United States Postal Service
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| United States Postal Service | |
 |
|
| Type | Government agency |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1775 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Key people | John E. Potter, Postmaster General |
| Industry | Courier |
| Products | First Class mail, Domestic Mail, Logistics |
| Revenue |  $69.0 billion USD (2004) |
| Employees | 700,000 |
| Slogan | We Deliver For You. |
| Website | www.usps.com |
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an "independent establishment of the executive branch" of the United States Government (see 39 U.S.C. § 201) responsible for providing postal service in the United States. Within the United States, it is colloquially referred to simply as "the post office."
[edit] History
The first postal service in America arose on February, 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 Postal Service was created in Philadelphia under Benjamin Franklin on July 26, 1775 by decree of the Second Continental Congress. Based on a clause in the United States Constitution empowering Congress "To establish post offices and post roads," it became the Post Office Department 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.
From 1837 to 1970, the Postal Service used a running pony as its logo; that logo was replaced by an eagle. In the 1990s, the eagle was redesigned again so that it was just the head. [1]
The USPS is the third-largest employer in the United States (after the United States Department of Defense and Wal-Mart) and operates the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world, with an estimated 260,000 vehicles, the majority of which are the easily identified Grumman LLV "mail truck", as shown in the pictures below. In an interview on NPR[2], 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 their fleet. This implies that the fleet requires some 800 million gallons of fuel per year, and an estimated fuel budget of $2 billion were the national gasoline price to average $2.50. Some mail carriers use personal vehicles. Standard postal service vehicles do not have license plates; instead, a truck is identified by blue numbers on the front and back.
Competition from e-mail and private operations such as United Parcel Service, FedEx, and DHL 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).
[edit] 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 39 U.S.C. § 202). 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 39 U.S.C. § 202 and 39 U.S.C. § 203). 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," (39 U.S.C. § 201) 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.
[edit] Statutory monopoly
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The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
The USPS holds a statutory monopoly on non-urgent First Class Mail, outbound U.S. international letters[2] as well the exclusive right to put mail in private mailboxes[3], as described in the Private Express Statutes. According to a report from the General Accounting Office, "The monopoly was created by Congress as a revenue protection measure for the Postal Service’s predecessor to enable it to fulfill its mission. It is to prevent private competitors from engaging in an activity known as “cream-skimming,” i.e., offering service on low-cost routes at prices below those of the Postal Service while leaving the Service with high-cost routes."[2] The law that prohibits anyone except the USPS from placing mail in a private mailbox (18 U.S.C. § 1725), was also passed for the purpose of preventing loss of revenue to the post office.[2] Besides the prevention of revenue loss, the 1934 legislation was passed for another reason, the second being, "...Congress sought to decrease the quantity of extraneous matter being placed in mail boxes."[2]
Until 1979, competition in all letter mail was prohibited. However, faced with imminent legislation to exempt "urgent" letter mail from the monopoly, the Post Office decided on their own to exempt "extremely urgent" letters.[4] Competition in "extremely urgent letters" is allowed under certain conditions: The private carrier must charge at least $3 or twice the U.S. postage, whichever is greater (other stipulations, such as maximum delivery time, apply as well); or, alternatively, it may be delivered for free.[5] This is where carriers such as FedEx compete by offering overnight delivery, as well as where bicycle messengers compete for intracity mail. However, the private carrier of the urgent letters must not use the standardized mailboxes marked "U.S. Mail." Hence, private carriers of urgent letters must either deliver packages directly to the recipient, leave them in the open near the recipient's front door, or place them in a special box dedicated solely to that carrier (a technique commonly used by small courier and messenger services). The United States is the only country that has such a mailbox monopoly according to the American Enterprise Institute of Public Policy Research, a private think tank. [6]
Carriers as well as mailers are supposed to comply with the laws against using a competitor to mail an overnight letter that is not extremely urgent. A violation can occur at a home or a business where letters originate. But, since nonurgent letters can be mailed covertly through private carriers USPS has found it difficult to enforce. However, companies such as Bellsouth and Equifax have been investigated and fined for mailing nonurgent material through private overnight delivery services. Private carriers of overnight mail say that they do not inspect the mail of customers to determine if it the content is extremely urgent and suggest that the responsibility for ensuring that relies on the mailers themselves. Carriers do, however, have certain responsibilities under the regulations.[2]
Since the mail monopoly only applies to nonurgent letter mail, the USPS is losing a significant amount of business to their competitors in other services, who offer lower rates. For example, FedEx and others have captured 90% of the overnight mail business.[3]
During the 1830s and 1840s several entrepreneurs started their own letter mail delivery companies, with the intent of ending the postal monopoly. These included Lysander Spooner and his American Letter Mail Company, Henry Wells (of Wells Fargo), and Alvin Adams. They were financially successful. However they were forced out of business through the Congressional legislation enforcing the mail monopoly, or in the case of the Pony Express, became mail contractors.[7][8]
[edit] Arguments against "mail monopoly"
The mail monopoly is not without its critics. Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman said, "there is no way to justify our present public monopoly of the post office. It may be argued that the carrying of mail is a technical monopoly and that a government monopoly is the least of evils. Along these lines, one could perhaps justify a government post office, but not the present law, which makes it illegal for anybody else to carry the mail. If the delivery of mail is a technical monopoly, no one else will be able to succeed in competition with the government. If it is not, there is no reason why the government should be engaged in it. The only way to find out is to leave other people free to enter."[9] There are examples of postal competition in other countries.[10] Sam Ryan, a senior fellow at the Lexington Institute, says the reason stamp prices keep rising is because of the mail monopoly. He says that in a competitive industry, prices of products and services normally fall, rather than rise. However, when the "going gets tough" for the Post Office they raise prices instead of cutting costs as they would have to do if they were competing for business. He says "Imagine if the price of a phone call or sending an e-mail rose with inflation for 30 years."[11] Ryan points out they have proven themselves unable to take advantage of economies of scale and technology investments to lower stamp prices. He cites a study by leading experts of the Postal Rate Commission which concluded that "The doubling of overall volume coupled with scale economies should have resulted in the average price of the stamp dropping in real terms."[12]
The Post Office argues that the monopoly is necessary to fulfill its mission "to provide for an economically sound postal system that could afford to deliver letters between any two locations, however remote." They argue that if private carriers are allowed to compete, then the Post Office would not be able to deliver mail to every American at the same price. Postmaster General Marvin Runyon said, when exiting his position in 1998, that he believes that the monopoly will become increasingly irrelevant, "not through legislative fiat, not through the power of PAC dollars. But through the natural forces of marketplace competition." He cites the rise of electronic mail. Jim Kelly of UPS says that the Post Office has an unfair advantage and should be subject to the same rules, such as paying taxes, following state and local regulations, and being subject to antitrust laws.[13]
[edit] Law enforcement agencies
[edit] U.S. Postal Inspection Service
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the U.S. It was founded by Benjamin Franklin (See USPIS "Who We Are")
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 law 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 for Public Policy Research, a private think tank (http://aei.org) the USPIS raided Equifax offices to ascertain if the mail they were sending through FedEx was truly "extremely urgent." It was found that the mail was not, and Equifax was fined $30,000 to compensate the Postal Service for the postage that was lost to FedEx.[14]
[edit] USPS Office of Inspector General
The 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.
[edit] Types of postal facilities
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. [3] [4]
- 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. [5]
- 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.
[edit] 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), which will process single-piece letters and flats;
- 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, Remote Encoding 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.
[edit] 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. Additionally, a ZIP+4 code is not necessary.
- 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.
- First-class mail costs 39¢ 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 JEFF GILBERT
- 1111 JOHNSON ST
- NEW YORK NY 10036-4658
The USPS maintains a list of proper abbreviations.
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.
[edit] 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, a highly advanced scanning system with a state of the art neural net processor which is highly effective at correctly reading almost all addresses, no matter how poorly written [6]. 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 code 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 which 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.
[edit] Major 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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. Mailers must change the second-class endorsement to Periodicals by July 1, 1996, in order to comply with reform requirements.
[edit] 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. [7]
[edit] 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.
[edit] Parcel Post
Used to send packages weighing up to 70 pounds (31.75 kg)
- Delivery standards are 2–9 business days
- Rates based on distance, weight, and shape
- Delivery to every address in the United States, including PO Boxes and Military Addresses.
[edit] Media Mail
Formerly (and colloquially, still) known as "Book Rate", Media Mail is used to send books, 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 from point "A" to point "B"
- Postage can be paid using any method except precanceled stamps
[edit] 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.
[edit] Bound Printed Matter
Same as Media Mail but it 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. Observations:
- Package can weigh up to 15lbs.
- 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 required" to receive undeliverable back. Mail without this marking will be disposed of.
[edit] Priority Mail
Priority Mail is an expedited mail service with a few additional features.
- Average delivery time is 2–3 days (but this not guaranteed, may take longer)
- 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) [8]
- Packages up to 70 pounds (31.75 kg).
- Label can be printed online
- Delivery to any address in the United States
[edit] Registered Mail
According to the USPS's Domestic Mail Manual, Registered Mail is "the most secure service that the USPS offers"[9] 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.[10] 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 sealed 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
- Packages must be brown-paper wrapped (often done for the customer)
[edit] Express Mail
Express Mail is the fastest mail service.
- 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 50 pounds (22.7 kg)
- Delivery to most addresses in the United States
- Guaranteed on-time delivery or the postage is refunded subject to conditions
[edit] Postal money orders
- Provide a safe alternative to sending cash through the mail
- 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.
[edit] Global services
Airmail (Letter Post), Global Priority, Global Express, and Global Express Guaranteed Mail are offered to ship mail and packages to almost every country and territory on the globe. Ironically, much of this service is provided by FedEx. [11]
[edit] 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, 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.
[edit] Sunday mail delivery
Until 1912, mail was delivered 7 days a week. As the postal service grew in popularity and usage in the 1800's, 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.[12]
This is a matter of some controversy. Many believe that the post office is closed to prevent a government subsidized agency from forcing Christians to work on Sunday, a protection of religious freedom. Others believe that the government used its power to take "competition" away from churches, and is seen by some as a violation of separation of church and state.
As a result of this intervention by the government, U.S. 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. U.S. Mail is delivered Monday through Saturday, with the exception of observed federal holidays.
[edit] Add-on services
The Postal Service offers additional services for some types of mail.
[edit] Delivery confirmation
- Confirms delivery of package
- Detailed package tracking is not included, but information is sometimes available
- Results available online or by telephone
- Only available with First Class Mail parcels, Priority Mail, and Package Services (Media Mail, Parcel Post, and Bound Printed Matter)
- Included free with Priority Mail labels printed online
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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
[edit] Certified Mail
- Provides proof of mailing, and a delivery record
- Available for First Class Mail and Priority Mail
- Available for sending U.S. Government classified information, up to the CONFIDENTIAL level.
[edit] 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).
[edit] Air Mail and Pony Express trademarks
In 2006 the Postal Service registered traditional trademarks Pony Express and Air Mail.[15]
[edit] 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 although they are invalid for overseas mail (except APO and FPO addresses).
The cost of mailing a letter will go up May 14, 2007 to 41 cents, but the Post Office will be offering a "forever" stamp. This stamp will be sold at the standard rate, but will always be valid for 1st class mail, no matter how rates rise in the future. For example, one can buy several at 41 cents, and still use them without additional postage in the future.[16]
[edit] Copyright and reproduction
All U.S. postage stamps and other postage items that were released before 1978 are in the public domain. After this time they are copyright by the postal service under Title 17 of the United States Code. Written permission is required for use of copyrighted postage stamp images. [13]
[edit] 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:
- Stamps.com
- Pitney Bowes
- Endicia Internet Postage
- eBay
- Click-N-Ship
[edit] Customized postage
Customers can also use their own pictures or images to print their very own customized postage products using one of the vendors listed below. Customized postage is valid U.S. postage and can be used just like a stamp. Customized postage can be ordered in all first-class rates, as well as in the Priority Mail rate.
[edit] Affiliation with Online Postage Providers
In addition to the USPS Click-N-Ship service, the USPS has partnered with other companies such as PayPal to offer postage label printing with the services the site has to offer. In PayPal's case, a user can print postage on PayPal and have the costs deducted from their PayPal account or a linked bank account. The seller may then drop off the parcel at a location accepting parcels or request pick-up at the address of origin.
[edit] Sponsorships
Beginning in 1996, the USPS was head sponsor of a professional cycling team bearing its name. The team featured Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour de France. The sponsorship ended in 2004, when the Discovery Channel stepped in as the main sponsor and renamed the team as the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team.
[edit] 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 four major categories according to the work they engage in:
- Letter Carriers, also referred to as mailmen or mail-carriers; are the public face of the USPS.
- Mail handlers and processors often work in the evening and night to prepare mail and bulk goods for the carriers to deliver. Work is physically strenuous, especially for mail handlers; many mailbags loaded from and onto trucks weigh as much as 70 pounds (32 kg).
- Clerks work in the post offices, handling customers' needs, receiving express mail, and selling stamps.
- DCOs (Data Conversion Operators), who type out address information and forward mail to their destinations.
Though USPS employs many individuals, as more Americans send information via electronic mail, fewer postal workers are needed to deliver dwindling amounts of mail. Thus, postal hiring has been criticized as sporadic, and what few slots are available are usually reduced to part-time hourly wage, no benefits, earners. Competition for new, full-time, salaried positions can be highly intense.
[edit] Public reputation
[edit] As violent
In the early 1990s, there was a widely publicized wave of workplace shootings by disgruntled employees at USPS facilities, which 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. 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 The Naked Gun 33 1/3: 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.
The Setting the Record Straight section of USPS.com features letters to newspaper editors, television producers, and other media representatives which USPS has sent in response to criticism of the Postal Service and to uses of the term "going postal."
[edit] As dedicated
Lines supposedly from the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds," are engraved on the exterior of the U.S. Postal Service building in New York City; they are often erroneously cited as the official motto of the USPS. The translation may be a slightly more poetical rendition of the original text, though the same sentiment is expressed.[17]
The postman in the animated television program Garfield and Friends is so dedicated to delivering mail past Garfield's elaborate traps that he attempts to deliver the mail in a tank. He professes a simple love of being greeted as he delivers the mail.
On the popular television show Cheers, Cliff Clavin has portrayed himself as a dedicated postal worker on many occasions. The misconception of postal workers always drinking led to new postal regulations that made drinking in a bar while in uniform a fireable offense.
In Lucifer's Hammer a dedicated postal worker goes about his rounds even though a comet has just hit the earth.
In The_Postman the titular character catalyzes a rebirth of civilization by donning the uniform and pretending to be a letter carrier from a post-apocalyptic United States government.
In contrast, on the popular television program Seinfeld, Jerry's neighbor Newman, a letter carrier, refused to deliver mail when it rained.
[edit] Trivia
- Twenty-three million pieces of mail are processed each day in New York City.[18]
- Even though considered competitors, FedEx Express carries over 1 million pounds of USPS Express mail every day in their planes. [14]
- To help announce the coming of a new stamp the Post Office is wrapping mail collection boxes in some 200 cities to look like R2-D2. [15]
[edit] See also
- United States postal abbreviations
- History of USPS rates
- Rural delivery service
- Rural Letter Carrier
- United States Postal Service creed
- Government monopoly
- United States Postal Inspection Service
- Postage stamps and postal history of the United States of America
- List of available US stamp denominations
- Military mail
- DHL (competitor)
- TNT (competitor)
- FedEx (competitor)
- UPS (competitor)
- Courier
- Package delivery
- Royal Mail - The U.K. equivalent to the USPS
[edit] Unions of the U.S. Postal Service
- American Postal Workers Union *APWU Official website
- National Association of Letter Carriers *NALC Official website
- National Postal Mail Handlers Union *NPMHU Official website
- National Rural Letter Carriers Association *NRLCA Official website
- National Association of Postmasters *NAPUS Official website
- National Association of Postal Supervisors *NAPS Official website
- National League of Postmasters *Official website
[edit] Gallery of USPS post offices
 Post office and town hall in Lockhart, Alabama |
 The Post office operated by the USPS in Cupertino, California |
 The Post office operated by the USPS in Yountville, California |
 The Post Office operated by the USPS in Omaha, Nebraska |
 The Post Office operated by the USPS in Wainscott, New York |
 The Post Office operated by the USPS in Conneaut, Ohio |
 The Post Office operated by the USPS in Eastlake, Ohio |
 The Post Office operated by the USPS in Troy, Ohio |
 Ochopee post office, Florida - the smallest Post Office in the USA |
[edit] Gallery of USPS mailboxes
 U.S. Post Box in front of the Post Office in Conneaut, Ohio |
 Mailboxes configured for drive-through access in Los Altos, California |
[edit] References
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Postal Museum
- ^ a b c d e Postal Service Reform: Issues Relevant To Changing Restrictions on Private Letter Deliverty, United States General Accounting Office, September 1996, GAO/GGD-96-129B Volume II Private Express Statutes
- ^ a b McEachen, William A. Economics, Thomson South-Western (2005), page 208
- ^ Cohen, Ferguson, Waller, and Xenakis, Universal Service Without a Monopoly?, Office of Rates, Analysis and Planning, U.S. Postal Rate Commission, November 1999
- ^ Understanding the Private Express Statutes USPS Publication 542 (June 1998)
- ^ Geddes, Rick. Opportunities for Anticompetitive Behavior in Postal Services, American Enterprise Institute AEI Online (http://aie.org) (2003)
- ^ Hull, Gary. The Abolition of Antitrust, Transaction Publishers, 2005, p. 76
- ^ USPS History: The Pony Express
- ^ Friedman, Milton & Rose D. Capitalism and Freedom, University of Chicago Press, 1982, p. 29
- ^ Frycklund, Jonas Private Mail in Sweden, Cato Journal Vol. 13, No. 1 (1993)
- ^ "Privatize This" by Sam Ryan, in The National Review, online March 7, 2005
- ^ Postal Regulation and Worksharing in the U.S., Robert H. Cohen, Matthew Robinson, Renee SHeehy, John Waller, Spyros Xenakis, December 2004
- ^ Postmaster general foresees end to mail monopoly, Randolph E. Smith, Associated Press, Athens Daily News (Online Athens)
- ^ Geddes, Rick. Opportunities for Anticompetitive Behavior in Postal Services, AIE Online (http://aie.org) (Washington) June 1, 2003
- ^ U.S. Postal Service Expands Licensing Program News Release #06-043 June 20, 2006
- ^ Postal Rates Set to Go Up on May 14. March 20, 2007.
- ^ Presky, Michael. Persian invention of postal service, Herodotus. galileolibrary.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ New York City Economic Development Corporation.[1]
[edit] External links
- USPS Official website
- Mailbox Locator: Searchable database of USPS collection stations (blue mailboxes) throughout the US.
- USPS Glossary of Postal Terms (Publication 32)
- USPS Postal Addressing Standards (Publication 28)
- History of the United States Postal Service
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service Official website
- USPS Office of the Inspector General Official website
- Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding the US Postal Service
- Understanding the Private Express Statutes USPS Publication 542 (June 1998) pdf file
- U.S. Postal Service cycling team
- "Father of 3-cent Stamp" Spooner fought Post Office Account of Lysander Spooner's fight against USPS monopoly
- The Unconstitutionality of the Laws of Congress Prohibiting Private Mails by Lysander Spooner
- The Post Office and Private Mail Service 19th century American individualist anarchist Benjamin Tucker opposes USPS monopoly
- America's Post Office Challenges The Digital Age An argument in support of ending the government monopoly
- Time for the Mail Monopoly to Go
- Postal Service Privatization Dr. Edward L. Hudgins, of the Cato Institute, speaks to Appropriations Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government
- Photos of post offices around the world
- U.S. Mail holidays - UPS holidays - FedEx holidays - Internet Accuracy Project
- ePostmarks homepage
- Postal Service Meeting Notices and Rule Changes from The Federal Register RSS Feed
