Tuesday, January 21, 2025
New prices take effect
USPS announced the changes last fall
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 as First-Class Mail, while the competitive category includes Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and commercial package services, such as Parcel Select.
Although mailing services price increases are based on the consumer price index, shipping services prices are primarily adjusted according to market conditions. According to the USPS governors, who approved the changes in the fall, these new rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the organization with needed revenue.
USPS will not raise mailing services prices in January.
As a strategic part of the Delivering for America 10-year plan, the shipping services price changes will support the Postal Service in creating a revitalized organization capable of achieving the organization’s public service mission — providing a nationwide, integrated network for the delivery of mail and packages at least six days a week — in a cost effective and financially sustainable manner over the long term.
Heroes
She helped a customer trapped in a chair
This rural carrier noticed something out of the ordinary
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 been stuck in her chair because her walker had rolled away and she was too weak to retrieve it. The woman’s phone also was out of reach.
“If Angie weren’t so attentive to her customer’s daily habits, the woman would have died,” said Teresa Heller, a local customer services supervisor. “The woman was dehydrated and had only another day or two to survive. Thanks to Angie, the elderly woman got the help she needed.”
The woman recovered but was moved to a nursing home.
Employees featured in “Heroes” receive letters of commendation through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program. The nomination form is available on Blue.
On the Job
Follow this Leader
A carrier found success with USPS after his military career
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 began my route in Manhasset — and I’ve been serving the community on the same route ever since.
I have 205 delivery points, a combination of homes and businesses. I start my day inside the Post Office at 8 a.m., sorting mail into bundles before loading my vehicle. I then begin my deliveries.
I have a dismount route, which means I both walk and drive to make deliveries.
The best part of my job are my customers. People are very chatty throughout the day. Everyone is very friendly.
I was born on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts, but I’ve called Queens, NY, home for most of my life. I commute to Manhasset.
After a lifetime of civil service, I am well positioned for retirement. I don’t have a date set, but I plan to take it easy when the time comes.
I’ll still go for walks — but only if it’s nice out.
“On the Job,” a column on individual employees and their contributions to the Postal Service, appears regularly in Link.
Week in Review
Here’s what Link covered Jan. 12-18
Lively new stamps, retirement incentives and more made news
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 stamp series, Year of the Snake, and its dedication ceremony in Boston, and we reported on the latest stamp in the Love series, a vibrant image of two figures holding a heart aloft by the late artist Keith Haring.
“Off the Clock” brought a love story of a different sort. Chevelle Hallback, a Tampa, FL, mail handler, was fascinated with boxing as a small child and fell in love with the sport as an adult. Today, she is a seven-time world champion.
“If you have a desire in your heart, don’t give up on your hopes and dreams,” Hallback said.
In “On the Job,” Kevin Rayburn, an attorney with the USPS Ethics Office, explained how his team works to ensure that the organization remains one of the country’s most trusted federal agencies.
“Our office views what we do as part of maintaining that trust,” Rayburn said. “That means practicing transparency. Ensuring that we treat every customer the same.”
Link also shared the news of a new retirement incentive for certain crafts, explored the ethics regulations surrounding second jobs, and offered a look into the history of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the federal holiday that is observed on the third Monday in January.
And “People” told the story of USPS employees in Florida 1 District who teamed with Treat-a-Troop to accept and process more than 100 care packages.
“It was a well-engineered assembly line all for the purpose of spreading holiday cheer to our brave men and women who could not be home for the holidays,” said Sherwin Salla, a Florida 1 District customer relations coordinator who assisted with the effort.
January 26, 2025
Datebook
Veterans roundtable
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 number and passcode are expected to be posted soon on the MyHR website’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion page.
A postcard detailing the meeting information was also mailed to the home of every known veteran in the USPS workforce.
Employees who are active members of the military or veterans and their family members may participate.
Participation is voluntary and must be off the clock.
A recording will be available afterward on MyHR’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion page.
Employees with questions about the roundtable can send an email to the military program specialist.
January 28, 2025
Datebook
‘Anxiety and Depression’
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 event on the webinar website.
Participation is voluntary. Nonexempt employees must be off the clock or on authorized breaks.
Employees with questions can email the USPS Benefits and Wellness team.
USPS employees can take leadership courses
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 EAS-18 to EAS-23 employees; Lead 4 Success, for EAS-22 to EAS-26 employees; and Creating Leadership, for EAS-23 employees to pay band managers.
Applications must be submitted no later than Friday, Jan. 31.
For more information, employees can email the National Training Leadership Programs team.
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What's included
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New prices take effect
USPS announced the changes last fall
-
Heroes
She helped a customer trapped in a chair
This rural carrier noticed something out of the ordinary
-
On the Job
Follow this Leader
A carrier found success with USPS after his military career
-
Week in Review
Here’s what Link covered Jan. 12-18
Lively new stamps, retirement incentives and more made news
-
January26Datebook
Veterans roundtable
-
January28Datebook
‘Anxiety and Depression’
-
Brief
USPS employees can take leadership courses