Mail Processing Machine Operator Ken Jorsling of Frederick, MD. The Postal Service processed nearly 203 billion pieces of mail in 2008.

Health and Safety

USPS is committed to the health and safety of our employees. Through the National Medical and Occupational Health Program, we provide preventive medical programs in health counseling, education and training, and we manage employee medical records.

The Postal Service Employee Assistance Program provides employees and family members with free, voluntary and confidential counseling from licensed professionals. Counselors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help employees deal with difficulties that may affect their lives and work.

One of the greatest investments the Postal Service makes for our employees is maintaining a safe working environment. We have a robust Voluntary Protection Program, ergonomic risk-reduction processes, joint safety initiatives with employee unions and other safety programs developed in cooperation with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The Postal Service continued to make progress with safety improvements in 2008. Our OSHA injury and illness frequency rate in 2008 was 5.4 per 100 employees, which translates to 3,324 fewer employee injuries and illnesses than occurred in 2007.

Our motor vehicle accident frequency rate in 2008 was 9.52 per million miles, a 2.76 percent improvement from the previous year. This translates into 396 fewer vehicle accidents last year.

Efforts to raise employee awareness about avoiding injuries and illness included safety talks, publications and videos, such as our award-winning "Safety Depends on Me" video campaign.

We also launched a public service video for children this year to raise awareness of safety around our delivery vehicles.

Diversity and Inclusiveness

Diversity is key to Postal Service success and affects every aspect of our organization. Our workforce diversity reflects that of the nation. The Postal Service is one of America´s leading employers of minorities and women, with minorities making up 39 percent of our workforce, and women, 37 percent.

In 2008, Hispanic Business Magazine named USPS a top employer of Hispanics. CAREERS & the disABLED magazine recognized the Postal Service as a top 20 government agency for disabled employees.

USPS also introduced GrowGlobal! as a strategy for growing business with multicultural customer segments. GrowGlobal! uses the diversity of the Postal Service´s workforce to reach untapped non-traditional business markets.

USPS both values and reflects the cultural diversity of the nation.