Friday, June 27, 2025
USPS announces more stamps
A set of four holiday designs and a tribute to Elie Wiesel have been added to the lineup
The Postal Service has announced new stamps for its 2025 lineup.
Holiday Cheer will be a set of four festive designs that will come in booklets of 20: a holly wreath, a trio of amaryllis flowers, cardinals perched on mistletoe and an evergreen branch adorned with fruit.
Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the Forever stamps using artwork by Denise Fiedler.
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) will be the 18th honoree in the Postal Service’s Distinguished Americans stamp series. Wiesel survived Nazi concentration camps; his many writings bore witness to the Holocaust and his resilience and compassion continue to be a source of inspiration.
The stamp for 2-ounce mail will feature a 1999 black-and-white photograph of Wiesel by Sergey Bermeniev. Ethel Kessler, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp.
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People
Bringing postal history to life
A letter carrier honors the past, a Post Office celebrates its ZIP Code and a postmaster takes office
As USPS gears up for its 250th anniversary next month, a Chicago letter carrier is doing his part to promote local postal history.
Kalani Han, who works in the Ravenswood neighborhood on the city’s north side, recently created a permanent exhibit for the community Post Office’s retail lobby displaying rare objects from the 1870s onward.
For Han, it is “a way to connect people — past to present, neighbors to neighborhood, and national history to the everyday work we do as carriers.”
This month also marks the facility’s ZIP Code Day — when the local ZIP Code, 60625, matches the date — so Han set to work creating a monthlong exhibit and pictorial postmark featuring a raven, larch branch and oak leaf, the latter two representing trees that once filled the area.
The June 6 event drew more than 250 people.
“By the end of the day, customers were wishing each other happy ZIP Code Day. That moment of connection, of shared civic joy — that’s what the whole project was about,” he said.
ZIP, ZIP hooray
The Fontana, WI, Post Office also seized its ZIP Code Day in the sun.
A commemorative postmark was issued for the 53125 ZIP and collectors and residents alike lined up on May 31 to get their mail hand-canceled with the help of Wendy Karasek, a local USPS retail associate.
“We had a really good turnout,” Postmaster Cynthia Schneider said. “It was great to see so many people excited about something so uniquely postal. Events like this remind us how special ZIP Codes are — not just for delivering mail, but for bringing communities together.”
Bright’s future
Like all postmasters, Renee Bright took an oath to “well and faithfully discharge the duties” of her office.
For Bright — who took her oath as the postmaster in Merrick, NY, this month — that means doing more than the bare minimum.
“My goal is to have my employees enjoy coming to work,” she said.
Other items on her to-do list: sprucing up the Post Office and strengthening customer service.
In Merrick, a hamlet of about 21,000 on Long Island, Bright will oversee about 80 employees. She previously managed the Canarsie Post Office in Brooklyn.
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News Quiz
Binding relationships
How much do you know about USPS contract rules?
“News Quiz” is a weekly feature that lets you test your knowledge of recent Link stories. The correct answers appear at the end.
1. True or false: Postal Service employees cannot hold or bid on a highway contract route or delivery service contract.
a) True
b) False
2. When does the newly ratified labor contract between the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association and the Postal Service end?
a) Jan. 1, 2026
b) July 30, 2026
c) May 20, 2027
d) Sept. 30, 2027
3. What are the duties of Noel Roman, the Postal Service’s historical preservation architect?
a) Guide the conservation of historic sites and artifacts
b) Support construction and repair projects affecting historical properties
c) Ensure compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act
d) All of the above
4. What did Shrewsbury, MA, Letter Carrier Pjerin Kita do when he came upon a burning recycling bin next to house on his delivery route?
a) He called 911 and made sure the neighborhood kids didn’t get too close.
b) He grabbed the garden hose and doused the fire by himself.
c) He helped a neighbor shovel dirt onto the blaze.
d) He threw the bin into the backyard and used a bucket of rainwater to extinguish the fire.
5. When did the first Juneteenth observance take place?
a) 1866
b) 1901
c) 1966
d) 2021
Answers: 1) a. 2) c. 3) d. 4) d. 5) a.
Use multifactor authentication? You’ll need to set a backup
The Postal Service is asking employees who use multifactor authentication to add a backup security method.
This will allow continued access to USPS systems and applications if the primary method becomes unavailable, such as when a smartphone is lost or not working.
Employees who already have a secondary multifactor authentication method do not need to take any actions.
Instructions for setting up a backup security method are on LiteBlue. Employee with questions can call the USPS IT Service Desk at 800-877-7435.
Postal Bulletin offers tips about passwords, PINs
Postal Bulletin’s latest edition, published June 27, shares best practices on creating passwords and PINs for USPS accounts.
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.
View past printouts
Printout details
What's included
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USPS announces more stamps
A set of four holiday designs and a tribute to Elie Wiesel have been added to the lineup
-
People
Bringing postal history to life
A letter carrier honors the past, a Post Office celebrates its ZIP Code and a postmaster takes office
-
News Quiz
Binding relationships
How much do you know about USPS contract rules?
-
Brief
Use multifactor authentication? You’ll need to set a backup
-
Brief
Postal Bulletin offers tips about passwords, PINs