On November 24, the Postal Service published Postmarks and Postal Possession, its final rule about postmarks and their meaning. While the document seeks to clarify that postmarks don’t mean what many Americans might think, it’s fifty years too late in doing so. Moreover, given its association with the Regional Transportation Initiative, it contaminates a simple statement with other more subjective…
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Following the November 13-14 meeting of the Postal Service’s Board of Governors, the agency announced a loss of $8.98 billion for Fiscal Year 2025, less than the $9.5 billion loss in FY 2024, but also much less than the $2.1 billion surplus forecast in former PMG Louis DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan. Revenue and volume Total revenue for the year increased 1.15%…
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Sometimes it’s hard to get a straight answer. One such occasion was at the recent meeting of the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee. In a session that included a presentation about USPS service performance, the presenter showed charts (like the one above) that, among other data, compared service in late September 2025 to what it was a year earlier. After looking…
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In “Postmarks and Postal Possession,” a proposed rule published in the August 12 Federal Register, the Postal Service sought to establish a distinction between the date shown on a postmark and when the USPS was actually in possession of a mailpiece. After a lengthy exposition about the history of postmarks and how the Postal Service has applied them, the crux…
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Though not as yet listed on the White House website, several news outlets have reported that the president has nominated Anthony Lomangino to be a governor of the Postal Service, replacing Roman Martinez IV whose carryover year beyond the expiration of his term ends December 8. The nomination was received by the Senate on June 2 and referred to the…
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The Postal Service apparently wants to keep Doug Tulino on the job very badly. Tulino has spent his postal career in labor relations and human resources, becoming chief human resources officer and executive vice-president in 2020. Despite little if any experience in field operations or management, he was chosen by former postmaster general Louis DeJoy to serve as deputy PMG. …
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Having been leaked to the press earlier in the week, the big news from the Governors of the Postal Service was somewhat anti-climactic when, during the Friday public session of their May 9-10 meeting, they announced the selection of David Steiner as the 76th postmaster general. The official press release and concurrent Industry Alert contained the predictable paeans about the…
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In the past, when a postmaster general left, that person went into retirement or found other work but had no further involvement in the Postal Service. Most would say that’s how it should be – but the departure of Louis DeJoy has been different. Having been moved out his role unceremoniously and definitely not on his schedule, some people might…
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There’s another vacancy on the Postal Service’s Board of Governors: Robert Duncan resigned effective March 27. According to his letter of resignation that was included in the Postal Service’s press release, Duncan is now “coping with a chronic and progressive health condition that is preventing me from giving this role the full time and attention it deserves.” A supporter of…
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When Louis DeJoy announced February 18 that he’d “notified the Postal Service Board of Governors that it is time for them to begin the process of identifying his successor,” speculation began about how that process would unfold. In his statement, he clearly anticipated that the governors would have plenty of time to find his replacement and that he, in turn,…
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