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This rural carrier aided a customer stranded outdoors after falling and breaking her leg

Rural Carrier Debra Mericle was delivering mail in Paulding, OH, in January when she heard a cry for help. She found an older customer on the ground, in pain, near the foot of the steps to the woman’s home. The customer said she’d slipped on ice while trying to feed ...

40 Years a Rural Carrier: Bellevue’s Denny Walagmuth retires after four decades

Denny Walgamuth delivered his last round of mail to local folks last week, as the longtime rural mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service officially retired after 40 years on the job. Walgamuth, who graduated from Bellevue High School (PS1) in 1979, started as a part-timer for the postal service ...

USPS OIG – After-Action Review of Unauthorized Access to USPS Employee Self-Service Portal (LiteBlue)

Background The U.S. Postal Service is the second largest employer in the United States with over 640,000 employees and $2.15 billion in bi-weekly salaries. To provide employees with convenient access to their payroll, benefits, and personnel data, the Postal Service uses the LiteBlue portal. This web-based portal contains several human ...

Rural Carrier EMA to Increase 3.5 Cents Effective June 29, 2024

On June 12, 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the May Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which established the Private Transportation Index at 280.714, an increase from the February 2024 Index of 269.969. Therefore, based on the May 2024 CPI-W release, the Equipment ...

Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Updates

Special Enrollment Period: If you were an annuitant entitled to Medicare Part A (typically at age 65) as of Jan. 1, 2024, and did not enroll in Medicare Part B, you and your covered eligible family members may be able to participate in a one-time PSHB Special Enrollment Period (SEP) ...

First NGDVs Delivered to the Postal Service

The first Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDVs) were delivered to the United States Postal Service by Oshkosh Defense on May 31, 2024. These vehicles are the result of more than a decade of planning and testing, and have been deployed to the Athens, GA, S&DC (Sorting and Delivery Center) to ...

Stauber Introduces MAIL Act to Force USPS to Better Support Rural Postal Workers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) introduced the Modifying Allocations to Improve Local Service (MAIL) Act, legislation to improve mail operations in Minnesota by requiring the United States Postal Service (USPS) to redistribute the $3 billion in funding originally appropriated for their acquisition of a new fleet of electric ...

Durbin, Rounds Introduce Legislation To Protect Rural Postal Processing Facilities

In A Response To Threats Of Closing Four Mail Processing Centers In Illinois, Durbin Introduced The Bipartisan Postal Processing Protection Act WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) today introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to protect mail ...

USPS Releases Progress Report on the Delivering for America Plan

The United States Postal Service reported on progress of the Delivering for America (DFA) Plan for the first and second quarters of Fiscal Year 2024 on May 31, as required by Section 207 of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022. They report an 82% on-time service performance for periodicals ...

eOPF access restored for postal employees

Access to an employee’s Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) has been restored. To view your eOPF, log into LiteBlue (liteblue.usps.gov). From the Apps tab, click on eOPF ...

Out for delivery in Scappoose: At work with a rural mail carrier

Have you ever wondered what a day at work is like for the people who fill up your mailbox? For the latest installment of our At Work With series, we delivered on a listener suggestion and spent the day with rural letter carrier Connie Gunn in Scappoose ...

Rural Carrier News you may have missed in May 2024

The latest rural carrier newsletter is live! ...

U.S. Postal Service Releases Dog Bite National Rankings

WASHINGTON — Incidents involving dog attacks on Postal Service employees rose to more than 5,800 cases last year. As part of the USPS 2024 National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign, the organization is offering crucial information on how dog owners can be good stewards for safe mail delivery and ensure the ...

Robberies and Other Crimes Against Postal Service Workers Are Up—What’s Being Done About It?

Many of us have been the victims of porch piracy—the theft of packages and mail left at our door. But you may be surprised to hear that U.S. Postal Service workers themselves, as well as USPS buildings, are also targeted for theft. Serious crimes, including robberies against Postal Service letter ...

Rural mail carrier recognized for 35+ year service to Revillo community

Brian Sime was recently named South Dakota's Rural Letter Carrier of the Year. Sime has driven his mail route around Revillo, South Dakota, for 35 years. Before that, his father drove the route, so the route has been in his family for 70 years. He joins "In the Moment" to ...

United States Postal Service and National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association Continue Contract Negotiations

ALEXANDRIA, VA— The United States Postal Service and the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) have agreed to extend contract negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. Although the contract with the NRLCA expired at midnight on Monday, May 20th, the Postal Service and the NRLCA have mutually decided to ...

Mailbox Improvement Week is here

The Postal Service is encouraging customers to spruce up their mailboxes during Mailbox Improvement Week, which begins Sunday, May 19. Mailboxes should be fully operational, able to protect mail from the weather, safe to use, conveniently located and neat in appearance. They should also be large enough to support the ...