USPS  News, Info from Various Sources

The U.S. Postal Service reminds everyone of the following deadlines for holiday mail to reach its destination on time:

source: USPS seeks vendor for relocation services
 

2005 International and Military Mail Christmas Mailing Dates (USPS Press Release 9/9/05)

"To ensure delivery of holiday cards and packages by December 25 to military APO/FPO addresses overseas and to international addresses, we suggest that mail be entered by the recommended mailing dates listed below. "

Postal Service to Celebrate 'America's  Partnership'
 

Finding employees, delivering the mail - September 05, 2005
2,800 employees tell us they’re safe; 36,000 displaced customers provide temporary addresses so we can get their mail to them - More than 2,800 employees in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area have contacted the Postal Service to let us know they are safe and to give us their contact information so we can make sure they get their paychecks and know how to reach them with work-related information.

The national media has helped us get the word out to employees by publicizing our toll-free number, 1-877-477-3273, as have employees with information about displaced employees. Many of our employees who lived in the storm’s path are now scattered across the country, living temporarily with relatives and friends or in hotels.

And as the Postmaster General noted in his letter to employees Friday, many are calling in to ask if they can work near their temporary addresses rather than have to use leave or eventually go without pay. Management continues to work with union and management association leaders to accommodate those requests and provide temporary postal jobs for our displaced employees across America
  Hurricane Katrina  News ,Links | ELM 519: Administrative Leave for Acts of God

However, the per-piece revenue slipped slightly, from 19 cents to 18.9 cents, indicating either increased use of automation for cheaper postage rates or lighter mailings.

“We've had the suspicion for some time that we needed to dispel the myth that catalogs were becoming irrelevant in the Internet age,” said George Hurst, USPS manager of direct mail.

While the research focused primarily on catalogs, it also demonstrated that even flier mailings stimulate sales. While 15% of catalog recipients went online to buy, 13% of those sent a flier made a purchase on the Web as well. Only 8% of a control group bought without being spurred by a mailing.

The USPS linked catalogs' influence on behavior by partnering with ComScore. The market research company tracked consumer behavior in its network of 40 retail sites, and compared purchases of those it knew had received catalogs against those who hadn't.

Hurst noted that during fiscal 2003, 9.4 billion catalogs were in the mail, generating $2.94 billion in postage revenue. Figures for fiscal 2004 had not been compiled at deadline.

But Hurst added: “More and more people were spending a great deal of money on their Web sites, and maybe not paying as much attention to their catalogs.” (10/8/04) Direct

V.P., FINANCE, CONTROLLER DONNA PEAK TO RETIRE-PMG Jack Potter has named Compensation Manager Lynn Malcolm to Acting Vice President, Finance, Controller. Peak implemented such programs as eTravel, TACS, a new general ledger system and shared services for accounting. She also established the field internal control function, saving the Postal Service roughly $100 million per year. In the months leading to retirement, Peak will assist USPS with preparation for the upcoming Universal Postal Union Congress in Bucharest. Acting VP Finance, Controller Lynn Malcolm is a 30-year USPS employee with a strong background in Finance and Human Resources. Malcolm has held several management positions in Information Technology, Finance and Human Resources. (source: USPS)

Statement by Azeezaly S. Jaffer
U.S. Postal Service
Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications
April 30, 2004

The United States Postal Service is pleased that the U.S. Congress is focusing its attention on postal legislative reform. Our 34-year-old business model is under increasing pressure and can't be sustained. While we continue to make great strides - service is at record levels, as are customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction - we are significantly constrained by the limits of our current legislative framework

 Nomination Hearing for Dawn Tisdale to be Commissioner of Postal Rate Commission
on  4/29/04 @ 10:00 AM (EST) in Place: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rm. 342
 

To consider the nomination of Mr. Dawn Tisdale to be Commissioner, Postal Rate Commission. On February 11, President George W. Bush announced his intention to nominate NAPUS member Dawn A. Tisdale to be a commissioner of the Postal Rate Commission. Mr. Tisdale is a retired postmaster who served from 1989 to 2000 as postmaster of Smithville, Texas. Prior to his tenure as postmaster, Mr. Tisdale was manager of Employee Relations in Waco, and a letter carrier in Austin. In Austin, he served as Vice President of NALC Branch 181. Dawn served in the U.S. Navy from 1962 to 1966, and later earned his bachelor's degree from St. Edwards University. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Tisdale would serve the remainder of a six-year term expiring in November 2006. (bio source: NAPUS)

With online services revenue gains, it was quite apparent that www.usps.com was generating good news. In 2002, $1 million in sales was realized through the Internet site and, as of April 15, the year 2004 already was at $21 million in sales. Nicholas Barranca, Vice President of Product Development, had even more encouraging news, noting 139 million online transactions in 2003 through www.usps.com. He estimated the 2003 “cost avoidance” at $230 million. Earlier comments by Potter on Click-N-Ship showed that the service grew over 216 percent in the last year and gained greatly in the March 2004 marketing campaign. Also, the first product machine/kiosk just went into operation in Dallas, Texas; it was started up at 6 p.m. and had $700 in revenue by 9 a.m. the following morning. The next kiosk is to be set up at L’Enfant Plaza in the very near future.

USPS Answer to Complaint filed by Magazine Publishers-As discussed in more detail below, the Postal Service believes that, regardless of any potential merit in the abstract, the concerns raised by the Complaint (TWetalComplaint.pdf)  do not require any substantive response by the Commission at this time. From the outset, the Postal Service wishes to be clear that it does not oppose improved efficiency in Periodicals rate design. As will be discussed later, the Postal Service believes that more can be done to promote efficiency in Periodicals rate design, and is, indeed, exploring, at least in some form, many of the structural changes proposed by the Complainants. Again, as will be discussed later, part of the efforts underway will look to see if the underlying structure can be changed in a way that promotes the improvements in efficiency sought by the complainants, in a manner that achieves consensus within the Periodicals mailing community. The Complaint, however, seeks to initiate now a Commission proceeding leading to the recommendation of new Periodicals rates and classifications. That attempt should be rejected, and the Commission should summarily dispose of the matter without hearings.

January 30, 2004-SEC Talks With Postal Service For Trade Verification-On January 15, 2004, Nancy L. Muckle and Michael Wolf of AuthentiDate, Inc. and Bradley A. Reck of USPS met with staff members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to discuss certain issues relating to the Commission's proposed rule amendments concerning the pricing of investment company ("fund") shares in Investment Company Release No. 26288 (Dec. 11, 2003).  AuthentiDate and USPS jointly created the USPS Electronic Postmark ("USPS EPM"), an electronic postmark that provides time-stamping and content authentication technology for documents. The USPS EPM was created to facilitate secure electronic communication for government and commercial systems. AuthentiDate and USPS representatives described the uses for the USPS EPM, including the ability to time-stamp and maintain an audit trail of documents that receive a USPS EPM. Authentidate and USPS representatives also provided Commission staff with an example of how documents are time-stamped."  U.S. Postal Service, which is using AuthentiDate's electronic-postmark technology, insisted that the company build  a backup data center as part of its agreement

full press release
Senate Approves Extension for Breast Cancer Research Stamp
as Part of Omnibus Appropriations Bill —The U.S. Senate today voted to authorize the U.S. Postal Service to continue selling the Breast Cancer Research Stamp for at least two more years. The extension of the stamp was due to an amendment by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D.-Calif.) that was part of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill. The previous authorization expired December 31, 2003 and Postal Service officials said that the stamp will be available for sale once again as soon as President Bush signs the Omnibus Bill. Today, breast cancer remains the leading cancer among women. In 2003, it is estimated that approximately 212,600 women and men will get breast cancer and 40,200 will die from the disease.  

Postal worker who inspired Breast Cancer Stamp dies-The idea for the breast cancer stamp came from Diane Sackett Nannery, a postal supervisor from Long Island. Her courageous fight to overcome the disease, and her personal crusade to empower others helped convince Postmaster General Marvin Runyon that it was time to issue a Breast Cancer Awareness stamp. For the past 11 years, Diane Sackett Nannery fought to bring education, research and a cure for breast cancer as she simultaneously fought for her own life against the disease. She lost her personal battle to breast cancer Nov. 19, 2003. What began with writing articles for postal newsletters that reached over 750,000 employees, led to publishing a book in 1998 with NY Times writer Joan Swirsky titled "Coping with Lymphedema"

[Article Editors’ Note: With rising security concerns clearly top-of-mind, the U.S. Postal Service’s efforts in screening, monitoring, evaluating, and, if necessary, decontaminating its facilities from anthrax and other hazardous materials has been timely, responsible, and clearly communicated. Of great impact is the organization’s intent to be a responsible corporate citizen and good neighbor in the communities in which it serves through awareness and thorough processes. At this time, the agency’s construction program has been scaled down to meet bottom-line objectives and ensure its long-term financial health.]