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‘The spirit of public service’

Top story

‘The spirit of public service’
In retirement message, Brennan thanks employees
1 day ago
Culture of conservation
Q&A with Chief Sustainability Officer Jennifer Beiro-Réveillé
4 hours ago
Cheerful greetings
Newsroom site ready for the holidays
5 hours ago

Scary stamps

Scary stamps

Segment showcases Spooky Silhouettes
USPS has released a video with highlights from the Spooky Silhouettes stamp dedication ceremony.
5 hours ago

Operation Santa

Operation Santa

Program has new website, other changes
Operation Santa, the annual USPS program that allows employees and customers to aid families in need by “adopting” their letters to St. Nick and granting their holiday wishes, will run from Nov. 18-Dec. 20.
1 day ago

Brennan to retire

Link Extra

Brennan to retire

PMG to step down in early 2020
The Postal Service has announced that Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan is retiring, effective Jan. 31, 2020.
2 days ago

Ready, willing and label

Ready, willing and label

USPS customer printing service goes nationwide
USPS is expanding its use of Label Broker, a service available to customers who have purchases to return to a merchant but no access to a printer or shipping labels.
2 days ago

In remembrance

In remembrance

Fly flags at half-staff to honor Cummings
Postal Service facilities should fly the U.S. flag at half-staff to honor U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, who has died.
1 day ago

Jeepers keepers

Jeepers keepers

USPS dedicates Spooky Silhouettes stamps
The spine-tingling fun of the Halloween season was celebrated during the Oct. 11 dedication ceremony for the Spooky Silhouettes stamps.
3 days ago

Engaging leaders

Engaging leaders

USPS seeks nominees for awards
The Postal Service is inviting employees to submit nominations for its fourth annual Engagement Leader of the Year Awards.
3 days ago

New prices

Link Extra

New prices

USPS announces changes for 2020
The Postal Service has announced price changes to take effect next year.
1 week ago

Archives

About the Business

  • Rural reach

    Carriers help USPS deliver for all

    Oct. 15

    Rural reach

    Carriers help USPS deliver for all
    Oct. 15 at 10:22 a.m.

    Rural carriers, like all Postal Service employees, make unique contributions to the organization’s business.

    As the job title implies, rural carriers traditionally serve in rural communities, as well as suburban areas and even some urban centers. This helps USPS to fulfill its “universal service obligation” to serve all customers in the United States.

    The history of rural carriers goes back to the 1890s, when the Post Office Department established rural free delivery. Previously, residents of rural areas had to travel to the nearest Post Office to pick up their mail or pay a private carrier for delivery.

    More than a century later, the Postal Service often is the only delivery option for customers in rural areas.

    This is why rural carriers are sometimes referred to as a “Post Office on wheels.” They offer all the services performed over the counter at USPS retail sites, including selling stamps and money orders, accepting Priority Mail, and providing services such as signature and delivery confirmation.

    Rural carriers also play an important role in the “last mile” package business, which refers to parcels that enter the USPS network at local Post Offices and are then delivered to customers’ homes.

    During fiscal 2018 (Oct. 1, 2017-Sept. 30, 2018), USPS served 44.7 million rural delivery points. These points were served by the organization’s 69,600 rural carriers and 61,500 part-time rural carriers.

    Rural carriers travel about 3.7 million miles each day, and many carriers use their own vehicles to make deliveries.

    Archives

Heroes’ Corner

  • ‘Absolutely worth it’

    Employee embraces kidney donation journey

    Today

    ‘Absolutely worth it’

    Employee embraces kidney donation journey
    Today at midnight

    Jackson, MI, Letter Carrier Martha Olsen likens her good health to winning the lottery.

    So when she learned of a fellow Michigander named Dan who was searching for a kidney donor last year, Olsen decided she wanted to share the wealth.

    The Postal Service employee didn’t know Dan, but she was moved by his social media post.

    “I was touched by his story, as we have the same number of children,” Olsen said. “I didn’t realize you don’t have to be family member to donate, so I tested to see if I was a match.”

    It turned out Olsen was a perfect match — but not for Dan. Instead, she was paired with Debra, an elementary school teacher from Texas.

    In April, transplant surgeries were successfully performed for both Debra and Dan, who had been matched with another living donor.

    Olsen’s actions resonated especially with local Officer in Charge Melissa Tackett-Warner, who knows firsthand the difference transplantation can make. Her husband received a kidney from a living donor a decade ago.

    “Just that she was willing to do that for a complete stranger, how selfless is that?” Tackett-Warner told the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

    “Big things often start off small,” Olsen said, describing how a social media post led her to make a phone call, which started a donation journey that’s inspiring others to follow in her footsteps.

    Speaking of footsteps, just four weeks after the procedure, Olsen returned to a favorite pastime: running. She plans to complete two half marathons this fall, and a full marathon in March.

    “I can’t even tell I had surgery,” she said, adding that being a kidney donor is “absolutely worth it.”

    Archives

Best Practices

  • Do unto others

    Treating co-workers like customers

    Oct. 7

    Do unto others

    Treating co-workers like customers
    Oct. 7 at 9:59 a.m.

    Beverly Graham doesn’t interact with the public in her job, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have customers.

    “My customers are letter carriers and clerks,” says Graham, a mail processing clerk. “In order for them to provide great service to our customers, mail from my operation must get to them in a timely manner.”

    The Postal Service wants all employees to be like Graham, who works at the Baltimore Processing and Distribution Center.

    In other words: Whether your customers are consumers, businesses or your own co-workers, USPS wants you to treat them well.

    To help employees, the organization provides the following guidance:

    • Be efficient. If your customers can see that you’re attempting to work quickly and efficiently to assist them, it helps improve their overall perception of their experience with you.

    • Choose positivity. It’s impossible to expect that every single interaction with customers will be seamless or without friction.

    But the power is in your hands to choose positivity. When you choose to keep a positive attitude, it’s contagious and spreads to your customer.

    • Do your best. No matter what job you may hold, strive to do it well. Your customers — no matter who they are — will appreciate the effort.

    Or as Graham puts it: “I do my best to make sure the mail I process reaches [my co-workers] as soon as possible.”

    Archives

On the Job

  • Field work

    Texas mechanic helps keep mailboxes secure

    Today

    Field work

    Texas mechanic helps keep mailboxes secure
    Today at 10:50 a.m.

    My name is Doug Dotson and I’m a field maintenance mechanic in San Antonio. I help ensure mailbox units meet postal and security standards. 

    I primarily work in new residential neighborhoods. I place USPS identification markers on new mailbox units, install locks and make sure everything functions properly. There are about 10 of us in my department, and we work with 30 stations, so we cover a lot of area.

    One of our major concerns is making sure mailbox units are safe. By structurally reinforcing the boxes, we can secure our customers’ mail and save USPS from having to purchase replacement units.

    San Antonio is one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. We work on 30-50 mailbox units per week. One apartment complex can have as many as 400 units.

    I’ve been with the Postal Service for almost 14 years. I started out as a retail associate, then became a mail handler before moving into field maintenance. I’ve done this job for about four years.

    Before USPS, I was in the Air Force and stationed in Abilene, TX. I spent my whole military career there, including a tour during Desert Storm. I was discharged in 1993 after six years of service, then had my own business pressure-washing vehicles.

    When I turned 35, I decided I need to start thinking about my future. My father-in-law worked at the Post Office, so I thought I’d give it a try, too.

    When I’m not working, my wife and I like to go to the beach. We also like to go to Abilene to see our grandkids.

    I’ve enjoyed working for the Postal Service. It offers a lot of opportunities. You can move to where you best fit, and that’s a nice thing.

    Archives

The List

  • Art and parcel

    6 postal-inspired public art projects

    Oct. 15

    Art and parcel

    6 postal-inspired public art projects
    Oct. 15 at 10:18 a.m.

    The new mural in Washington, DC, honoring USPS retiree Roger “Buck” Hill is the latest example of a postal-themed public art project. Here are six others.

    1. “Statue of the Mail Carriers.” This Milwaukee artwork stands near the site where the National Association of Letter Carriers was formed in 1889. The artist sculpted the bronze work that depicts three letter carriers from different eras: 1889, 1939 and 1989. The statue’s inscription reads: “In honor of the men and women who have delivered for America in rain, sleet, and snow.”

    2. “Barefoot Mailman.” This bronze statue, located in Hillsboro, FL, pays homage to James “Ed” Hamilton and others who delivered mail along the “Barefoot Mailman Route,” a 68-mile trek from Palm Beach, FL, to Miami. The route, which existed in the late 1800s, took six days to complete by foot and rowboat roundtrip.

    3. John Thompson memorial. Between 1856 and 1876, John “Snowshoe” Thompson carried mail along a 90-mile route between Genoa, NV, and Placerville, CA. During the winter months, he used homemade skis carrying as much as 100 pounds of mail across treacherous snowbanks. A bronze memorial statue stands in Genoa, and depicts Thompson on his snowy route wearing his skis.

    4. Pony Express statue. The Pony Express traveled a nearly 2,000-mile route that stretched from California to Missouri, making the trip on horseback in 10 days. It operated from 1860-1861, although only the last four months was it a U.S. Mail contract route. This statue was dedicated in St. Joseph, MO, in 1940 to commemorate the service’s 80th anniversary.

    5. “Air Mail” mural. This mural, located inside the Piggott, AR, Post Office, is one of five artworks featured on the Post Office Murals stamps released this year. The “Air Mail” mural was installed in 1941 and shows mail being loaded onto an airplane to highlight the importance of airmail in connecting American communities.

    6. “Special Delivery.” Sculptor Seward Johnson creates artworks that celebrate everyday activities. One such work stands in Spring Lake, NJ, and shows a letter carrier on his delivery route dressed in a realistic postal uniform, complete with a mailbag and dog spray.

    Archives

Mailbag

  • Kevin Pingor, Baltimore:

    Keep up the great work, Link.

    Archives

Latest videos

  • ‘Spooky Silhouettes’ Today
  • ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex’ Oct. 11
  • ‘Woodstock’ Oct. 4

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