency contacts can be updated by logging on to LiteBlue, clicking on the “Apps” banner, then selecting “My Contact Information.” Follow the prompts to complete the submission.
Off the Clock
His superpower
This longtime letter carrier teaches kids how to create comic books
My name is Brett Swanson and I’ve been a letter carrier in Mystic, CT, for 30 years. I also create my own line of comic books.
I’ve always loved drawing, and from a young age, I wanted to be a comic book artist. I went to school for cartoon graphics in the late 1980s.
I publish my own line of comic books and I exhibit at shows, fairs and comic conventions.
For the past few years, I’ve also been going to various schools, libraries and museums to teach kids how to make comic books. This can be a way for kids to tell stories, express their feelings or gain discipline while developing their talents.
The story I’m working on now is called “Power Kid.” The main character is Johnny Brooks, a fourth grader who gets his superpowers from a glowing rock. Johnny and his friends fight robots, aliens, dinosaurs and even demented vegetables.
My books are positive and funny. I like to tell entertaining stories, and these are a good way to get kids to read.
Being a comic artist is a lot of work. You start with a blank sheet of paper. From your brain to your hands, you have to come up with the whole thing from scratch. Most of the books out there are done by teams: One person writes it, one person draws it, one guy inks it and another colors it. I do everything myself and by hand. It takes about three or four months for me to complete an entire book.
If you really want to draw comics, be patient. You won’t get it done in a day. Don’t worry about what others think, and don’t be discouraged if you need another job — most comic artists have a side job.
If you become really big, you could make some serious money. But I just do it because I love it. Creating comic books is mostly about having fun.
“Off the Clock,” a column on Postal Service employees and their after-hours pursuits, appears regularly in Link.
WestPac Area, Pennsylvania 1 District on top in scanning
A snapshot of Postal Service scanning data shows the national rating was 97.4 percent during the week ending Oct. 25, down 0.22 percent from one week earlier.
The data was collected Oct. 30.
WestPac led the four areas with a rating of 97.69 percent, while Southern ranked last with a 97.11 percent rating.
Among the 50 districts, Pennsylvania 1, part of Atlantic Area, ranked first with a 98.4 percent rating, while Ohio 1, part of Central Area, ranked last with a 94.04 percent rating.
Scanning data allows customers to track their mail and packages, which helps USPS deliver excellent service, boost loyalty and drive revenue.
To see the latest data, go to the Informed Visibility website and select “Customer Experience,” followed by “DES 2 Scan Performance.” Postal Service employees must request Informed Visibility access through eAccess.
New course focuses on USPS Operation Santa
The Postal Service is now offering a training course for employees on how to handle USPS Operation Santa letters and packages.
The video-based course, USPS Operation Santa Compliance Training, is geared toward employees in retail and customer service positions but is open to all employees.
The course will explain what the USPS Operation Santa program is and how to protect the personally identifiable information of letter writers and letter adopters.
To access the course, go to the MyHR website and select “Learning,” followed by “Assigned Training,” then enter the course title in the search bar.