People love lists.
Our annual blog listing the top ten postal stories of the just-completed year is always a reader favorite — even if a little later than usual this year. This year, as in many past years, we had plenty of topics to choose from. What made this year a little unusual was just how many prominent postal stories were in the news — and for a long time. We expect to hear more about several of the topics below in 2019.
The U.S. Postal Service has an obligation to ensure the safety of its employees by creating and maintaining a violence-free work environment. Our recent audit work confirmed that the Postal Service has a comprehensive program to identify, review, report, and address employee assaults.
Postal Service employees who have been assaulted can take one or more of the following actions based on the circumstances:
There was a time when, if you lived in Spokane, Bing Crosby might have sold you stamps across a post office counter. If you lived in Chicago, Walt Disney might have delivered your mail – or maybe Rock Hudson, if you were just up the road in nearby Winnetka. More recently, before he starred in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Steve Carell might have put letters in your mailbox if it was in rural Massachusetts. And have you ever wondered where the Grammy-winning John Prine got the title for his album The Singing Mailman Delivers?
Service is in the name, so you know it’s important. Indeed, U.S. Postal Service managers place service performance at the top of their priority list – sometimes even over the financial health of the agency, our recent audit...
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Zero Base sounds like the first acclimation stop on a climb up Mount Everest. It’s actually an important program to help the U.S. Postal Service control costs in its Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) program.
The PVS fleet transports mail primarily within a 50-mile radius: between processing...
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It seems a simple equation: processing costs should decrease as mail volumes decline. Except that’s not happening. And it’s hurting the U.S. Postal Service’s bottom line.
The Postal Service has not been able to lower mail processing costs at its 285 plants to match decreasing mail volumes...
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The Postal Service provides packaging supplies for its domestic and international Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail products at no additional cost. Free packaging is a unique selling tool, differentiating the Postal Service from its competitors. These packaging items include boxes and...
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The Postal Inspection Service maintains a National Forensic Laboratory, which has forensic scientists, analysts, and contractors assisting postal inspectors in identifying, apprehending, prosecuting, and convicting individuals responsible for postal-related crimes. The forensic team conducts...
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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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