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
  • Editor password reset
  • 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

Helping hand

Top story

Helping hand
Additional options for shipping sanitizers, wipes
16 hours ago
COVIDOperations
Reaching out
Assisting businesses affected by COVID-19
16 hours ago
COVIDCustomers
Private eyes
USPS highlights Zoom security
16 hours ago

Cause for celebration

Cause for celebration

Video shows stamp dedication
The Postal Service has released a video that shows highlights from the Feb. 14 dedication ceremony for the new Let’s Celebrate! stamp.
17 hours ago

Scanning snapshot

News Briefs

Scanning snapshot

Area newsletter highlighted, too
Check out the latest scanning snapshot and read about Southern Area Update’s spring edition.
17 hours ago

CDC’s new guidance

CDC’s new guidance

Cloth face coverings now recommended
The Postal Service is sharing new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the use of face coverings to help guard against COVID-19.
2 days ago
COVIDEmployees

VP retiring

VP retiring

Brix to conclude 33-year postal career
Great Lakes Area Vice President Erica A. Brix will retire April 30 after a 33-year career with the Postal Service.
20 hours ago

Safety first

Safety first

No evidence virus spread through mail, packages
The Postal Service is sharing guidance from public health organizations and other authorities that have stated there’s no evidence the coronavirus is spread through the mail.
3 days ago
COVIDEmployeesOperations

Strictly confidential

Strictly confidential

USPS protects employee health information
The organization will not identify individuals who contract COVID-19, the diseased caused by the coronavirus, by name.
3 days ago

Beautiful and strange

Beautiful and strange

Video shows Wild Orchids stamp event
The Postal Service shares highlights from the recent Wild Orchids stamp dedication ceremony in a new video.
3 days ago

Employee honored

News Briefs

Employee honored

Area newsletter also highlighted
Read about a USPS employee who was recently recognized for saving the organization money, and Pacific Area Update’s latest issue.
3 days ago

Binding the nation

Binding the nation

Brennan salutes employees for continued service
In a new letter, Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan thanks USPS employees for their continued service to the nation during the coronavirus pandemic.
6 days ago
COVIDLeadership

On the way

On the way

New stamp offerings announced
The Postal Service has announced two new stamp offerings.
6 days ago

First things first

First things first

Coronavirus act guides leave for federal workers
The Postal Service is reminding employees of certain rights they have under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
7 days ago
COVIDEmployees

Safe service

Safe service

New retail lobby procedures explained in video
The Postal Service continues its efforts to promote social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
7 days ago

Safe deliveries

Safe deliveries

Video explains new procedures for carriers
The Postal Service has released a video to help customers understand new delivery procedures to promote social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
1 week ago
COVIDOperations

Letter to the law

Letter to the law

How to deal with travel restrictions
USPS is providing employees and contractors with a letter they can show to law enforcement during the coronavirus pandemic to affirm their status as essential public servants.
1 week ago
COVIDEmployees

Bad sign

Bad sign

Employee suspended after Hatch Act violation
The Postal Service is again educating employees about the Hatch Act by providing examples of co-workers who broke the law.
1 week ago

Paychecks notice

Paychecks notice

Employees encouraged to use direct deposit
The Postal Service is encouraging employees who don’t use direct deposit to receive their paychecks to sign up as soon as possible due to potential network disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
2 weeks ago
COVIDEmployees

Archives

About the Business

  • Making it easy

    Click-N-Ship offers convenience for customers

    April 7

    Making it easy

    Click-N-Ship offers convenience for customers
    April 7 at 11:01 a.m.

    In a time when the nation’s commerce is increasingly moving online, the USPS Click-N-Ship service makes it easy for customers to send packages from their home or office.

    To use Click-N-Ship, customers must set up a free usps.com account, which they can use to make labels for their packages.

    For each label, the customer must enter the package’s ship-to address and weight. If the customer isn’t sure what the package weighs, he or she can order free Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes online — and if it fits, it ships at a low flat rate.

    USPS delivers the boxes to customers, usually within 7-10 business days.

    For peace of mind, the Postal Service includes tracking capabilities, and $50 of insurance comes free with most Priority Mail shipments, but customers can add more along with Delivery Instructions and other Extra Services.

    Customers who ship internationally or to someone in the military can complete the customs forms online.

    And if customers want to save time on future transactions, they can set preferences for the types of packages they ship the most, the tracking updates they’ll get after a package is en route, and how the Postal Service notifies the package recipients.

    Once the customer has printed a label, he or she can use usps.com to schedule a free Package Pickup — another service that helps the organization serve the growing package market.

    Archives

Heroes’ Corner

  • Ditch distress

    Employee aids customer after scooter mishap

    April 8

    Ditch distress

    Employee aids customer after scooter mishap
    April 8 at midnight

    Rural Carrier Lisa Floyd was delivering mail on a hot day last year in Alexander, AR, when she spotted an older customer in distress.

    The man relies on a mobility scooter, which had overturned in a ditch near his home.

    Floyd rushed to the customer’s aid but was unable to lift the scooter on her own.

    She flagged down a passerby and together they got the scooter upright, enabling the grateful, uninjured man to return to his residence.

    “You’ve always just got to do the right thing,” Floyd said later.

    Archives

Best Practices

  • Growing the business

    Employee offers tips on finding sales leads

    April 6

    Growing the business

    Employee offers tips on finding sales leads
    April 6 at 11:53 a.m.

    Ashley Ortiz never misses an opportunity to help USPS grow its business.

    The Derry, NH, letter carrier particularly enjoys finding sales leads, which she submits through the Customer Connect program.

    “I have just enough life experience that I can connect with a lot of people,” she says.

    The Postal Service wants all employees to follow Ortiz’s example.

    The organization is conducting Race for a $Billion, a campaign to generate $1 billion in estimated revenue through employee-provided leads before the current fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

    To help other employees find leads, Ortiz follows these tips:

    • Know how to find leads. One example: While on her lunch break at a restaurant in her community, Ortiz learned from a cashier that he was running a T-shirt business out of his home.

    She told him that she could arrange for someone from USPS to give him a call to discuss his mailing and shipping options. Next, she took down his contact information and submitted it through Customer Connect — a process that eventually led to the man agreeing to ship his shirts through the Postal Service, generating $55,000 in estimated revenue for the organization.

    • Know the Postal Service’s offerings. Educate yourself on shipping products like Priority Mail, as well as services like Every Door Direct Mail.

    • Know how to participate. It also helps to be familiar with the differences between the Postal Service’s various lead programs.

    In addition to Customer Connect, the letter carrier-oriented program that Ortiz uses to submit her leads, USPS offers Clerks Care (for retail associates and distribution and machine clerks), Mail Handlers (for mail handlers), Rural Reach (for rural carriers) and Submit a Lead (for everyone else, including Executive and Administrative Schedule employees).

    The bottom line, Ortiz says, is you have to be willing to talk to potential customers.

    “I talk to everybody all the time,” she says.

    Archives

On the Job

  • All parts, great and small

    Employee keeps postal vehicles moving

    April 3

    All parts, great and small

    Employee keeps postal vehicles moving
    April 3 at 10:21 a.m.

    My name is John Dickey and I’m an auto parts storekeeper at the USPS Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Merrifield, VA. I help supply parts for every postal vehicle in the local fleet.

    We have about 15 people in my department, including contractors. We all stay busy servicing about 1,400 vehicles. This facility is huge. We have 10 work bays.

    We don’t want vehicles down for repair. That’s a big no-no. If a vehicle breaks down, we immediately work to get it repaired. Vehicle safety is very important, so if parts need to be changed, we change them. We change engines and transmissions, too.

    My workday starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m. The first thing I do is check to see what outstanding orders are left, then purchase them through the postal procurement system. I can’t buy a pen without certain approvals. There’s a lot of paperwork.

    It’s all pretty fast-paced. It feels like once I get here, by the time I look up, it’s time to go home.

    I’ve been with the Postal Service since 1985. Previously, I drove a school bus in Washington, DC. My friend, a letter carrier, told me USPS was hiring. I took the test and started as a truck driver. Later, I worked as a tire repairmen. I did that for about 20 years. I loved it.

    When I’m not on the job, I like to work around my house and in my yard. My three kids are all grown now. I have seven grandkids. I’m thinking about retiring. I can retire anytime I want, but I don’t plan to do it for a few more years.

    At the end of the day, everything we do is about getting the mail to the customer. My job contributes to that. Without us getting these vehicles ready to go, customers won’t get their mail.

    I can’t complain one bit about anything. I’m honestly grateful to have to this job. I love the logistics, but some days, man, I would love to be back out on the floor just changing tires.

    Archives

The List

  • Maine man

    5 facts about Edward Hopper

    April 7

    Maine man

    5 facts about Edward Hopper
    April 7 at 10:43 a.m.

    The Maine Statehood Forever stamp, featuring Edward Hopper’s “Sea at Ogunquit” painting, was released March 15. Here are five facts about the artist (1882-1967).

    1. Hopper studied at the New York School of Art and Design. While at the school, which later became the Parsons School of Design, he was influenced by the works of the French impressionists Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas. Hopper also traveled to Paris three times between 1906 and 1910 to study art.

    2. He left New York City during the summer to escape the heat. Initially, he would travel to the Massachusetts coast, where he started painting outdoor scenes, before making Maine his regular destination.

    3. Hooper spent nine summers in Maine. He traveled to the state for the season for the first time in 1914 and continued until 1929. During these years, he painted scenes of the Maine coast, using oil and watercolors.

    4. “Sea at Ogunquit” is now part of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s collection. The oil-on-canvas painting was donated to the New York City museum by Hopper’s wife, Josephine.

    5. One of Hopper’s paintings, “Chop Suey,” was sold at auction in 2018 for $92 million. He created 366 paintings during his lifetime and his works can be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and the High Museum of Art, among others, as well as in private collections.

    Archives

Mailbag

  • What do you think?:

    Link wants to hear your thoughts about “Steadfast service” and other stories about the coronavirus pandemic. Email your feedback to uspslink@usps.gov. Your comments could be featured in “Mailbag.”

    Archives

Latest videos

  • ‘Let’s Celebrate!’ April 8
  • ‘Wild Orchids’ April 6
  • ‘Help Us Serve You: Post Offices’ April 2
  • ‘Help Us Serve You: Mail Carriers’ April 1
  • ‘Fight Germs: Wash Your Hands!’ March 18
  • ‘Gwen Ifill’ March 13
  • ‘Made of Hearts’ March 12
  • ‘Year of the Rat’ March 11
  • ‘Business Focus: Special Edition’ March 9

About Link

USPS National Employee Emergency Hotline: 888-363-7462

Copyright © 2020 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