The Social Security Administration said Friday that under its current budget, it could take more than a year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits under the Social Security Fairness Act, and explained how many recipients would actually be covered under the new law. “SSA’s ability to implement the law in a timely manner … Read more
Sprawling duties of the postmaster The postmaster general overseas a vast operation. Over 44% of the world’s mail is processed and delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, making it the largest delivery service in the world. In 2023 alone, the Postal Service handled 116.2 billion pieces of mail. And while processing and delivering mail is the key … Read more
GOP lawmakers are once again considering a litany of proposals that would require federal workers to pay more in exchange for less retirement and health care benefits. A 50-page document, compiled by GOP members of the House Budget Committee and first reported by Politico, outlines a list of provisions that could be included in the package, which … Read more
Inside the United States Postal Services’ regional facility on Gardiner Lane in Louisville, packages and mail — many long past due to their destination — fill bins as workers try to clear a backlog created by staffing shortages and icy routes.
On January 16, Representative Gerry Connolly, D-VA-11, reintroduced the Equal COLA Act, H.R. 491, to provide Federal Employees Retiree System (FERS) employees full cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to their federal annuities. Currently, FERS retirees do not receive a full COLA when consumer prices increase by more than 2 percent. If consumer prices increase between 2 and … Read more
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is vetting candidates to replace Postmaster General Louis DeJoy even though Trump won’t have direct authority to fire him, according to four people familiar with the conversations, an early signal of the incoming administration’s plans to exert control over — or privatize — the nation’s mail service. The postmaster general serves at … Read more
UPS SurePost packages are now being delivered by UPS drivers only, rather than a large portion of those parcels going to the U.S. Postal Service, a Teamsters union spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive. “Millions of packages moved away from SurePost and the United States Postal Service and returned to UPS package cars this month, now … Read more
The Postal Service’s Local Transportation Optimization initiative particularly impacted on-time delivery for rural customers, per an agency watchdog report. The U.S. Postal Service’s initial efforts to consolidate some transportation operations have negatively impacted service to customers, the agency’s Office of Inspector General said in a Dec. 18 report. The Postal Service’s goal is to move more … Read more
The ZIP Code was introduced in 1963 to improve the speed and efficiency of mail processing by using machine-readable codes. Over the years, it has become ubiquitous in the marketplace and the culture in general, and it’s one of the Postal Service’s most valuable assets. When it comes to postal rates and service standards, all ZIP … Read more
One of the U.S. Postal Service’s key reform initiatives is worsening service and raising costs, a recent inspector general report found, contrasting the agency’s claims about the impact of its changes. The IG said a pilot program to test USPS’ Regional Transportation Optimization plan, which requires mail to sit overnight at post offices instead of … Read more
On December 31, 2024, the UPS/USPS Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) officially expired, marking the end of a long, mostly silent period of negotiations. Unfortunately, these talks failed to produce a resolution, leaving shippers with unexpected consequences. Starting on January 2, 2025, shippers noticed an immediate problem: SurePost labels for P.O. Boxes and APO/FPO addresses began … Read more
Federal law says the government has to deliver the mail. It would take an act of Congress to change that. Because federal law establishes the postal service as a core function of the government, privatizing USPS would require Congress to pass a new law. The U.S. Postal Service in its current form was established by … Read more
(RUSHVILLE, Mo.) A beloved United States Postal Service worker in Rushville is spending the beginning of the new year navigating a new normal after her family’s house caught fire Monday evening. 72-year-old Bobbie Smith was away from her home when the fire took her house and everything in it. The house, which has belonged to … Read more
President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law Sunday afternoon, the final step needed for nearly 3 million public sector employees, retirees, spouses and surviving spouses to begin receiving larger monthly Social Security payments. The legislation repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset — two longstanding provisions of Social Security … Read more
“It’s the first time in my life I can say I love what I do,” says Daniel Campos, a mail carrier in Hollister, CA. When Campos first transitioned from a retail job to his part-time USPS position, he said, he felt like he didn’t know what he was getting himself into. He worked his way … Read more
I saw him up ahead in the fading light of an early December evening – an older gentleman was waiting at his mailbox. Informed by no more than my one year’s experience as a mail carrier, I suspected that he was most likely impatiently waiting for his tardy newspaper. So I braced myself, prepared to … Read more
The so-called “Regional Transportation Optimization” plan will cut the number of times USPS visits rural post offices to pick up outgoing mail. This will inevitably cause even more delays for folks in rural America. I’ve written the Postmaster General to let him know this is a terrible idea. In fact, it’s downright shameful. These changes … Read more