December 22, 2020 A COVID Relief bill has passed the U.S. House and Senate. The bill has been sent to the President who is expected to sign sometime in the next few days. Provisions in the bill affecting the US Postal Service include: No part of funds to be used to consolidate or close small…
December 14, 2020. AUSPL leadership and members met today with Rep. Gerald Connolly to discuss the prospects for postal reform legislation in the 117th Congress starting in January of 2021. Rep. Connolly stressed the importance of postal facilities in rural America, their roles as vital community centers, and their unique potential for provision of additional…
November 30, 2020 The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has created a new rate making system for the USPS. The new system ties rate setting to the decline in mail density and the statutorily mandated payments for retirement costs. Both of which, says the PRC, are out of the control of the USPS. The Postal…
The USPS OIG issued a November 20, 2020 audit report evaluating steps the USPS had taken through July 2020 to keep its employees safe through the COVID-19 outbreak. In February of 2020 the USPS reported the first positive COVID-19 test of a Postal employee. As of July 31, 2020, 33,945 employees took leave to quarantine,…
The COVID pandemic continues to affect USPS results in both revenue and expenses. While Operating Revenue showed an increased of nearly $2 billion to $73.1 billion over 2019, OperatinSPExpenses for the year increased by $2.3 billion or 2.9% to $82.2 billion. Net loss for 2020 was $9.2 billion, an increase of $363 million over the…
Amazon looks into last mile delivery for its packages. An article in The Verge* states that Amazon would use shipping hubs in a wagon wheel, or hub-and-spoke concept for support of smaller shipping facilities in America’s rural areas. Further evidence of this goal is found in a September 2020 employment ad for a DSP Pricing…
In September 2020 U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero directed USPS to submit a list of steps necessary to return on-time delivery scores for first-class mail and marketing mail to the 93% high reported for the week of February 8, 2020. Judge Marrero’s directive came after delays in mail delivery prompted congressional hearings, lawsuits, and a…
On October 1, 2020 the House of Representatives passed an updated version of the HEROES ACT. The part of that Act dealing with the USPS includes dedicating $15 billion for the Postal Service to backfill revenue forgone due to the coronavirus pandemic, plus language providing additional protections to Postal workers. An additional $15 million is…
PMG DeJoy will testify on Friday, August 21 at 9am EST, before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Finances and Operations of USPS during COVID-19 and upcoming elections. DeJoy will again testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Monday, August 24, at 10am EST on protecting the timely delivery of mail, medicine, and…
National news Aug. 18, 2020 WASHINGTON, DC — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy issued the following statement today: “The United States Postal Service will play a critical role this year in delivering election mail for millions of voters across the country. There has been a lot of discussion recently about whether the Postal Service is ready,…