USPS Begins Insourcing Transportation Work

Looking to reduce the Postal Service’s use of air transportation, and make feasible slower service for First-Class Mail, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy moved significant quantities of mail onto ground transportation routes for all but the greatest distances. Now, looking for ways to reduce the reliance on contractors for that service, the PMG is beginning to insource USPS transportation.  As reported…

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Now Available On-Demand – Tax Deep Dive

On February 21, in their webinar, the “Bad News About Sales Tax: The Tax Man Cometh,”  lawyers Martin Eisenstein and Jamie Szal of Brann & Isaacson, the Mailers Hub-recommended law firm, cautioned close to 100 attendees – from direct mail producers and other companies – of the threat of state sales taxes and other taxes pose that they may unknowingly be exposed…

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GCA, USPS, Differ Over Information Request

In an August 14 filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission, the Greeting Card Association moved for the issuance of an official information request as part of the Public Inquiry on Changes Associated with the Delivering For America Plan (Docket No. PI2023-4). Motion and opposition The GCA explained the reasons for its motion: “The DfA plan depends pervasively on certain projections.…

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USPS Files for Market-Dominant NSA

This article and more can be found in the August 28, 2023 issue of Mailers Hub News Late on Friday, August 11, the Postal Service submitted a request to the Postal Regulatory Commission seeking approval for a negotiated service agreement with Publishers Clearing House.  Though the USPS files NSA requests many times a week, the August 11 filing was different…

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Mixed Messages from the USPS About Cost Reductions

Anyone familiar with the Postmaster General’s 10-Year Plan knows that part of the strategy to balance the agency’s books includes not only price increases but cost reductions from improved efficiency in USPS operations.  Many readers, particularly noting the changes now underway in the Postal Service’s processing, transportation, and delivery networks, conclude that some of the forecasted efficiency and savings will…

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Industry Group Challenges Economics of the PMG’s Plan

(Correction: In the recent issue of Mailers Hub News, Issue #181, former Congressman Kevin Yoder was incorrectly identified as Dennis Yoder.) In a recently publicized May 17 letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, former Congressman Kevin Yoder, now Executive Director of Keep Us Posted, questioned the economic assumptions…

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Congress, the USPS, and Imports

This article was produced by Merry Law, Mailers Hub’s expert consultant on international mail. Merry may be reached at [email protected] The US Congress has a long history of passing bills related to the USPS.  The Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA) of 2022 was the first to pass Congress since the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), passed in 2006.  (Congress…

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Trademarks and Copyrights for Designers

This article was produced exclusively for Mailers Hub by Stacy O. Stitham and Adam Mooney of Brann & Isaacson. We could easily fill an entire volume about copyright law, with a second devoted to trademark topics.  With much less space and time at our disposal, we will focus on a few niche areas that may have particular relevance to a…

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House Vote on Agency Authority Could Impact PRC Decisions

As reported on June 15 by Government Executive, a bill passed by the House of Representatives could reverse precedent and restrict a government agency’s latitude in interpreting and applying the statutes it’s charged with implementing. As stated in the article, “The Separation of Powers Restoration Act (HR 288) would allow federal courts to review all aspects of a law’s implementation…

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PRC Reopens 2021 Docket on USPS Service Performance, Seeks New Comments

On June 12, the Postal Regulatory Commission reopened a docket initiated in 2021 but later suspended while a related matter was being reviewed in federal court. Docket RM2021-2, opened January 15, 2021, was to consider a “PerformanceIncentive Mechanism” to motivate improved Postal Service performance. As stated in the original Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking, the PRC sought “… input from…

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