LINK mobile
  • News
  • Facts
  • People
  • Etc.
  • Videos
Printable version
View archives published before year 2015

USPS News Link

Skip to content
  • About the Business
  • Best Practices
  • By the numbers
  • Heroes’ corner
  • Link welcomes you
  • Mailbag
  • Need to Know
  • News Archives
  • On the Job
  • Privacy & Terms of Use
  • Quotable quotes
  • The List
  • Tip of the day

Marking a milestone

Top story

Marking a milestone
Informed Delivery reaches subscriber goal
2 days ago
Better shop around
Tool allows you to compare health plans
2 days ago
Cybersecurity training
Contractors must complete three courses
2 days ago

Warm welcome

Warm welcome

Video showcases Holiday Wreaths ceremony
The Holiday Wreaths stamp dedication ceremony is highlighted in a new Postal Service video.
2 days ago

USPS finances

Link Extra

USPS finances

Year-end results reported
The Postal Service has reported its financial results for fiscal 2019 (Oct. 1, 2018-Sept. 30, 2019).
3 days ago

Going the extra mile

Going the extra mile

Showcasing employees’ holiday efforts
Do you know a Postal Service employee who is going the extra mile for customers during this year’s peak delivery season?
3 days ago

Easy does it

Easy does it

Use PostalEASE to change benefits
Do you need help figuring out which health care, dental and vision plan is best for you during open season?
3 days ago

A grandmother’s love

A grandmother’s love

Charity helps employee, granddaughter
Lynn Ackerson is thankful for the help she receives from an organization that aids people seeking foster care, guardianship and adoption assistance.
4 days ago

Fair share

Fair share

Learn about benefits at virtual events
Postal Service employees can participate in an online virtual benefits fair throughout this year’s open season, which runs from Nov. 11-Dec. 9.
4 days ago

Need to know

Need to know

Open season changes announced
The Postal Service wants employees to know about some important changes concerning the open season benefits enrollment period that began this week.
5 days ago

Now open

Now open

Annual benefits enrollment period begins
Open season, the once-a-year opportunity for Postal Service employees to make changes to their health coverage or choose a new plan, is Nov. 11-Dec. 9.
6 days ago

Holiday color

News Briefs

Holiday color

Toolbox resources highlighted, too
Download this year’s holiday coloring page and read about seasonal resources available through the Postal Communicator’s Toolbox.
1 week ago

Archives

About the Business

  • Shop around

    Post Offices help serve customers

    Nov. 12

    Shop around

    Post Offices help serve customers
    Nov. 12 at 11:18 a.m.

    USPS doesn’t just serve every community in the United States.

    The Postal Service is part of every community, too.

    The organization manages more than 31,000 Post Offices in the United States. This means USPS has the nation’s largest retail network — bigger than McDonald’s, Starbucks and Walmart combined, domestically.

    Customers know they can go to a neighborhood Post Office to handle all their postal needs, whether it’s buying stamps, mailing a bill payment or shipping a package.

    The organization also offers many online options, including usps.com, where customers can conduct multiple transactions.

    Yet even in the digital age, many people still prefer to do business with USPS in person.

    In fact, the Postal Service recorded more than 838 million retail customer visits in 2018, generating more than $12 billion in retail revenue.

    USPS retail locations come in all shapes and sizes, too.

    New York City’s James A. Farley Post Office boasts 393,000 square feet of retail space, more than any other office, while the Ochopee, FL, Post Office — a building that used to be a storage facility for irrigation pipes — has just 61.3 square feet, making it the nation’s smallest Post Office.

    Archives

Heroes’ Corner

  • Carrier care

    Employee renders aid to postal veteran

    Nov. 15

    Carrier care

    Employee renders aid to postal veteran
    Nov. 15 at midnight

    Letter Carrier Jeffrey Willis was recently delivering mail in an Alliance, OH, neighborhood when he encountered an older customer, Duane Zorger, who was in medical distress outside his residence.

    Willis called 911 and remained on the scene until emergency responders arrived and took Zorger to a hospital, where he was evaluated for a potential stroke.

    Diane Oaks, Zorger’s daughter, later gave Willis a card.

    “He used to be a mailman,” she wrote, “so I thank you for your kindness and concern. It’s so good to see in a world that doesn’t always look out for each other.”

    Archives

Best Practices

  • Showing love

    Finding the right CFC charity for you

    Nov. 4

    Showing love

    Finding the right CFC charity for you
    Nov. 4 at 10:26 a.m.

    Laree Martin looks forward to the Combined Federal Campaign each year.

    The Postal Service attorney has donated to the annual charity drive, also known as the CFC, for more than two decades. She especially enjoys reading the CFC catalog.

    “It’s fascinating to see what all the organizations are doing and who or what they help,” says Martin, who works at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. “Looking at the catalog helps me learn about new ones I could donate to.”

    The CFC allows federal employees, retirees and contractors to contribute to more than 7,000 charities. USPS workers pledged $7.7 million during the previous drive, exceeding the organization’s goal by 20 percent.

    To help employees participate this year, Martin offers these tips:

    • Do your homework. The CFC online pledging system allows you to search for organizations by name or by category.

    Many USPS facilities also hold CFC fairs that allow employees to meet representatives from participating charities.

    • Give wisely. “Start out by donating an amount that’s comfortable for you, and then see if you can do a little more the next year,” Martin says. Remember: Donations to CFC charities are tax deductible.

    • Consider donating your time, too. In addition to giving money, the online pledging system allows you to search for organizations that accept volunteer hours.

    Martin’s final piece of advice: Don’t underestimate the personal advantages of charitable giving.

    “One of the most important beneficiaries of your CFC donation is you,” she says. “You help your emotional well-being and sense of community. It makes you feel good.”

    Archives

On the Job

  • With care

    Mail handler sees herself as customer

    Nov. 8

    With care

    Mail handler sees herself as customer
    Nov. 8 at 10:38 a.m.

    My name is Linda Anderson and I’m a mail handler at the Merrifield, VA, Processing and Distribution Center. I unload and separate mail before it’s routed to distribution areas for processing.

    I primarily use an automatic induction flat sorter machine. I load the machine, which reads the ZIP Code and sends the mail where it’s supposed to go. I handle thousands of mailpieces each day.

    I’m a country girl, so I’m not afraid to do hard work.

    Before I joined USPS in 1987, I held various jobs. I once worked for a company that made military weapons. I would fill Tomahawk missiles with propellant. It was tedious and dangerous. Before that, I worked in a lumberyard.

    My aunt and uncle worked at the Warrenton, VA, Post Office. They encouraged me to apply for a job with USPS. When I saw my first postal paycheck, I said, “OK, this might be something I could stick with.”

    I think what I do is important. The Postal Service has a duty to the community. I don’t see our customers, but I know they have faith in us to get their bill payments and packages delivered on time. I’m like the customer because I definitely want my mail to get where it’s going in a timely manner.

    When I’m not working, I spend time with my grandson. I enjoy every moment of it. My daughter has another one on the way, so I’ll soon have two grandchildren. I’m looking forward to retirement. I’m 56 and a 12-year cancer survivor.

    The Postal Service is a good place to have a career. There are a lot of opportunities here. If I weren’t working for USPS, I probably wouldn’t have everything I have now.

    Archives

The List

  • Health ledger

    5 facts about U.S. medical care

    Nov. 12

    Health ledger

    5 facts about U.S. medical care
    Nov. 12 at 11:11 a.m.

    To mark the start of this year’s open season benefits enrollment period, here are five facts about health care in the United States collected by the Online Medical Care information website.

    1. American health care is expensive. The United States spent $3.3 trillion — or $10,348 per person — on medical care in 2016, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal agency. In 2017, health care spending accounted for 17.9 percent of America’s gross domestic product, or the total value of goods and services produced by the nation that year.

    2. The United States leads the world in health care spending. According to recent research, America spends 2.5 times as much per person as does the United Kingdom, a nation with comparable wealth. However, despite all the money spent, the United States ranks 12th in life expectancy among the 12 wealthiest industrialized countries.

    3. Americans don’t go to the doctor as often as other people. On average, U.S. citizens see a doctor four times a year, compared to the 12.9 times per year that Japanese patients see their doctors on average, according to one analysis. Three countries — New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland — have a lower average number of doctor appointments than the United States.

    4. U.S. medical wait times have reached new highs. In 15 major U.S. cities in 2017, the average time to make a physician appointment as a new patient was 24 days, up 30 percent from the previous three years, one study found. However, according to another report, the meetings with doctors average about 20 minutes, up from 15 minutes a few years ago.

    5. The United States needs more doctors. The long wait times to see a doctor stem from a nationwide shortage of physicians. According to research by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the nation’s physician shortfall could reach 121,300 by the year 2030.

    Archives

Mailbag

  • Andy Raymond, Buffalo, NY:

    I enjoy the articles in Link and the weekly “News Quiz.” Keep up the good work!

    Archives

Latest videos

  • ‘Holiday Wreaths’ Nov. 15
  • ‘Winter Berries’ Nov. 7
  • ‘Walt Whitman’ Nov. 6
  • ‘Bringing the Holidays Home’ Nov. 5
  • ‘Business Focus’ Nov. 4
  • ‘USS Missouri’ Oct. 25

About Link

USPS National Employee Emergency Hotline: 888-363-7462

Copyright © 2019 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved. Privacy & Terms of Use
  • Home
  • About Link

USPS National Employee Emergency Hotline: 888-363-7462
  • About USPS
  • Archives
  • Privacy & Terms of Use
View archives published before year 2015