For Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the new Atlanta Regional Processing and Distribution Center, 25 miles southwest of downtown, was to be a centerpiece example of how his 10-Year Plan would replace the “inefficient” network of “randomly” located processing centers with a matrix of “high-performing” facilities enabling “service excellence.” Six months after its February 24 activation, the Atlanta RPDC is anything…
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Union Expresses Opposition to Service Proposal
It’s not often that ratepayers and a postal union can find common ground, but the Postal Service’s proposal to again reduce service standards has provided one. The example was an August 23 statement by Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union: “The American Postal Workers Union is deeply concerned regarding the August 22nd announcement from postal management, with…
Read MoreUSPS Proposes to Lower Service Standards – Again
Though spun to appear as improving service performance, the Postal Service has announced a proposal to further reduce service standards so it can eliminate afternoon collections nationally. The announcement preceded a planned webinar to discuss the proposal in advance of filing for an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission. Though the USPS is overtly committed to going through the…
Read MoreUSPS Scanning Data Misrepresents Date of Mailing
The popular perception may be that trackable mailpieces are scanned when deposited, during processing, and at delivery and that, in turn, the places, dates, and times reported by the Postal Service are accurate reflections of real events, including where and when they occurred. However, a situation reported by a Mailers Hub subscriber not only suggests that perception is incorrect, but…
Read MoreUntouchable – Commentary
In speaking with our subscribers, a frequent and predictable topic is the price and service impacts of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan. At some point in such conversations comes the question of how and by whom implementation of his Plan can be slowed or stopped. The answer is simple: only two entities can do that, and neither is about…
Read MoreMissing the Opportunity – Commentary
It’s not news that frequent price increases, declining volume, and worsening service have characterized the Postal Service as the policies of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy have been implemented. It’s also not news that these conditions have drawn increasing attention from Congress and the Postal Regulatory Commission. Nonetheless, nothing has been done – other than hearings and letters and other protestations…
Read MoreLegislation Seeks to Improve Service for Periodicals
A bill introduced in the Senate last May, and last week in the House, would ban additional pricing authority for Periodicals unless the Postal Service can improve service for the class. S 4378, titled the Deliver for Democracy Act, was introduced May 21 by Senator Peter Welch (VT) with eight bipartisan cosponsors. The companion House bill was introduced July 23…
Read MorePRC “Acknowledges” Parcel Select Price Increase
As has become its custom, the Postal Service coordinates price changes for market-dominant and competitive products so both can be implemented on the same day; the price change implemented yesterday was no exception. What was different – in both – was that the Postal Regulatory Commission did not silently go through the motions of checking compliance with statutory and regulatory…
Read MoreOfficials Seek USPS Assurance About Election Mail
The Postal Service’s continued poor service performance and the ongoing disruptions caused by changes to its transportation, processing, and delivery networks remain a concern to members of Congress. This was reflected in a June 24 letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy from nineteen members of the US Senate seeking additional information about the agency’s preparations for the election season. In…
Read MorePRC Opens Rulemaking About USPS Service Measurement
In an order issued July 2, the Postal Regulatory Commission opened a rulemaking to evaluate the Postal Service’s service performance measurement system. As is reported regularly in Mailers Hub News, the current system does not measure service on a significant portion of the mailstream. In PQII/FY2024 (January-March), for example, only 63.81% of First-Class Mail (all commercial rate), 72.37% of Marketing…
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