LINK mobile
  • News
  • Facts
  • People
  • Etc.
  • Videos
Printable version
View archives published before year 2015

USPS News Link

Skip to content
  • About the Business
  • Best Practices
  • By the numbers
  • Heroes’ corner
  • Link welcomes you
  • Mailbag
  • Need to Know
  • News Archives
  • On the Job
  • Privacy & Terms of Use
  • Quotable quotes
  • The List
  • Tip of the day

School ties

Top story

School ties
1967 letter reconnects retired teacher, student
2 days ago
Racing report
Effort underway to raise $1 billion in leads
2 days ago
Higher learning
College offers tuition grant to employees
2 days ago

Managing costs

Managing costs

CFO reviews first-quarter financial results
To help restore financial stability, Joe Corbett says the Postal Service must “aggressively close sales contracts, manage costs and innovate."
3 days ago

Tag team

Tag team

Election Mail, Political Mail handling reminder
If you handle mail, follow these tips to ensure Political Mail and Election Mail are properly processed and delivered.
3 days ago

Wild Orchids

Wild Orchids

Stamps to be released Feb. 21
The Wild Orchids stamps feature images of several species and will be issued in booklets of 20 and coils of 3,000 and 10,000.
3 days ago

One direction

One direction

News Quiz: Test your postal knowledge
How much do you know about direct mailings, federal ethics rules, the eBuy Plus transition and other hot topics?
3 days ago

Are you compliant?

Are you compliant?

Use DPDI tool to log payment device inspections
USPS has introduced a tool to help employees log the payment device inspections that are required each day at Post Offices and other retail locations.
4 days ago

Celebration nation

Celebration nation

USPS dedicates newest stamp
Celebrations bring people together — and now there’s a new stamp to make that easier.
4 days ago

Best of show

Best of show

USPS booth makes splash at CES
The Postal Service’s booth at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show was ranked among the show’s best by two media outlets.
4 days ago

All about you

All about you

HERO empowers employees to promote their talents
The Postal Service is encouraging employees to leverage the HERO platform to take ownership of their career development.
4 days ago

Scanning snapshot

News Briefs

Scanning snapshot

Eastern Area Update highlighted, too
Read about the Postal Service’s latest scanning snapshot and Eastern Area Update’s winter edition.
4 days ago

Election connections

Election connections

Guide offered for 2020 ballots, other mail
The Postal Service has released a guide to Election Mail and Political Mail for the 2020 primary season that began this month and the general election in November.
5 days ago

Safety record

Safety record

Managers must complete OSHA form
The Postal Service is reminding facility managers that they must compile and display work-related injuries that occurred during the 2019 calendar year in order to comply with OSHA requirements.
5 days ago

Million dollar man

Million dollar man

Mail handler helps lead USPS to big revenue
Edward Rehor Jr. is a talker.
1 week ago

Know the rules

Know the rules

Hatch Act training reminder offered
The Postal Service recently announced its Strategic Learning Initiatives for fiscal year 2020, which include a course on employee political activity and the Hatch Act.
1 week ago

Handbook updated

News Briefs

Handbook updated

Postal Bulletin also published
Read about revisions to Handbook F-66, General Investment Policies and Procedures, and Postal Bulletin’s latest issue.
1 week ago

Coronavirus update

Coronavirus update

Postal Service shares CDC guidance
The Postal Service is sharing updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the novel coronavirus outbreak that recently began in Wuhan, China.
2 weeks ago

Archives

About the Business

  • Managing mail

    Products, services aid busy customers

    Feb. 18

    Managing mail

    Products, services aid busy customers
    Feb. 18 at 10:08 a.m.

    USPS offers multiple products and services to help today’s busy customers manage their mail and package deliveries.

    For example, Informed Delivery allows consumers to preview images of their incoming mail and manage their packages on smartphones, tablets and other devices.

    Informed Delivery users can also sign up for text and email notifications, schedule delivery alerts, request redeliveries and enter delivery instructions.

    Another tool, USPS eSignature Online, allows customers to digitally sign for incoming mail and packages that require a signature, including Priority Mail Express and Signature Confirmation deliveries and items insured for $500 or more.

    For customers who take a long vacation or an out-of-town work assignment, USPS offers Premium Forwarding Service Residential, which allows them to have most mail sent to them while they’re away from home.

    Customers who go out of town can also use the USPS Hold Mail service to have their mail held safely at a local Post Office until their return.

    The USPS Package Intercept service allows customers to redirect some domestic packages, letters and flats, while Hold for Pickup allows a recipient to collect a package at a local Post Office.

    Each of these products and services help support the organization’s efforts to grow revenue by delivering exceptional customer experiences, a core strategy.

    The usps.com Track and Manage Mail section has more information.

    Archives

Heroes’ Corner

  • Fraud freeze

    Employee saves customer from $900 loss

    Feb. 21

    Fraud freeze

    Employee saves customer from $900 loss
    Feb. 21 at midnight

    Retail Associate Troy Wiseman was recently on duty at the Idaho Falls, ID, Post Office when an older customer purchased two money orders totaling $900.

    The customer needed help filling out a Priority Mail Express label but asked Wiseman to leave the “pay to” lines blank on the money orders.

    Worried about potential fraud, Wiseman alerted Customer Services Supervisor Mike Fugh after the customer left.

    Fugh contacted the Postal Inspection Service, which conducted an investigation and returned the money orders to the customer, who was grateful for Wiseman’s concern.

    “Troy does a great job at the window and is always looking out for the elderly so they don’t get scammed,” Fugh said.

    Archives

Best Practices

  • Sure footing

    How to work safely in winter weather

    Feb. 10

    Sure footing

    How to work safely in winter weather
    Feb. 10 at 10:58 a.m.

    Tom Cappaert knows firsthand the importance of wintertime safety.

    The Madison, WI, letter carrier was delivering mail on a snowy day a few years ago when he slipped and fell, injuring his elbow. Although he wasn’t seriously hurt, he learned a valuable lesson.

    “When you’re on a decline, you have to try to lower your center of gravity by bending your knees and taking very short steps. Check each time you step to make sure you have good footing,” he says.

    USPS wants all employees to take precautions during the winter.

    To avoid accidents and possible injuries, Cappaert offers his colleagues the following advice:

    • Be alert. “There are days when you can’t see the ice,” he says. “Decks made of composite wood are very, very slippery this time of year, even if you’re wearing different sorts of ice cleats on your shoes. So watch out.”

    • Pay attention. Only scan mail and packages at the point of delivery — not while walking. “You have to pay attention to where every footstep lands, so you should wait until you are in front of the door to scan,” he says.

    • Drive carefully. “Curbside mailboxes are very difficult this time of year because your vehicle might slide past them. Also, make sure you have three points of contact when exiting because the steps on the vehicle can get slippery if there’s snow on them.”

    Cappaert also recommends taking extra care while walking on steps.

    “Always use the handrail,” he says. “Pay attention to where your foot is landing on the steps. If your foot slips, you’re going down.”

    Archives

On the Job

  • Selling USPS

    Employee helps businesses use postal products

    Feb. 21

    Selling USPS

    Employee helps businesses use postal products
    Feb. 21 at 10:36 a.m.

    My name is Daisy Daniels and I’m a general sales executive for Pacific Area’s Sacramento District. I work with business customers and help them use USPS products and services.

    A typical week begins with me scheduling appointments. I then spend 3-4 days in the field following up on those calls. My territory includes Chico, CA, where many businesses are rebuilding after losing everything in the 2018 wildfires in nearby Paradise, CA. I spend a lot of time visiting those customers and explaining how the Postal Service can help them with their shipping and mailing needs.

    At the end of the week, I do administrative work pertaining to the businesses I visited and I prepare a forecast for the coming week.

    In my role, I have to hit a weekly sales target. Every week, I must bring in a certain amount of new postal revenue. Last year, I made a $1 million sale in one week, but I still had to hit my target the following week. So this job is not for the faint of heart. There’s a lot of hard work involved.

    I’ve worked for the Postal Service for 26 years, although I come from a postal family. My dad worked for USPS, so I grew up yearning to wear a postal uniform one day. I began my career as a rural carrier, which means I didn’t get a uniform. I was disappointed because I really wanted that eagle shirt!

    Before moving into my sales job, I had detail assignments in other areas of the organization, including working in the Business Service Network and serving as a consumer affairs and industry contact manager. My work experience has been invaluable. I wasn’t scared to jump into sales because I’m confident in our brand and our product.

    I’m married with three children. In my spare time, I love to spend time with my 3-year-old grandson. I also enjoy camping and taking long walks when I get home to unwind.

    What I love most about my job is my customers, especially seeing their growth and how the Postal Service has helped them. That’s hugely satisfying.

    Archives

The List

  • Founder’s day

    8 facts about George Washington

    Feb. 18

    Founder’s day

    8 facts about George Washington
    Feb. 18 at 9:51 a.m.

    George Washington was born Feb. 22, 1732. To mark the occasion, here are eight facts about the nation’s founding father and first president, courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.

    1. President Washington never lived in Washington, DC. George and his wife Martha lived in New York and later Philadelphia, where they received members of Congress, foreign dignitaries and other prominent people. Washington is the only U.S. president to never occupy the White House in the city named for him.

    2. He established the presidential cabinet. Washington relied on an all-star team — Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, War Secretary Henry Knox and Attorney General Edmund Randolph — to advise him, setting the standard for how these roles would interact with the presidency.

    3. He set social life precedents for presidents, too. During his time in office, Washington reserved late afternoons for meetings with the public and evenings for dinner parties with invited guests. Specifically, Tuesday afternoons were dedicated to gentleman callers only until 4 p.m. to discuss formal matters. Friday evening events included both ladies and gents.

    4. The first Thanksgiving proclamation was issued by President Washington. Days of thanksgiving had been celebrated since the beginning of European settlement in North America. But the president formalized the holiday by issuing a proclamation in 1789 designating Nov. 26 as a national day of thanksgiving. Washington marked the occasion by attending church and donating beer and food to imprisoned debtors in New York.

    5. He vetoed only two bills while president. The first was the Apportionment Bill of 1792, aimed at providing guidelines for the number of congressional representatives based on the 1790 census. Washington vetoed the legislation based on constitutional concerns that the law would not divide each state’s population evenly when determining representation and potentially create an imbalance in power. The second veto, in 1797, concerned a bill aimed at cutting the size and cost of the military based on the advice of McHenry.

    6. He delivered an important address about religious tolerance. On Aug. 18, 1790, congregants of the Touro Synagogue of Newport, RI, welcomed the president to their city and place of worship. Washington’s letter of response is famous for reinforcing the ideal of religious liberty in American life that continues today.

    7. His second inaugural address is the shortest ever delivered. The March 4, 1793, speech clocked in at less than two minutes and was only 135 words in length.

    8. His farewell address is one of American history’s most celebrated speeches. Warning against “the baneful effects of the Spirit of the Party,” the speech has influenced American culture and political debates since it was published. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation on Feb. 19, 1862, calling on Americans to celebrate the birth of the founding father with a reading of the farewell address. The tradition caught on and since 1896, the U.S. Senate has commemorated Feb. 22 with an annual reading of the 7,641-word address by a selected sitting senator.

    Archives

Mailbag

  • Denise Rosin, Pontiac, MI:

    “Man of letters,” the article about the letters that Kirk Douglas wrote and mailed during his lifetime, was simple yet profound.

    Archives

Latest videos

  • ‘Dollars and Change’ Feb. 20
  • ‘2020 Price Change’ Jan. 27

About Link

USPS National Employee Emergency Hotline: 888-363-7462

Copyright © 2020 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved. Privacy & Terms of Use
  • Home
  • About Link

USPS National Employee Emergency Hotline: 888-363-7462
  • About USPS
  • Archives
  • Privacy & Terms of Use
View archives published before year 2015
LINK mobile
Your source for USPS employee news.
Sign up for weekly highlights:
Privacy Act Statement