Category Archive

New book examines the attack on the people’s post office and the fight to defend it

Steve HutkinsNovember 8, 2021Blog, Slideshow

“First Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat,” by historian Christopher Shaw, is hot off the presses.

Communities and Postal Workers United: Fall 2021 Newsletter

Steve HutkinsSeptember 28, 2021Blog, Slideshow

CPWU reports on efforts by postal workers to stop the nationwide slowdown of First Class mail on October 1.

Reply to the USPS: How the new service standards will cause geographic discrimination

SteveJune 28, 2021Blog, Slideshow

Briefs and Replies have been submitted for the PRC’s Advisory Opinion on the USPS plan to slow down First Class mail. Here’s my Reply Brief.

Why the USPS proposal to reduce service standards will cause “undue discrimination”

SteveJune 21, 2021Blog, Slideshow

Because of their disparate impacts on regions of the country, the proposed changes will result in unreasonable and undue discrimination among users of the mail, in violation of 39 U.S. Code § 403(c).

Postal advocate testifies against reducing USPS service standards

SteveJune 8, 2021Blog, Slideshow

Postal advocate Douglas Carlson tells the PRC how slowing down the mail will cause a range of problems at his institution.

Is ending air mail unfair? Testimony for the PRC’s Advisory Opinion on Changing Service Standards

SteveJune 3, 2021Blog, Slideshow

The Postal Service is proposing to cut back on air transportation for First Class mail and perhaps eventually to end it completely. How would that impact different parts of the country?

How the postal reform bill may help the Postal Service slow down the mail

SteveMay 21, 2021Blog, Featured, Slideshow

There is much in the proposed legislation to recommend it, but there is no reason for Section 208 to be included. Congress should not be facilitating Postmaster General DeJoy’s efforts to slow down the mail.

Mapping out the changes in USPS service standards

SteveMay 6, 2021Blog, Slideshow

What the USPS 10-year plan may have to say about future rate increases

SteveMarch 24, 2021Blog, Slideshow

The 10-year plan did not reveal the size of the rate increase but it left a few clues.

“Save the Post Office” launches new Service Performance Dashboard

SteveMarch 7, 2021Blog, Slideshow

The Dashboard provides easy access to the recent performance reports and lots of charts too.

The Postal Service wants to slow down the mail, Congress says not so fast

SteveFebruary 22, 2021Blog, Slideshow

The PMG wants to change service standards; the House Committee on Oversight and Reform wants to change the law.

Back to the Future: The USPS, PRC and Mailers revisit the meaning of PAEA

SteveFebruary 19, 2021Blog, Slideshow

The rate case is now in the DC Circuit, where the parties are arguing about what Congress meant when it gave the PRC authority to establish a new rate system.

The 2020 Mail Delays: Stats & Charts

SteveFebruary 14, 2021Slideshow

The PRC has been scrutinizing on-time service performance and requesting data about the scope and causes of mail delays

How the pandemic could lead to a big USPS price hike

SteveJanuary 4, 2021Blog, Slideshow

Under the newly revised system, the possible rate increases are considerably greater than what the PRC had envisioned over the past couple of years

City of Spanish Fort, AL, appeals closure of its post office

SteveDecember 28, 2020Blog, Slideshow

Because it’s a contract post office, the USPS and PRC will say the closure is not covered by federal regulations.

PRC busts the price cap, lawsuits sure to follow

SteveDecember 1, 2020Blog, Slideshow

The new rate system gives the USPS above-inflation pricing authority, but the decision is likely to be challenged in court