As the saying goes, “Success has many parents while failure is an orphan.” To a degree, this may apply to the stillborn negotiated service agreement with Publishers Clearing House that the Postal Service had filed last August 11. That filing was different from other NSAs in that it was for market-dominant mail, not competitive products. As the USPS stated in…
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We thought it important to ring in the New Year by highlighting three legal developments early enough in the year so as to permit enough time to strategically mitigate the risks of failing to comply with these new laws. (We will go into more detail about these developments during our Webinar at 1 pm on February 13, 2024.) CTA First…
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In an unabashed example of creative reinterpretation, the Postal Service has reframed the ongoing changes to its processing and transportation networks as initiatives designed to reduce its carbon footprint. In a lengthy Industry Alert issued February 6, the agency asserted that the environmental benefits flow from elements of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan, repeating some of his stock criticisms…
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Industry people who’ve often heard Postmaster General Louis DeJoy speak, such as at the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee, usually have a different perspective of him than those who’ve heard him less, such as at the National Postal Forum. Just about every time, the topic is his 10-Year Plan. On its face, DeJoy’s argument about the need to take decisive action…
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It’s understandable that there should be a natural tension between a regulator and the regulated, and that’s always been the case between the Postal Regulatory Commission and the Postal Service. Even so, there would be periodic briefings and discussions, and the relationship was civil. However, under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, that relationship, at least from the Postal Service’s side, has…
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Despite regular claims of “steady” service, the Postal Service’s own data shows that the only steadiness of service is in its worsening. Though the agency has granular service performance data, by weeks and months if not days; by geographic area if not by ZIP Code and processing facility; and by specific products within the classes of mail, what it chooses…
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As regular readers know, the Postal Service’s ongoing measures to implement elements of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan seldom are revealed directly to ratepayers or commercial mail producers. Rather, because of contractual obligations, information about facility changes and other matters having a potential impact on unionized employees is presented to the labor groups. In turn, that information is often…
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As was widely reported last month after the Postal Service released it financial results for Fiscal Year 2023 (October 2022 through September 2023), the third year of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-Year Plan, the agency’s anticipated and actual financial performance numbers are far apart. Projections On page 46 of The Plan, the agency charted its projected net losses totaling $159.8…
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Everyone is familiar with “the dog ate my homework” as characterizing any proffered excuse that falls short of being an adequate explanation for the related circumstance. (Pity the poor kid whose dog really did eat his homework.) The latest example is in one of the Postal Service’s weekly news releases bragging about its “stable” service performance. In the December 11…
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Last February 7, a bill was introduced in the Illinois Senate by Senator Rachel Ventura (43rd). As synopsized at the time, SB 1440: “Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that it is an unlawful practice under the Act to knowingly mail or send a postcard or letter to a recipient in the State if the postcard…
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