This sounds like a math problem on a standardized test: If the amount of mail processed in fiscal year (FY) 2018 declined by 5 billion pieces and total number of workers used to process mail declined by 5,000 career employees (with workhours also dropping by 4.3 million), how much did overtime costs decrease?
Answer: They didn’t. Overtime costs to process mail increased by $257 million (31 percent) in FY2018 from the previous year. What happened?
The opioids epidemic, which President Trump declared a public health emergency in October 2017, has had a national impact on many people, businesses, and organizations, including the U.S. Postal Service.
It was an especially lively six-month period covered by our most recent Semiannual Report to Congress – October 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019. The period included the partial government shutdown in December, and January saw the official appointment of our acting Inspector General to the IG position – only the third IG in our 20-year history. And then there’s all the work we did.
People tend to attach special meaning to certain places. It turns out, the post office is just such a place for many rural Americans.
Rural customers value the social aspects of the U.S. Postal Service, including its place in the community, according to our latest white paper,...
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Bigger isn’t always better. Take microbusinesses, for example – small businesses of fewer than 10 employees. They make up 75 percent of all employers in the country and fuel the U.S. economy.
They also drive innovation and competition, and some even grow to be larger enterprises that...
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There’s been a lot of talk lately about the urban-rural divide in this country. But the U.S. Postal Service has had to deal with it in one form or another since its founding.
Our recent white paper...
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The Postal Service offers insurance against loss or damage when shipping packages. Some products, like Priority Mail International and Priority Mail Express International, include insurance in their postage price. Customers can choose to purchase up to $5,000 in additional coverage for a fee. A...
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Landlords have a duty to ensure buildings they rent are in good condition. The responsibilities are usually outlined and agreed upon when a renter enters into a lease agreement. The Postal Service operates more than 20,000 post offices and processing plants at leased facilities. The cost of...
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To send mail from one location to another, the Postal Service generally has to collect, process, transport, and deliver the mail. These functions are interdependent and the Postal Service has timelines for moving mail from one function to the next. These timelines help the Postal Service process...
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