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United States Postal Service
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The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent agency of the United States government (see ) responsible for providing postal service in the United States.
Within the United States, it is commonly referred to as the Post Office, Postal Service, or U.S. Mail.
History
The first postal service in America arose in February of 1692 when a grant from King William and Queen Mary empowered Thomas Neale "to erect, settle and establish within the chief parts of their majesties' colonies and plantations in America, an office or offices for the receiving and dispatching letters and pacquets, and to receive, send and deliver the same under such rates and sums of money as the planters shall agree to give, and to hold and enjoy the same for the term of twenty-one years."
The United States Post Office (U.S.P.O.) was created in Philadelphia under Benjamin Franklin on July 26, 1775 by decree of the Second Continental Congress.
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Encyclopedia
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent agency of the United States government (see ) responsible for providing postal service in the United States.
Within the United States, it is commonly referred to as the Post Office, Postal Service, or U.S. Mail.
History
The first postal service in America arose in February of 1692 when a grant from King William and Queen Mary empowered Thomas Neale "to erect, settle and establish within the chief parts of their majesties' colonies and plantations in America, an office or offices for the receiving and dispatching letters and pacquets, and to receive, send and deliver the same under such rates and sums of money as the planters shall agree to give, and to hold and enjoy the same for the term of twenty-one years."
The United States Post Office (U.S.P.O.) was created in Philadelphia under Benjamin Franklin on July 26, 1775 by decree of the Second Continental Congress. Based on the Postal Clause in Article One of the United States Constitution, empowering Congress "To establish post offices and post roads," it became the Post Office Department (U.S.P.O.D.) in 1792. It was part of the Presidential cabinet and the Postmaster General was the last person in the United States presidential line of succession. In 1971, the department was reorganized as a quasi-independent agency of the federal government and acquired its present name. The Postmaster General is no longer in the presidential line of succession.
The United States Post Office Department was enlarged during the tenure of President Andrew Jackson. As the Post Office expanded, difficulties were experienced due to a lack of employees and transportation. The Post Office's employees at that time were still subject to the so-called 'spoils' system, where faithful political supporters of the executive branch were appointed to positions in the post office and other government agencies as a reward for their patronage. These appointees rarely had prior experience in postal service and mail delivery. This system of political patronage was replaced in 1883 after passage of the Pendleton Act (Civil Service Reform Act).
Once it became clear that the postal system in the United States needed to expand across the entire country, the use of the railroad to transport the mail was instituted in 1832. Railroad companies greatly expanded mail transport service after 1862, and the Railway Mail Service was inaugurated in 1869. Rail cars designed from the start to sort and distribute mail while rolling were soon introduced. RMS employees sorted mail 'on the fly' during the journey, and became some of the most skilled workers in the postal service. An RMS sorter had to be able to separate the mail quickly into compartments based on its final destination, before the first destination arrived, and work at the rate of 600 pieces of mail an hour. They were tested regularly for speed and accuracy. The advent of rural free delivery in the U.S. in 1896 and the inauguration of parcel post service in 1913 greatly increased the volume of mail shipped nationwide, and motivated the development of more efficient postal transportation systems.
On August 12, 1918, the Post Office Department took over air mail service from the U.S. Army Air Service (USAAS). Assistant Postmaster General Otto Praeger appointed Benjamin B. Lipsner to head the civilian-operated Air Mail Service. One of Lipsner's first acts was to hire four pilots, each with at least 1,000 hours flying experience, paying them an average of $4,000 per year. The Post Office Department used mostly World War I military surplus de Havilland DH-4 aircraft. During 1918, the Post Office hired an additional 36 pilots. In its first year of operation, the Post Office completed 1,208 airmail flights with 90 forced landings. Of those, 53 were due to weather and 37 to engine failure. By 1920, the Air Mail service had delivered 49 million letters.
The Post Office was one of the first government departments to regulate obscene materials on a national basis. When the U.S. Congress passed the Comstock laws of 1873, it became illegal to send through the U.S. mail any material considered obscene, indecent or which promoted abortion issues, contraception, or alcohol consumption.
The Postal Reorganization Act signed by President Richard Nixon on August 12, 1970, replaced the cabinet-level Post Office Department with the independent United States Postal Service. The Act took effect on July 1, 1971.
The USPS Today
For the fifth year in a row, the United States Postal Service was ranked number one in the Ponemon Institute Privacy Trust Study Survey of Government Agencies on February 5, 2009. This report ranks from most- to least-trusted 74 federal agencies known to collect information on individuals, and that track public perceptions related to the ability of public institutions to safeguard citizens' privacy and personal information.
The United States Postal Service is currently the third-largest employer in the United States, after the United States Department of Defense and Wal-Mart. The USPS operates the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world, with an estimated 260,000 vehicles, the majority of which are the easily identified Chevrolet/Grumman LLV (Long-Life Vehicle), and the newer Ford/Utilimaster FFV (Flex-Fuel Vehicle), originally also referred to as the "CRV" (Carrier Route Vehicle), as shown in the pictures below. In an interview on NPR, a USPS official stated that for every penny increase in the national average price of gasoline, the USPS spends an extra $8 million to fuel its fleet. This implies that the fleet requires some 800 million gallons (3.03 billion liters) of fuel per year, and consumes an estimated fuel budget of $3.2 billion, were the national gasoline price to average $4.00. Some rural mail carriers use personal vehicles. Standard postal-owned vehicles do not have license plates. These vehicles are identified by a seven digit number displayed on the front and rear.
Competition from e-mail and private operations such as United Parcel Service, and FedEx has forced USPS to adjust its business strategy and to modernize its products and services.
The Department of Defense and the USPS jointly operate a postal system to deliver mail for the military; this is known as the Army Post Office (for Army and Air Force postal facilities) and Fleet Post Office (for Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard postal facilities).
Governance and organization
The Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service sets policy, procedure, and postal rates for services rendered, and has a similar role to a corporate board of directors. Of the eleven members of the Board, nine are appointed by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate (see ). The nine appointed members then select the United States Postmaster General, who serves as the board's tenth member, and who oversees the day to day activities of the service as Chief Executive Officer (see ). The ten-member board then nominates a Deputy Postmaster General, who acts as Chief Operating Officer, to the eleventh and last remaining open seat.
The USPS is often mistaken for a government-owned corporation (e.g., Amtrak), but as noted above is legally defined as an "independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States," as it is wholly owned by the government and controlled by the Presidential appointees and the Postmaster General. As a quasi-governmental agency, it has many special privileges, including sovereign immunity, eminent domain powers, powers to negotiate postal treaties with foreign nations, and an exclusive legal right to deliver first-class and third-class mail. Indeed in 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the USPS was not a government-owned corporation and therefore could not be sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The U.S. Supreme Court has also upheld the USPS's statutory monopoly on access to letterboxes against a First Amendment freedom of speech challenge; it thus remains illegal in the U.S. for anyone other than the employees and agents of the USPS to deliver mailpieces to letterboxes marked "U.S. Mail."
Universal Service Obligation and the Postal Monopoly
The mission of the Postal Service is to provide the American public with trusted universal postal service at affordable prices. While not explicitly defined, the Postal Service’s universal service obligation (USO) is broadly outlined in statute and includes multiple dimensions: geographic scope, range of products, access to services and facilities, delivery frequency, affordable and uniform pricing, service quality, and security of the mail. While other carriers claim to voluntarily provide delivery on a universal basis, the Postal Service is the only carrier with the obligation to provide all the various aspects of universal service at affordable rates.
Proponents of postal service monopoly claim that since any obligation must be matched by the financial capability to meet that obligation, the postal monopoly was put in place as a funding mechanism for the USO, and it has been in place for over a hundred years. It consists of two parts. One is the Private Express Statutes (PES), and the other is the mailbox access rule. The PES refers to the Postal Service’s monopoly on the delivery of letters, and the mailbox rule refers to the Postal Service’s exclusive access to customer mailboxes.
Proponents of postal service monopoly further claim that eliminating or reducing the PES or mailbox rule would have an impact on the ability of the Postal Service to provide affordable universal service. If, for example, the PES and the mailbox rule were to be eliminated, and the USO maintained, then either billions of dollars in tax revenues or some other source of funding would have to be found. As the operating environment of the Postal Service continues to change, additional flexibilities will likely be necessary to fulfill the USO.
However, several professional economists advocate the privatization of the mail delivery system, or at least a relaxation of the monopoly that currently exists.
On October 15, 2008, the Postal Service submitted a report to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on its position related to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) and postal monopoly. The Postal Service confirms its continued commitment of trusted, affordable universal service to the American public. The report supports that no changes to the USO and monopoly are necessary at this time while additional flexibilities will be required to ensure affordable, universal service into the future.
Obligations of the USO include uniform prices, quality of service, access to services, and six-day delivery to every part of the country. To assure financial support for these obligations, the postal monopoly provides the Postal Service the exclusive right to deliver letters and restricts mailbox access solely for mail. Therefore, the USO and postal monopoly are inextricably linked. The report supports that eliminating or reducing either aspect of the monopoly “would have a devastating impact on the ability … to provide the affordable universal service that the country values so highly.” Relaxing access to the mailbox would also pose security concerns, increase delivery costs, and hurt customer service.
The Postal Service said that the USO should continue to be broadly defined and there should be no changes to the postal monopoly. Any changes would have far-reaching effects on customers and the trillion dollar mailing industry. “A more rigidly defined USO would … ultimately harm the American public and businesses,” according to the report, which cautions that any potential change must be studied carefully and the effects fully understood.
The report is available at http://www.usps.com/postallaw/universalpostalservice.htm
During hearings held earlier this year, the PRC also heard from mailers, mailing associations, and postal unions and management associations. Comments generally indicated that changes are not currently needed.
The Postal Act of 2006 requires the PRC to submit a report to the President and Congress on universal postal service and the postal monopoly in December 2008. The report must include any recommended changes. The Postal Service report supports the requirement that the PRC is to consult with and solicit written comments from the Postal Service. In addition, the Government Accountability Office is required to evaluate broader business model issues by 2011. Thus, the dialogue on universal postal service and postal monopolies, in many respects, is just beginning. Given the economy and significant dynamics in the marketplace, this dialogue may need to occur sooner rather than later.
Five-Year Strategic Plan
In October 2008, the Postal Service released Vision 2013, its new five-year strategic plan (http://www.usps.com/strategicplanning/vision2013.htm). Vision 2013 meets the requirement for a five-year strategic plan established by the Government Performance and Results Act 0f 1993, P.L. 103-62, ().
Vision 2013 offers the Postal Service’s perspective of what it must do to provide affordable, high-quality, universal service for future generations. The plan describes three high-level strategies: 1) Tailor products and services to better meet customer needs; 2) Leverage the organization’s strengths — its networks, information systems and employees — to add value and generate revenue; and 3) Incorporate new technology and approaches to fulfill the Postal Service’s longstanding mission.
Law enforcement agencies
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the U.S. It was founded by Benjamin Franklin.
The mission of the USPIS is to protect the U.S. Postal Service, its employees and its customers from criminal attack, and protect the nation's mail system from criminal misuse.
U.S. law provides for the protection of mail. Postal Inspectors enforce over 200 federal laws in investigations of crimes that may adversely affect or fraudulently use the U.S. Mail, the postal system or postal employees. The USPIS is a major federal law enforcement agency.
The USPIS has the power to enforce the USPS monopoly by conducting search and seizure raids on entities they suspect of sending non-urgent mail through overnight delivery competitors. For example: according to the American Enterprise Institute, a private think tank, the USPIS raided Equifax offices in 1993 to ascertain if the mail they were sending through Federal Express was truly "extremely urgent." It was found that the mail was not, and Equifax was fined $30,000.
USPS Office of Inspector General
The USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Postal Service was authorized by law in 1996. Prior to the 1996 legislation, the Postal Inspection Service performed the duties of the OIG. The Inspector General, who is independent of postal management, is appointed by and reports directly to the nine Presidential appointed Governors of the Postal Service.
The primary purpose of the OIG is to prevent, detect and report fraud, waste and program abuse, and promote efficiency in the operations of the Postal Service. The OIG has "oversight" responsibility for all activities of the Postal Inspection Service.
Types of postal facilities
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Although its customer service centers are called post offices in regular speech, the USPS recognizes several types of postal facilities, including the following:
- A main post office (formerly known as a general post office), which is the primary postal facility in a community.
- A station or post office station, a postal facility that is not the main post office, but that is within the corporate limits of the community.
- A branch or post office branch, a postal facility that is not the main post office and that is outside the corporate limits of the community.
- A classified unit, a station or branch operated by USPS employees in a facility owned or leased by the USPS.
- A contract postal unit (or CPU), a station or branch operated by a contractor, typically in a store or other place of business.
- A community post office (or CPO), a contract postal unit providing services in a small community in which other types of post office facilities have been discontinued.
- A finance unit, a station or branch that provides window services and accepts mail, but does not provide delivery.
- A processing and distribution center (P&DC, or processing and distribution facility, formerly known as a General Mail Facility), a central mail facility that processes and dispatches incoming and outgoing mail to and from a designated service area.
- A sectional center facility (SCF), a P&DC for a designated geographical area defined by one or more three-digit ZIP code prefixes.
- A bulk mail center (BMC), a central mail facility that processes bulk rate parcels as the hub in a hub and spoke network.
- An auxiliary sorting facility (ASF), a central mail facility that processes bulk rate parcels as spokes in a hub and spoke network.
- A remote encoding center (REC), a facility at which clerks receive images of problem mail pieces (those with hard-to-read addresses, etc.) via secure Internet-type feeds and manually type the addresses they can decipher, using a special encoding protocol. The images are then sprayed with the correct addresses or are sorted for further handling according to the instructions given via encoding. The total number of RECs is down from 55 in 1998 to just 5 centers in April 2009. More closures will occur as computer software becomes more able to read most addresses, but a few centers are expected to remain open (see Evolutionary Network Development below).
Evolutionary Network Development (END) program
In February, 2006, the USPS announced that they plan to replace the nine existing facility-types with five processing facility-types:
- Regional Distribution Centers (RDCs), which will process all classes of parcels and bundles and serve as Surface Transfer Centers;
- Local Processing Centers (LPCs), which will process single-piece letters and flats and cancel mail;
- Destination Processing Centers (DPC), sort the mail for individual mail carriers;
- Airport Transfer Centers (ATCs), which will serve as transfer points only; and
- Remote Encoding Centers (RECs).
Over a period of years, these facilities are expected to replace Processing & Distribution Centers, Customer Service Facilities, Bulk Mail Centers, Logistic and Distribution Centers, annexes, the Hub and Spoke Program, Air Mail Centers, and International Service Centers.
The changes are a result of the declining volumes of single-piece first-class mail, population shifts, the increase in drop shipments by advertising mailers at destinating postal facilities, advancements in equipment and technology, redundancies in the existing network, and the need for operational flexibility
While common usage refers to all types of postal facilities as "substations," the USPS Glossary of Postal Terms does not define or even list that word.
Temporary stations are often set up for applying pictorial cancellations.
Addressing envelopes
For any letter addressed within the United States, the USPS requires two pieces of information on the envelope.
- Address of the recipient: Placed on the front (non opening) side of the envelope in the center. Generally, the name of the addressee should be included above the address itself. A ZIP+4 code will facilitate delivery.
- Postage indication: All parcels must include an indication that postage has been paid. In most cases, this is a stamp, though metered labels are also common. Members of the U.S. Congress, among others, have franking privileges, which only require a signature.
- Domestic first-class mail costs 42¢ for envelopes (27¢ for post cards) and upwards, depending on the weight and dimensions of the letter and the class, and the indicia is supposed to be placed in the upper-right corner.
A third, and optional (but strongly suggested) addition is a return address. This is the address that the recipient may respond to, and, if necessary, the letter can be returned to if delivery fails. It is usually placed in the upper-left corner or occasionally on the back (though the latter is standard in some countries). Undeliverable mails that cannot be readily returned, including those without return addresses, are treated as dead mails at a Mail Recovery Center in Atlanta, Georgia or Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The formatting of the address is as follows:
- Line 1: Name of recipient
- Line 2: Street address or P.O. Box
- Line 3: City State (ISO 3166-2:US code or APO/FPO code) and ZIP+4 code
Example:
- Mr Cliff Clavin
- 112 1/2 Beacon ST
- Boston MA 02119-2343
The USPS maintains a list of proper abbreviations.
The city and state designations are a redundant safety measure used in the case that the printed ZIP code is illegible or ambiguously written. Since the ZIP code system is such that there is only one street of any name for any ZIP code (ex. there is only one Johnson Street in the 10036 ZIP area), it is possible to exclude the city and state from a mailing label and still have the package delivered, assuming the label is legible.
The formatting of a return address is identical. A common myth is that a comma is required after the city name, but this is not true. (Some style manuals do recommend using the comma when typesetting addresses in other contexts, however.) The Post Office recommends use of all upper case block letters using the appropriate formats and abbreviations and leaving out all punctuation except for the hyphen in the ZIP+4 code to ease automated address reading and speed processing, particularly for handwritten addresses; if the address is unusually formatted or illegible enough, it will require hand-processing, delaying that particular item. The USPS publishes the entirety of their postal addressing standards.
Mail sorting
Processing of standard sized envelopes and cards is highly automated, including reading of handwritten addresses. Mail from individual customers and public postboxes is collected by mail carriers into plastic tubs. The tubs are taken to a Processing and Distribution Center and emptied into hampers which are then automatically dumped into a Dual Pass Rough Cull System (DPRCS). As mail travels through the DPRCS, large items, such as packages and mail bundles, are removed from the stream. As the remaining mail enters the first machine for processing standard mail, the Advanced Facer-Canceler System (AFCS), pieces that passed through the DPRCS but do not conform to physical dimensions for processing in the AFCS (i.e. large envelopes or overstuffed standard envelopes) are automatically diverted from the stream. Mail removed from the DPRCS and AFCS is manually processed or sent to parcel sorting machines.
In contrast to the previous system, which merely canceled and postmarked the upper right corner of the envelope, thereby missing any stamps which were inappropriately placed, the AFCS locates indicia (stamp or metered postage mark), regardless of the orientation of the mail as it enters the machine, and cancels it by applying a postmark. Detection of indicia enables the AFCS to determine the orientation of each mailpiece and sort it accordingly, rotating pieces as necessary so all mail is sorted right-side up and faced in the same direction in each output bin. Mail is output by the machine into three categories: mail already affixed with a bar code and addressed (such as business reply envelopes and cards), mail with machine printed (typed) addresses, and mail with handwritten addresses. Additionally, machines with a recent Optical Character Recognition (OCR) upgrade have the capability to read the address information, including handwritten, and sort the mail based on local or outgoing ZIP codes.
Mail with typed addresses goes to a Multiline Optical Character Reader (MLOCR) which reads the ZIP Code and address information and prints the appropriate bar code onto the envelope. Mail (actually the scanned image of the mail) with handwritten addresses (and machine-printed ones that aren't easily recognized) goes to the Remote Bar Coding System. It also corrects spelling errors and, where there is an error, omission, or conflict in the written address, identifies the most likely correct address. When it has decided on a correct address, it prints the appropriate bar code onto the envelopes, similarly to the MLOCR system. RBCS also has facilities in place, called Remote Encoding Centers, that have humans look at images of mail pieces and enter the address data. The address data is associated with the image via an ID Tag, a fluorescent Barcode printed by mail processing equipment on the back of mail pieces.
If a customer has filed a change of address card and his or her mail is detected in the mailstream with the old address, the mailpiece is sent to a machine that automatically connects to a Computerized Forwarding System database to determine the new address. If this address is found, the machine will paste a label over the former address with the current address. The mail is returned to the mailstream to forward to the new location.
Mail with addresses that cannot be resolved by the automated system are separated for human intervention. If a local postal worker can read the address, he or she manually sorts it out according to the zip code on the article. If the address cannot be read, mail is either returned to the sender (first class mail with a valid return address) or is sent to one of three Mail Recovery Centers in the United States (formerly known as Dead Letter Offices, originated by Benjamin Franklin in the 1770s) where it receives more intense scrutiny, including being opened to determine if any of the contents are a clue. If no valid address can be determined, the items are held for 90 days in case of inquiry by the customer; and if they are not claimed then they are either destroyed or auctioned off at the annual Postal Service Unclaimed Parcel auction to raise money for the service.
Once the mail is bar coded, it is automatically sorted by a Delivery Bar Code System that reads the bar code and determines the destination of the mailpiece to postal stations. Items for local delivery are retained in the postal station while other items are trucked to either the appropriate station if it is within approximately 200 miles, or the airport for transport to more distant destinations. Mail is flown, usually as baggage on commercial airlines, to the airport nearest the destination station, then at a nearby processing center the mail is once again read by a Delivery Bar Code System which sorts the items into their local destinations, including grouping them by individual mail carrier. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, only letter-sized mail has been flown on passenger airlines. Packages are solely transported via cargo carriers, most notably FedEx .
Customer services
Online services
The Post Office website provides a wide variety of services which are a fundamental change in availability of services and information. For example, users can look up ZIP codes, and purchase postage if they have an account. The domain usps.com attracted at least annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com survey...
Customer conveniences
The Postal Service provides many convenient services for individual and business customers. One example is the address forwarding service. Customers can fill out a form to forward mail to a new address, and can also send preprinted forms to any of their frequent correspondents.
Major mail products and services
The U.S. Postal Service announced changes to the classes of domestic mail and select postage rate increases effective July 1, 1996. Rates for single-piece first-class, single-piece Standard Mail (formerly third- and fourth-class), and international mail classes did not change. The following general description of each new mail class and the enclosed rate scales are provided for your information in determining postage costs for all mailings made on or after July 1, 1996.
U.S. Mail is delivered Monday through Saturday, with the exception of observed federal holidays.
First-class mail
First-class mail was retained in the 1996 restructuring, but divided into two new mail subclasses: Automation and Nonautomation.
- The Automation mail subclass must be 100-percent delivery point barcoded and certified every six months for addressing and presort accuracy.
- The Nonautomation mail subclass is the same as the previous first-class. However, bulk mailers are now required to certify the accuracy of the five-digit ZIP Codes at least once a year, and the customer address mail list must be updated at least every six months.
In 2007, First-Class Mail rates were restructured again, this time with rates based on shape along with weight.
- Cards/Letters: Least changed. A card must be between 5" x 3.5" x .007" and 6" x 4.25" x .016" and is charged 27 cents. An envelope must be between 5" x 3.5" x .007" and 11.5" x 6.125" x .25". As of May 2008, this rate is 42 cents for the first ounce and 17 cents for each ounce above that, up to 3.5 ounces. If any of these dimensions are above these, the mailpiece goes to the next higher rate, Large Envelope (Flats)
- Large Envelope or Flat: If a mailpiece is too big for Letter Rate, it goes up to this rate. The maximum dimensions of this are 15" x 12" x .75" and is charged 83 cents for the first ounce and 17 cents for every ounce above that up to 13 ounces. If any one of the dimensions are exceeded for Large Envelope, or are too rigid, nonrectangular/square, or not uniformely thick, the mailpiece is bumped up to parcel rates.
- Packages or Parcels: If a mailpiece is too large for Large Envelope rate, it goes up to this rate. The length + width must not exceed 108 inches, and weight must not exceed 13 ounces. The rate for this level is $1.13 for the first ounce and 17 cents for every ounce thereafter.
Periodicals
Restructured from Second-Class Mail in 1996, the Periodicals class in general retains the same mailing requirements except for more stringent requirements to qualify for the automation rates. If the mail piece does not qualify for automation rates, the mailer must use the more expensive nonautomation rates for respective sorting levels.
Standard Mail
Restructured from Third-Class Mail and Fourth-Class Mail in 1996, and used mainly for businesses, Standard Mail has these requirements:
- Minimum 200 pieces per mailing
- Must weigh less than 1 lb (454 g)
- No return service unless requested (an additional fee is charged for return service)
- Not for personal correspondence, letters, bills, or statements
- Annual fee
Third- and fourth-class mail was restructured in 1996 into Standard Mail (A) and Standard Mail (B):
Standard Mail (A) consists of three new mail subclasses: Automation, Enhanced Carrier Route, and Regular. The minimum bulk mailing requirement of 200 addressed pieces or 50 pounds of addressed pieces remains the same as under previous third-class mail rules, but now requires mail list certification.
- The Automation mail subclass must be 100-percent delivery point barcoded (11 digits) for letters. The ZIP+4 barcode is acceptable for flats. The carrier routes and coding accuracy for barcoded addresses must be certified quarterly and semi-annually, respectively.
- The Enhanced Carrier Route mail subclass requires that the basic carrier route be in a line of travel sequence and that the high density and saturation rate mail be in walk sequence to qualify for the respective rates.
- The Regular mail subclass must be certified annually for five-digit ZIP Code accuracy.
Standard Mail (B) consists of the following mail subclasses: Parcel Post, Bound Printed Matter, Special Standard Mail, Library Mail, and Nonprofit. The latter two subclasses are not authorized for government use. The mailing requirements for this mail class remain unchanged from fourth-class mail. However, the mail piece must bear the sender's return address, and the delivery address must include the correct ZIP Code. Special fourth-class mail was renamed Special Standard Mail, and the basic requirements for its use remain the same.
Bulk Mail
Used for businesses to send large quantities of mail.
- Can be First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, Bound Printed Matter, Media Mail, or Parcel Post
- Discounted rates
- Annual fee required (For each mail class used)
- Enforced rules about mailpiece quality, address format, and address quality.
- May require additional work by the sender, such as certified address matching and pre-sorting by ZIP Code or walk sequence.
- Mail must usually be brought to a Bulk Mail Entry Unit post office.
Parcel Post
Domestic Parcel Post service was finally adopted in 1913, a full 25 years after the Post Office had agreed to deliver international parcel post packages pursuant to the Universal Postal Union treaty and various bilateral agreements with other nations. Initially, there were few or no postal regulations governing packages mailed parcel post. To construct a bank in Vernal, Utah in 1916, a Salt Lake City Company figured out that the cheapest way to send 40 tons of bricks to the building was by Parcel Post. Each brick was individually wrapped & mailed. Postal rules were promptly rewritten.
- Parcel Post service is used to send packages weighing up to 70 lbs (31.75 kg).
- Delivery standards are 10-14 business days except to Alaska & Hawaii, where container ships carry mail and may take as long as five weeks
- Rates are based on distance, weight and shape
- Delivery to every address in the United States, including PO Boxes and Military Addresses.
- Parcel Post is now a domestic service only. In May 2007, international Parcel Post air service was rebranded as Priority Mail International, and Parcel Post surface service was discontinued for international destinations.
- Unlike First Class Mail or Priority Mail, Parcel Post does not include free forwarding or return service if undeliverable or not picked up. If a package is shipped via Parcel Post cannot be delivered, the recipient (if forwarded) or the sender (if returned) will pay the postage due amount.
Media Mail
Formerly (and colloquially, still) known as "Book Rate", Media Mail is used to send books (at least 8 pages), printed materials, sound recordings, videotapes, CD-ROMs, diskettes, and similar, but cannot contain advertising. Maximum weight is 70 pounds (31.75 kg).
- Delivery standards are 5–9 business days
- Rates based on weight
- Much cheaper than Parcel Post, and roughly the same transit time
- Postage can be paid using any method except precanceled stamps
Library Mail
Same as Media Mail, but receives an additional discount and may be used only for books or recordings being sent to or from a public library, museum, or academic institution.
Bound Printed Matter
Same as Media Mail but it is used to mail permanently-bound sheets of advertising, promotional, directory or editorial material such as catalogs and phonebooks. It may be slightly cheaper than Media Mail rates.
- Package can weigh up to 15 lb.
- Sheets must be permanently-bound by secure fastenings such as staples, spiral binding, glue or stitching.
- At least 90% of the sheets must be imprinted by any process other than handwriting or typewriting.
- Mail must be marked "return service requested" to receive undeliverable back. Mail without this marking will be disposed of.
- Postage may be paid only by permit imprint. Non-presorted Bound Printed Matter is exempt from permit imprint quantity minimums.
Priority Mail
Priority Mail is an expedited mail service with a few additional features. It is equivalent to First Class Mail in many ways.
- Average delivery time is 2–3 days (not guaranteed)
- Packages up to 70 pounds (31.75 kg)
- Label can be printed online
- Delivery to any address in the United States
- Dimensional weight is used along with actual weight for all parcels above 1 cubic foot
- Flat rate envelopes and boxes available (one rate for whatever you put in the envelope, though the envelope's seal must be the primary method of enclosure)
Registered Mail
According to the USPS's Domestic Mail Manual, Registered Mail is "the most secure service that the USPS offers" and is used to send (often in combination with insurance) high-value items such as jewelry or coins, sensitive or irreplaceable paperwork, and DoD classified information up to the SECRET level. Items sent via Registered mail are tracked via a system of receipts as they move through the mail system, and they can be tracked electronically by the sender via phone or through the USPS's web site. Items sent via Registered mail are transported to the Processing and Distribution Center in a locked container, and once there are kept separate from all other mail in a location with secure access. Every time the item is handled, this is noted in a ledger.
- Delivery time is about the same or longer than First Class, and is not guaranteed
- Parcels or letters must meet the mailing standards for First Class mail, including minimum size
- Must be presented to a clerk in person at a Post Office, cannot be put into an on-street box or rural pickup box
- Cannot be Business Reply Mail
Express Mail
envelope for Express Mail]]
Express Mail is the fastest mail service offered by the USPS.
- Typically overnight or second-day delivery
- Delivery to most, but not all, US locations 365 days a year
- Flat rate envelope available
- Packages up to 70 pounds (31.75 kg)
- Guaranteed on-time delivery or the postage is refunded subject to conditions
Postal money orders
- Provide a safe alternative to sending cash through the mail, and are available in any amount up to $1000.
- Money orders are cashable only by the recipient, just like a bank check. One of the reasons for the growing popularity of money orders is that, unlike a personal bank check, they are pre-paid and therefore cannot bounce.
- Money orders are a declining business for the USPS, as companies like PayPal and PaidByCash and others are offering electronic replacements through the MasterCard and Visa systems.
- Postal Money Orders have also become the victim of a high counterfeit rate, because of this many bank ATM machines will not accept automatic deposits for them, only tellers can accept them for deposit.
International services
Formerly, were categorized as Airmail (Letter Post), Economy (Surface) Parcel Post, Airmail Parcel Post, Global Priority, Global Express, and Global Express Guaranteed Mail. In May 2007, USPS restructured international service names to correspond with domestic shipping options. Letter post is now First Class Mail International, Airmail Parcel Post was discontinued and replaced by Priority Mail International. Global Express is now Express Mail International. Global Express Guaranteed is unchanged, and Economy Parcel Post was discontinued for international service. The only mailing classes with a tracking ability are Express and Express Guaranteed. One of the major changes in the new naming and services definitions is that USPS-supplied mailing boxes for Priority and Express mail are now allowed for international use. Also, a Priority Mail International Flat-Rate has been introduced, with the same conditions of service previously used for Global Priority. These services are offered to ship letters and packages to almost every country and territory on the globe. Ironically, the USPS provides much of this service by contracting with a private parcel service, FedEx.
On May 14, 2007, the United States Postal Service canceled all outgoing international surface mail (sometimes known as "sea mail") from the United States, citing increased costs and reduced demand due to competition from airmail services such as FedEx and UPS. The decision has been criticized by the Peace Corps and military personnel overseas, as well as independent booksellers and other small businesses who rely on international deliveries.
Airline and rail division
The United States Postal Service does not directly own or operate any aircraft or trains. The mail and packages are flown on airlines with which the Postal Service has a contractual agreement. The contracts change periodically. Depending on the contract, aircraft may be painted with the USPS paint scheme. Contract airlines have included: Emery Worldwide, Ryan International Airlines, FedEx Express, Rhoades Aviation, and Express One International. The Postal Service also contracts with Amtrak to carry some mail between certain cities such as Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Sunday mail delivery
Until 1912, mail was delivered 7 days a week. As the postal service grew in popularity and usage in the 1800s, local religious leaders were noticing a decline in Sunday morning church attendance due to local post offices doubling as gathering places. These leaders appealed to the government to intervene and close post offices on Sundays.
As a result of this intervention by the government, U.S. Mail (with the exception of Express Mail) is not delivered on Sunday, with the exception of a few towns in which the local religion has had an effect on the policy, for example, Loma Linda, California, which has a significant Seventh-Day Adventist population. U.S. Mail is delivered Monday through Saturday, with the exception of observed federal holidays.
Add-on services
The Postal Service offers additional services for some types of mail.
Signature confirmation
- Confirms delivery with signature
- Recipient's first initial and last name is typographically displayed online
- Recipient's signature is kept on file
- Only available with First Class Mail parcels, Priority Mail, and Package Services (Media Mail, Parcel Post, and Bound Printed Matter)
Insurance
- Provides package with insurance from loss or damage while in transit
- Available for amounts up to $5,000
- Covers material losses only minus depreciation
Certified Mail
Collect On Delivery (C.O.D.)
- Allows merchants to offer customers an option to pay upon delivery
- Insurance comes included with fee
- Amount to be collected cannot exceed $1,000
- Available for First-Class Mail, Express Mail, Priority Mail, and Package Services (Parcel Post, Bound Printed Matter, and Media Mail).
Postage stamps
All unused U.S. postage stamps issued since 1861 are still valid as postage at their indicated value. Stamps with no value shown or denominated by a letter are also still valid at their purchase price.
The cost of mailing a letter increased to 42 cents on May 12, 2008, but the Post Office now offers a "forever" stamp. This stamp will be sold at the standard rate, but will always be valid for 1st class mail (1 oz and under), no matter how rates rise in the future.
Copyright and reproduction
All U.S. postage stamps issued under the former United States Post Office Department and other postage items that were released before 1978, but stamp designs since 1978 are copyrighted. Following the creation of the United States Postal Service, the United States Copyright Office in section 206.02(b) of the Compendium II: Copyright Office Practices holds that "Works of the U.S. Postal Service, as now constituted, are not considered U.S. Government works." Here, the U.S. Copyright Office has clarified that works of the U.S. Postal Service, of the government of the District of Columbia, or of the government of Puerto Rico are not "works of the U.S. government" and thus are subject to copyright. Thus, postal service holds copyright to such materials released since 1978 under Title 17 of the United States Code. Written permission is required for use of copyrighted postage stamp images.
Postage meters
PC postage
In addition to using standard stamps, postage can now be printed from a personal computer using a system called Information Based Indicia. Authorized providers of PC Postage are:
or by using the Automated Postal Center, (a self-service kiosk, located at select Post Offices nationwide)
Other electronic postage payment methods
Electronic Verification System (eVS) is the Postal Service's integrated mail management technology that centralizes payment processing and electronic postage reports. Part of an evolving suite of USPS electronic payment services called PostalOne! , eVS allows mailers shipping large volumes of parcels through the Postal Service a way to circumvent use of hard-copy manifests, postage statements and drop-shipment verification forms. Instead, mailers can pay postage automatically through a centralized account and track payments online.
Beginning August 2007, the Postal Service began requiring mailers shipping Parcel Select packages using a permit imprint to use eVS for manifesting their packages. Currently, the list of USPS "Approved eVS Mailers" includes:
Affiliation with Online Postage Providers
In addition to the USPS Click-N-Ship service, the USPS has partnered with other companies such as Endicia and Pitney Bowes. Endicia provides the technology that allows Click-N-Ship to print postage and Endicia licenses this technology to individual shippers through software applications. Similarly, Pitney Bowes allows PayPal to offer postage label printing with the services the site has to offer. In PayPal's case, a Sender can print postage on PayPal and have the costs deducted from their PayPal account or a linked bank account. With either service, the Sender may then drop off the parcel at a location accepting parcels or request pick-up at the address of origin.
Employment in the USPS
The USPS employs more people than any company in the United States except Wal-Mart. It employed 790,000 personnel in 2003, divided into offices, processing centers, and actual post offices. USPS employees are divided into three major crafts according to the work they engage in:
- Letter Carriers, also referred to as mailmen or mail-carriers; are the public face of the USPS. As the front line, carriers are routinely pressured to move faster, work harder, and perform more tasks in a timed manner.
- Mail handlers and processors often work in the evening and night to prepare Express, Priority, First Class, Bulk Business Mail (BBM), and other classes of mail for the carriers to deliver or for dispatch throughout the Postal network. Work is physically strenuous, especially for mail handlers; many mailbags loaded from and onto trucks weigh as much as 70 pounds (32 kg).
- Clerks sort and/ or case first and second class mail as well as standard and bulk rate mail. Clerks also work in the post offices, handling customer needs, receiving express mail, and selling stamps. DCOs (Data Conversion Operators), who encode address information at Remote Encoding Centers, are also members of the clerk craft.
Other types of positions in the USPS (other than management) include:
- Maintenance and Custodians, who see to the overall operation and cleaning of mail sorting machines, work areas, public parking and general facility operations.
- TEs (Transitional Employees), who are hired for terms upto one year (or longer if renewed)are given the same base pay as PTF/regular carriers, are allowed the same hourly and overtime benefits as a PTF/regular, however, TEs are not allowed company health benefits until after one year and are never offered retirement or any other benefits except annual leave. (Most of these benefits were the result of USPS and NALC contract negotiations.)
- The most recent contract adopted by the NALC (National Association of Letter Carriers) has eliminated the 'casual' carrier position. Casuals continue to exist in other crafts, however.
Though USPS employs many individuals, as more Americans send information via electronic mail, fewer postal workers are needed to work dwindling amounts of mail. Post offices and mail facilities are constantly downsizing, replacing craft positions with new machines and eliminating mail routes. Thus, postal hiring has been criticized as sporadic. .
The employees are represented by the American Postal Workers Union, which represents clerks, maintenance employees, and motor vehicle service workers, National Rural Letter Carriers' Association and the National Association of Letter Carriers as their bargaining agents and union representatives.
Environmental Record
The United States Postal Service has been given the WasteWise Partner of the Year eight times. USPS is also the only shipping/ mailing company in the United States that has received the Cradle to CradleSM certification, which they received in 2007. In order to receive this certification, the company’s products undergo intense reviews in many areas including: the use of renewable energy and efficient water use during production, and strategies for social responsibility, among others.
The USPS is taking more than 500 old postal trucks off of the road and replacing them with newer, larger trucks, which will result in numerous benefits for the environment: (1) decreasing the amount of CO2 emissions by replacing the vintage vehicles with cleaner, more fuel efficient year 2000 vehicles, (2) the use of larger vehicles will reduce the number of miles that USPS vehicles travel.
In addition to this environmental initiative, the USPS recycles about 2 trillion pounds of plastic, paper, and other materials yearly.
Public reputation
As violent ("Going Postal")
In the early 1990s, widely publicized workplace shootings by disgruntled employees at USPS facilities led to a postal regulation that prohibits the possession of firearms in all postal facilities. Due to media coverage, postal employees gained a reputation among the general public as being mentally ill. The USPS Commission on a Safe and Secure Workplace found that "Postal workers are only a third as likely as those in the national workforce to be victims of homicide at work." This stereotype in turn has influenced American culture, as seen in the slang term "going postal" (see Patrick Sherrill for information on his August 20, 1986, rampage) and the computer game Postal. Also, in the opening sequence of Naked Gun 33?: The Final Insult, a yell of "Disgruntled postal workers" is heard, followed by the arrival of postal workers with machine guns. In an episode of Seinfeld, the character Newman, who is a mailman, explained in a dramatic monologue that postal workers "go crazy and kill everyone" because the mail never stops. In The Simpsons episode Sunday, Cruddy Sunday, Nelson Muntz asks Postmaster Bill has he "ever gone crazy and shoot up the place", with a reply "The day of the Disgruntled postman went out with the Macarena".
In fiction
- In the 1947 classic film, Miracle on 34th Street, the identity of Kris Kringle (played by Edmund Gwenn), as the one and only "Santa Claus" was validated by a state court, based on the delivery of 21 bags of mail (famously carried into the courtroom) to the character in question. The contention was that it would have been illegal for the United States Post Office to deliver mail that was addressed to "Santa Claus" to the character "Kris Kringle", unless he was, in fact, the one and only Santa Claus. Judge Henry X. Harper (played by Gene Lockhart), ruled that since the US Government had demonstrated (through the delivery of the bags of mail) that Kris Kringle was Santa Claus, then the State of New York did not have the authority to overrule that decision.
- In the TV series Seinfeld, Newman is an employee at the USPS, which is portrayed in the series as a powerful, nefarious organization. He claims that +4 portion of ZIP codes are meaningless, no mail carrier has successfully delivered more than 50% of their mail, a feat he compares to the 3-minute mile, and that several postal workers go on killing sprees because, as he puts it, "the mail never stops." In one episode, Cosmo Kramer is abducted by Post Office security men for running an anti-mail campaign after he realizes the Postal Service has become obsolete.
- The TV series Cheers featured John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin, a regular in the bar. Calvin was a stereotypical postal employee who usually drank in uniform. Ratzenberger, along with the rest of the Cheers cast appears in an induction video for U.S. Postal Services staff.
Competitors
See also
Unions of the U.S. Postal Service
External links
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- — feature article at Uniforms magazine, September 2007
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- Account of Lysander Spooner's fight against USPS monopoly
- by Lysander Spooner
- 19th century American individualist anarchist Benjamin Tucker opposes USPS monopoly
- An argument in support of ending the government monopoly
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- Dr. Edward L. Hudgins, of the Cato Institute, speaks to Appropriations Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government
- from The Federal Register
- Rick Geddes from the Hoover Institution talks about rural subsidies
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