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More stamps

Top story

More stamps
Yogi Berra, Sun Science releases announced
3 days ago
Reaching out
USPS focuses on rural carrier program
3 days ago
Gone in a Flash
Adobe ends its once popular media player
3 days ago

Drive safely

Drive safely

Tips to avoid wintertime accidents
The Postal Service wants employees to drive safely during winter, a time of year that presents unique challenges.
3 days ago

Love to save?

Love to save?

Valentine’s Day promo announced
USPS is offering a discount on Hallmark greeting cards at select Post Offices.
3 days ago

Love is all around

Love is all around

Stamp dedicated during virtual ceremony
This year’s Love stamp was released in Loveland, CO, a city that calls itself the nation’s “Sweetheart City.”
4 days ago

Mail safety

Mail safety

Remember: Package, people, plan
The Postal Service wants employees to remain vigilant about mail safety.
4 days ago

‘Retirement 101’

‘Retirement 101’

Webinar to be held Jan. 21
Postal Service employees can participate in a webinar on preparing to use their health benefits during retirement.
4 days ago

In due time

In due time

News Quiz: How much do you remember?
Test your knowledge of the Combined Federal Campaign, the USPS Loyalty Program, paydays and other newsworthy topics.
4 days ago

Hopeful messages

Hopeful messages

Group mails notes to those in need
If you or someone you know is facing challenges resulting from the coronavirus pandemic or the shaky economy — or if you could just welcome a positive message — Theresa Harrison wants to help.
5 days ago
COVIDCustomers

Show me the data

Show me the data

New dashboard helps move Priority Mail items
The Postal Service recently introduced a dashboard to enhance service performance for Priority Mail Open and Distribute (PMOD) shipments.
5 days ago
COVIDOperations

Transportation strategy

Transportation strategy

USPS names new vice president
Peter Routsolias has joined the Postal Service as transportation strategy vice president, a position established during the organization’s business structure realignment in August.
5 days ago

Scanning snapshot

News Briefs

Scanning snapshot

Stamp, PRC election also highlighted
Check out this week’s scanning snapshot and read about a Postal Regulatory Commission appointment.
5 days ago

Text message mischief

Text message mischief

‘Smishing’ brings email phishing to phones
The Postal Inspection Service has a message for consumers: Don’t become a “smishing” victim.
6 days ago

Virtual events

Virtual events

If it’s non-postal, attending could be a no-no
The USPS Ethics Office is providing guidance for Postal Service employees on participating in virtual events held by other organizations.
6 days ago
COVIDEmployees

In the mail

In the mail

USPS policies for shipping hemp-based products
The Postal Service is reminding employees that customers are permitted to send certain hemp-based products in the mail when in compliance with all applicable laws.
7 days ago

Dress warmly

Dress warmly

Tips to protect yourself during winter
The Postal Service wants employees to dress warmly when working outside during winter weather.
7 days ago

Gift of time

Gift of time

CFC allows you to pledge volunteer hours, too
If you want to contribute to the Combined Federal Campaign but your budget is tight, there are other ways to give.
7 days ago

Don’t miss out

Don’t miss out

Link mobile offers latest postal news
Link mobile has news reports, feature stories and informational videos, including the latest updates on the pandemic.
7 days ago
COVIDEmployees

Paydays

Paydays

Calendar shows 2021 payroll schedule
Want to know when you’ll be paid in 2021?
2 weeks ago

Archives

Heroes’ Corner

  • Super-advisor

    Employee guides distraught co-worker to safety

    Jan. 15

    Super-advisor

    Employee guides distraught co-worker to safety
    Jan. 15 at midnight

    Macedonia, OH, Customer Services Supervisor Somica Butler was on duty recently in Grand River, a village 40 miles away, when she got a call from a concerned colleague.

    An employee in Macedonia who wasn’t feeling well had left work early, and the colleague was worried about the man’s well-being.

    Butler tried unsuccessfully to reach the man by phone, and she soon learned that he had called his office and indicated he was driving on an interstate — lost, disoriented and distressed.

    Butler stepped up her efforts to contact her co-worker, who had experienced an adverse reaction to a change in his prescription medication routine.

    Eventually he called her back, by which point he had been driving around for hours.

    Butler advised him to exit the interstate and park at a gas station — which, remarkably, was close to her location in Grand River.

    Staying on the phone with him, she was able to get to him in 10 minutes to render aid and call 911.

    “Somica is a true definition of a leader who cares,” said Macedonia Postmaster Willie Foreman. “Even though she was on a detail on the other side of the city, she heard a member of her team was in trouble and she jumped into action to see how she could help. She very well may have saved a life that day.”

    Butler’s co-worker, who was hospitalized, recovered from the incident.

    Archives

Best Practices

  • Performance enhancers

    The year in good advice

    Dec. 28, 2020

    Performance enhancers

    The year in good advice
    Dec. 28, 2020 at 9:45 a.m.

    This year, Postal Service employees offered tips for one another through Link’s “Best Practices” column.

    Here’s some of their best advice:

    • Remember that customers are counting on you. “Many people — especially older customers who live alone — look forward to their daily mail delivery.” — Gordonsville, VA, Rural Carrier Tyler Balint
    • Share information.“Sometimes customers don’t know what to ask, so employees must be able to anticipate their needs. Don’t be afraid to ask your customers a few questions so that you can lead them in the right direction.” — Ocracoke, NC, Postmaster Celeste Brooks
    • Be visual.“Keep the latest stamps on display so customers can see what’s available.” — Rives Junction, MI, Retail Associate Denise Prentler
    • Familiarize yourself with the Postal Service’s offerings.“In addition to shipping options like Priority Mail, learn about services like Every Door Direct Mail and Informed Delivery.” — Dallas Customer Services Manager Emiliano Chapa
    • Promote engagement year-round. “Encourage employees to speak up and share their ideas throughout the year. Don’t act like you only care about their feedback when it’s time for the Postal Pulse.” — Altoona, PA, Postmaster Michael Olsavsky

    Madeira Beach, FL, Letter Carrier Pamelin Williams always encourages colleagues to perform timely and accurate scans of the mail, but her best advice is to have an appreciation for the Postal Service’s mission to deliver.

    “I love my job and I’m postal proud,” she said.

    Archives

On the Job

  • Work it out

    All year long, employees showed their value

    Dec. 24, 2020

    Work it out

    All year long, employees showed their value
    Dec. 24, 2020 at 9:24 a.m.

    No matter what their job title might be, all Postal Service employees contribute to the organization’s effort to deliver for the nation — and throughout 2020, Link’s “On the Job” column introduced readers to several of these hardworking public servants.

    Dale Scalero, a USPS tractor-trailer operator in Sacramento, CA, said he takes pride in his behind-the-scenes role.

    “Tractor-trailer operators aren’t often recognized, but we work hard to make sure that our customers’ mail gets to its recipients. It’s an honor for me to wear the uniform and a privilege to drive for our organization,” he said.

    Likewise, La-Vora Chambers Better, a Postal Police supervisor in Washington, DC, said she knows how much postal workers depend on her to protect them.

    “What we do is very important. Employees know they can depend on us. If something happens, we’ll be there,” she said.

    Several employees explained how their jobs changed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Leo Ramirez, a Brooklyn, NY, custodian, said he always strives to keep his workplace clean but feels an even “greater responsibility” to disinfect common areas during the pandemic, while Lupe Hernandez, a Los Angeles acting contract technician whose job involves ordering supplies, said the pandemic-fueled shipping surge made her busier than ever.

    “We surpassed 15 million packages in April. That requires a lot of supplies!” she said.

    Meanwhile, Mauricio Cruz, a Fairfax, VA, letter carrier, said the pandemic taught him the importance of being proactive by wearing face coverings and practicing social distancing, both on the clock and off.

    “I would encourage my co-workers to be proactive, too,” Cruz said. “Be serious about your job more now because a lot of people depend on us. Keep pushing and we’re going to make it through these hard times.”

    Archives

On the Move

  • Climbing the ranks

    Executive, manager news

    Jan. 12

    Climbing the ranks

    Executive, manager news
    Jan. 12 at 10:30 a.m.

    Here’s a look at some recent changes in the USPS leadership ranks:

    • Steve Laird, the Westchester, NY, Processing and Distribution Center’s in-plant support manager, was named the Northern New Jersey Metro Processing and Distribution Center’s acting plant manager. Frantz Lauture, the New Jersey facility’s plant manager, was named the Westchester facility’s acting plant manager.

    • Vince Mahoney, Western-Pacific Area’s in-plant support manager, was named the San Bernardino, CA, Processing and Distribution Center’s acting plant manager.

    • David West, interactive digital manager at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC, retired Dec. 31 after 23 years with the Postal Service.

The List

  • Man of multitudes

    5 facts about Martin Luther King Jr.

    Jan. 12

    Man of multitudes

    5 facts about Martin Luther King Jr.
    Jan. 12 at 10:24 a.m.

    It may seem that not much more can be said about a towering figure such as Martin Luther King Jr., but the man contained multitudes. To mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18, here are a few lesser-known facts about the civil rights giant:

    1. King came from a family of preachers. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother and uncle were all preachers. “I didn’t have much choice,” King wrote in his autobiography. And yet as a teen he was a doubting Thomas who once scandalized a Sunday school class with his views. It wasn’t until his junior year at Morehouse College that he embraced the family business.

    2. Music and musicians accompanied him throughout his life. King’s mother was a pianist and organist who gave him piano lessons as a child. His wife was a musician and singer who was studying at the New England Conservatory when they met. And King sang in the church choir — unsurprising given his dynamic, cadenced oratory.

    3. He was a Trekkie. Nichelle Nichols, the African American actress who played Lt. Uhura on the original “Star Trek,” decided to move on to Broadway at the end of the first season in 1967. Creator Gene Roddenberry asked her to take a weekend to reconsider. During that weekend, Nichols happened to be at a fundraiser where King was present, and he asked to meet her because he was a huge fan of the show. She agreed, and when she explained to him that she was leaving the series, he passionately argued for the role’s importance and why she should stay. The rest is history.

    4. King revered Mohandas Gandhi. It was Gandhi’s example of nonviolence that informed King’s civil rights work. King referred to himself as a “pilgrim” in his 1959 trip to India, and one of his first stops was Gandhi’s cremation site. “It is one of the strange ironies of the modern world that the greatest Christian of the 20th century was not a member of the Christian church,” he once said in a sermon.

    5. He believed in economic justice. Decades before Andrew Yang, King was a proponent of a universal basic income. At the time of his death in 1968, he was poised to launch the Poor People’s Campaign and he had thrown his support behind a Memphis sanitation workers’ strike. “It’s a crime for people to live in this rich nation and receive starvation wages,” he said during one of his visits. A few weeks later, during another visit, he was assassinated.

    Archives

Mailbag

  • Richard Ripke, Bethpage, NY:

    The story about Mary Esther, FL Postmaster William “Butch” Lyle becoming a powerlifter world record holder is good stuff.

    Archives

Latest videos

  • ‘Customer Connect’ Jan. 11
  • ‘USPS All-Employee Message’ Jan. 4
  • ‘Nasdaq Opening Bell Ceremony’ Dec. 23, 2020

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