Embarrass post office suspended over safety issues

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The Postal Service has declared an emergency suspension for the post office in Embarrass, Minnesota, due to structural and safety issues with the building.  The decision took the community by surprise, but the condition of the post office building had been a concern for a while.  According to USPS media spokesperson Pete Nowacki, there are issues with the floor joists, … Read More

USPS moves to dismiss Berkeley’s complaint, removes post office from market

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Due to ongoing litigation with the city of Berkeley regarding the sale of the Downtown Berkeley post office, the U.S. Postal Service removed the location from its commercial listings of buildings for sale earlier this month. On Jan. 22, USPS made a motion to dismiss a complaint the city filed regarding the sale of the building, located on Milvia Street and Allston Way.  Read … Read More

Commonomics USA hosts conference call on postal banking

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Commonomics USA (formerly BankACT), a leading voice for postal banking since USPS inspector general Dave Williams first proposed it in January 2014, will host a series of conference calls featuring prominent economists and experts on United States Postal Service-based financial services, beginning on  Tuesday, February 3, when Dean Baker, American macroeconomist and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy … Read More

Historic Wilkes Barre post office sold

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Another historic post office has been sold.  The Kingston Branch post office on Wyoming Avenue in Wilkes Barre, Penn., has been sold to the Peoples Security Bank and Trust for $495,000.  The post office was built in 1936, and it’s been occupied by the post office since 1939.  The Postal Service will continue to operate a retail office in the building, … Read More

The Multiplier Effect: How consolidating mail processing plants hurts the economy

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When the Postal Service closes a large mail processing plant, it doesn't just impact postal workers.  There can also be significant indirect effects.  Other people lose their jobs, business activity slows, tax revenues decline.  The loss of postal jobs thus has a multiplier effect that ripples through the economy of the entire region.  When dozens of plants are closed across … Read More

Lee’s Summit, MO post office to get annexed

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The Postal Service is planning to close the post office at 210 SW Market Street indowntown Lee’s Summit, Missouri.  A new retail office will be opened in the carrier annex on 1404 SW Market, about a mile away.  The Postal Service says officials are in “early stages” of talking about the step.  “Nothing’s settled, this is only a proposal,” a … Read More

Norfolk NE post office moves to processing center

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The Postal Service has "relocated" the post office in Norfolk, Nebraska (pop. 24,000).  The post office in the middle of downtown Norfolk closed this week, and a new office was opened in a USPS processing center a couple of miles away.  The new post office is now at the dead end of an industrial road (it's called South Pine Industrial Road), and … Read More

Pushing the Envelope: The USPS Long Life Vehicle

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The Postal Service is planning to replace its aging fleet of Long Life Vehicles (LLVs).  This infographic tells the story of the Postal Service's vehicles and shows the benefits of investing in electric trucks.  Read more.

Pushing the Envelope: The USPS Long Life Vehicle

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The Postal Service is planning to replace its aging fleet of Long Life Vehicles (LLVs).  This infographic tells the story of the Postal Service’s vehicles and shows the benefits of investing in electric trucks. (Click anywhere on the graphic to go to a larger version.) Source: GreatBusinessSchools.org

Bronx Post Office Nears Its Future As a Dining and Retail Mecca

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The Bronx General Post Office is close to getting the go-ahead for rebirth.  In 2014, Young Woo & Associates paid $19 million to the U.S. Postal Service for the site, and yesterday the developer brought his plan—which includes a total revamp of use including office space, shops, restaurants, and a rooftop terrace—before the Landmarks Preservation Commission.  Read more.

Postal rates going up again — and maybe down too

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On Thursday the Postal Service filed a notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission saying it intends to raise postal rates on April 26, 2015, under its price cap authority. The USPS press release says that the price hike will generate $400 million in contribution during FY 2015 (there will be only five months left in the fiscal year) and $900 … Read More

PRC’s Goldway says plant consolidations threaten integrity of Universal Service

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Postal Regulatory Commissioner Ruth Goldway has written an op-ed for the Hill Congress blog criticizing the Postal Service’s decision to move forward with more plant consolidations and changing service standards. “This latest round of operational cuts,” writes Goldway, “threatens the very integrity and concept of Universal Service — the Postal Service’s primary obligation under the law.” Goldway goes on to … Read More

CPI rate increase looks likely as exigent increase comes to an end

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Yesterday the Postal Regulatory Commission issued an order regarding the removal of the exigent rate increase, which will take place sometime late this summer.  The order addresses several issues, like providing advance notice to the mailers, what to do about Forever stamps purchased before and during the surcharge period, and so on.  The discussion in the order also makes it … Read More

How the new service standards may slow down much more mail than the Postal Service is saying

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The mail is slowing down again, but it’s not clear how much.  There’s good reason to be believe, though, that it will more than the Postal Service is saying. The first slowdown took place in July 2012, when the Postal Service implemented phase one of the Network Rationalization plan, which closed about 150 mail processing plants and established interim service standards that … Read More

NRLCA, APWU, and USPS go to court over who sorts the mail

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Early last fall, the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) filed a labor grievance against the Postal Service concerning who separates and sorts the mail brought back to the post office by rural carriers.  Now the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association (NRLCA) has filed a lawsuit against the Postal Service and the APWU over the issue. The case involves work assignments … Read More