"...The United States Postal Service is spending $40 billion to “modernize” the nation’s postal system. That’s going to mean moving some mail processing operations to Denver from Cheyenne, and it could mean losing your local postmark unless you ask for it. ..."
"The Postal Service has announced holiday plans for Post Offices and blue collection boxes.
Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve: This year, Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 both fall on a Sunday, when normal closures apply. There are currently no plans for limited hours on Saturday, Dec. 23, or Saturday, Dec. 30.
There are no plans for early blue box collection times on Dec. 23 or Dec. 30.
Customers who are unable to mail items before the scheduled collection box pickup times on Dec. 23 should use the online Postal Locator tool to find Post Offices that may be open late.
Christmas Day and New Year’s Day: Post Offices will be closed on Monday, Dec. 25, and Monday, Jan. 1. Blue collection boxes will not be serviced these days and there are no residential or business deliveries — except for Priority Mail Express.
Post Offices will be open for business and regular mail delivery resumes on Tuesday, Dec. 26, and Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Blue collection boxes are not serviced on Sundays of federal holidays.
The USPS Holiday Newsroom has additional resources, including recommended holiday shipping and mailing dates, tools and expert advice. ..."
"...We use your mailing address for all official OPM correspondence and documents. To change your mailing address..."
"...Postal Service employees who have a USPS-issued iPhone or iPad must update the operating system or their device will be quarantined, starting Dec. 13. Apple released the operating system update — called iOS 17.1.2 — Nov. 30. The update is available through the iPhone or iPad’s Settings app. ...“This action is necessary to safeguard against cyberthreats,” said Heather Dyer, chief information security officer."
"...onslaught of Amazon packages — and local postal workers say they have been ordered to deliver those packages first. ...The result has been chaos at the Bemidji post office. Mail is getting backed up, sometimes for days, leaving local residents waiting for checks, credit card statements, health insurance documents and tax rebates. Routes meant to take eight or nine hours are stretching to 10 or 12. At least five carriers have quit, and the post office has banned scheduled sick days for the rest of the year, carriers say. ...Bemidji is not the only place where postal workers say they have been overwhelmed by packages from Amazon, the ubiquitous e-commerce giant. Carriers and local officials say mail service has been disrupted in rural communities"
"The Postal Service’s annual Operation Santa turns 111 years old this year, and for the very first time in the program’s history, the charitable event is starting before Black Friday.
Operation Santa is a yearly tradition in which children, individuals and families write letters to “Santa” in hopes of having some wishes fulfilled that might otherwise go unanswered. ..."
"...the agency reported a loss of $6.5 billion, a major step backward after USPS leaders had predicted it would break even. ...Mail volume across the U.S. declined almost 9%, with the number of mailed items falling to about 116 billion, compared with 127 billion the previous year. ...the historical inflationary environment we encountered and our inability to obtain the [Civil Service Retirement System] reform we sought, ..."Twice-annual, above-inflation postage hikes are worsening the USPS' financial woes and trapping it in quicksand, as even more mail is driven out of the system," Keep US Posted Executive Director Kevin Yoder, a former Congressman from Kansas, said in a statement. "
'Leroy Brown was just about to start his career with the United States Postal Service. His first day: Dec. 31, 1955. ...He's still going strong, working in the Los Angeles International Service Center, a USPS processing center. The 90-year-old is in his 70th year of service to the federal government, including a two-year stint in the U.S. Army...Retirement doesn't seem to be in the nonagenarian's plans. He's healthy, he's active, he loves being around other people and, well, he's not really sure what he'd do anyway. "I don't want to turn into a couch potato," Brown said. "I don't just want to sit around in one place."...'
"...Enclosed is a copy of a recently signed MOU on the Staffing of the Sorting and Delivery Centers (S&DCs) between the USPS and the NPMHU. The S&DCs are a new facility from the Deliver for America Plan that will create large carrier stations by consolidating smaller offices. As set forth in the MOU the parties agree to allow management to exceed..."
"...The agency’s federal law enforcement arm, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, arrested 109 for robberies and more than 530 for mail theft. ..."
"...Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico has a mailbox 750 feet underground, and mail sent from there receives a handstamp noting the distance below the surface...."
"USPS employees have four opportunities to attend webinars about their benefits. ...Postal Service employes can participate in a series of upcoming informational webinars from the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP).
Here are the titles and dates for the sessions, which will each start at 2 p.m. Eastern time and last one hour:...
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"...The Office of Personnel Management has extended the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) contract with the John Hancock Life and Health Insurance Co. for seven years.
Under the new contract, a rate increase will be needed for many current enrollees because the current FLTCIP premiums are not sufficient to meet the program’s future projected obligations.
Each affected enrollee will receive a package that will include an introductory letter, a return envelope, an informational brochure and a benefit options worksheet with detailed information about the enrollee’s current coverage and options to change coverage.
These packages were mailed in mid-September.
The deadline for enrollees to submit a selection is Nov. 9.
...The decision period is for affected FLTCIP enrollees only. This is is not a general open season because in December, the Office of Personnel Management suspended new applications for FLTCIP coverage for two years."
"...The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of $150,000 for information on the postal worker robbed at gunpoint in Harvey this week – by a man and woman who had a child with them. ..."
"Employees looking for the latest news about the Postal Service and the Delivering for America plan have several options.
The Newsroom website offers:
• The Eagle, a quarterly magazine about the Postal Service’s business;
• “Mailin’ It!,” a podcast that covers a variety of postal topics;
• Postal Posts, the organization’s corporate blog; and
• News releases and media statements.
USPS also produces...
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