When the comments of an organization’s top executive to its board of directors are published in a press release after they’ve met, it’s likely that such a statement is less intended to report on the meeting’s proceedings than to provide curated information for public and media consumption. Any candid discussions among the organization’s leadership are kept confidential. The Postal Service’s…
Read More
Though the Postal Service has issued its PQ IV service performance data, it remains questionable whether the reported figures truly represent the service experience of the associated class or category of mail. Significant quantities of mail remain not “in measurement” for any of several reasons, but the leading causes are “long haul,” “no piece scan,” and “no start-the clock.” The…
Read More
As informed members of the commercial mailing community are aware, the Postal Service’s Board of Governors consists of the Postmaster General, the Deputy PMG, and nine political appointees who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The nine appointed governors serve staggered seven-year terms, and each can serve an additional holdover (or “grace”) year until a successor…
Read More
Anyone who’s been in or around the Postal Service long enough begins to see annual cycles in service, volume and revenue, and official pronouncements for any and all of it. At this time of year, the agency usually is finishing its ramp-up to the holiday shipping season. This year, the mid-term elections are also underway, meaning the usual high level…
Read More
In a memorandum opinion issued October 6 by the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Emmet Sullivan granted in part and denied in part motions related to a case that originated during the 2020 election season. Background Following the appointment of Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General in mid-2020, the politically charged pre-election period led to suspicions that…
Read More
A proposed rule published by the Postal Regulatory Commission in the September 30 Federal Register seeks to enhance the information provided by the Postal Service’s periodic reports about service performance. Background In an earlier advance notice of proposed rulemaking, published in the May 2 Federal Register, the PRC proposed “… revisions to existing annual and periodic service performance reporting requirements for the Postal Service’s market-dominant…
Read More
This article was produced exclusively for Mailers Hub by Martin I. Eisenstein and Jamie Szal of Brann & Isaacson. Brann & Isaacson is a boutique law firm that represents large and small online and multichannel companies, printers, commercial mail producers, and IT service providers located across the country. The firm advises companies of all sizes, including many in the Internet…
Read More
Persons who’ve heard Postmaster General Louis DeJoy speak more than once note that he tends to use the same format every time: Along the way, keep referring to (1) anyone who isn’t dogmatically committed to the Plan as “resistance” and “noise,” (2) the PAEA’s ratesetting system as “defective,” and (3) the Postal Service’s trucks as always carrying a lot of…
Read More
It’s hardly news that hard-copy mail volume is shrinking – it has been for fifteen years as the uptake of electronic messaging has accelerated. However, the diversion to electronic media that may work in some applications – personal emails and texts in place of written letters and cards – doesn’t mean all messages translate well. Many individuals still prefer paper bills and…
Read More
The concept of balance is present in many philosophies, operations, and financial considerations, and requires that competing factors and forces be in equilibrium for balance to be achieved. The analogy can be applied to the Postal Service which, financially, has been off balance for many years. The agency was debt-free at the end of fiscal 2005, i.e. until the Postal Accountability…
Read More