USPSNEWS@WORK

Branded for bidders: USPS and eBay - showing their brands on Priority Mail packaging

The eagle is flying high on new co-branded USPS® and eBay shipping supplies. The newly designed Priority Mail® boxes come in three sizes and all display the eBay and Postal Service™ logos. There's co- branded tape, too!

eBay already offers online USPS shipping solutions, which allow sellers to calculate rates, purchase postage and print shipping labels from their computers. With this new service, co-branded Priority Mail boxes can be ordered for delivery directly to an eBay member's .

The new shipping materials can be ordered for free exclusively through eBay's site beginning in late July.

Co-branded shipping supplies - just another way USPS is delivering results through product innovations that help customers grow their businesses.

The best keep on getting better: USPS named to FORTUNE's 50 Best Companies for Minorities

Inclusiveness. Celebrating a diverse workforce and opening doors to better understanding at the same time. Working hard to make sure its workforce reflects the communities it serves. These are just a few of the reasons FORTUNE, one of America's leading business magazines, named USPS to its list of 50 Best Companies for Minorities for the fifth year in a row. USPS finished sixth this year.

According to the article, the top 50 are firms that "make an effort not only to hire minorities but also retain them and promote them through the ranks."

FORTUNE gave USPS high honors, noting that 59 percent of new hires were minorities. And with 24 percent of its 50 top-paid positions held by minorities, USPS has one of the better records for making sure "diversity percolates to the top."

Accolades galore: USPS is the place to be if you work in IT

Techies rule! The Postal Service is one of the top 100 best places to work in Information Technology (IT), says Computerworld magazine. USPS is ranked 93rd in the annual survey.

Computerworld asked nearly 17,000 IT professionals to rate the places where they work - both private and public sector. They were asked about benefits, competitive salaries, opportunities for training and advancement as well as interesting project work and a flexible and diverse work environment.

USPS scored high in several categories. It's ranked 23rd in percentage of minority IT staff (34 percent), 24th in minority IT managers as a percentage of all managers (19 percent), 32nd in percentage of women IT staff (37 percent) and 33rd in average training budget per IT employee ($2,000).

The winners are published in the June 14 issue of Computerworld. Go online to www.computerworld.com to read all about it. It's a prestigious salute to the folks who deliver the digital universe ... when we need it and when we want it.

Take that to the bank: New campaign focuses on saving sick leave

Building a cushion or a nest egg to protect yourself during hard times makes sense. You get a little money and set it aside in case your roof needs repairs or your car needs work.

That's exactly what banking your sick leave is like. It's a little something set aside for days when you're physically unable to make it to work due to illness or injury.

And, that's the theme behind a new employee awareness campaign from Health and Resource Management called "Protect Your Future - Bank Your Sick Leave." The message - sick leave is an employee benefit - a cushion - for when you fall on hard times. And it's one you can bank on.

About 10,000 Postal Service facilities received a copy of the field kit containing a "Don't Let Your Team Down" video, related service talk and poster. New kits will be issued every other month.

USPSNEWS@WORK

The art of the deal: USPS proposes negotiated service agreements with BankOne, Discover

In business, negotiations are everything. Each side gives a little to get a little. For USPS, that means offering pricing incentives to companies to encourage them to do more business with us, and in some cases, setting standards for mail preparation and mail return that allow us to be more cost efficient.

It's called a negotiated service agreement (NSA), and USPS has filed proposals with the Postal Rate Commission for NSAs with BankOne and Discover Financial Services.

Under the terms of the separate agreements, BankOne and Discover Financial Services will receive pricing incentives on any First-Class Mail® items each company generates above a negotiated threshold. BankOne and Discover also agreed to convert to our address change service, a system that electronically updates forwarding orders and information on the undeliverability of mailpieces.

And to save even more money, USPS will avoid the costs of collecting, packaging and delivering return mailpieces to BankOne and Discover.

Reagan stamp

A stamp honoring former President Ronald Reagan will be issued next February, Postmaster General Jack Potter announced at a recent Board of Governors meeting in Washington, DC.

Potter said that while it is USPS tradition to honor prominent Americans with a stamp a minimum of 10 years after their deaths, the one exception is when a president dies. Then the stamp is issued on the first birth date following the president's death. For Reagan that will be February 6, 2005.

Label it a landmark

Click-N-Ship® service has passed a landmark - $100 million in projected revenue. That's a whole lot of quick, easy and convenient online label printing - and shipping, of course. And teamed with Carrier Pickup service, it's a winning combination for the Postal Service.

And, by the way, happy birthday Click-N-Ship service. You're two - and you're terrific!

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Administrative Services

NEW MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTION

MI AS-910-2004-8, Biohazard Detection System Alert-Positive Test: Evacuation, personal decontamination, and post-exposure prophylaxis

Management Instruction (MI) AS-910-2004-8, Biohazard Detection System Alert-Positive Test: Evacuation, personal decontamination, and post-exposure prophylaxis contains Postal Service™ policies related to the occurrence of a biohazard detection system (BDS) alert at a mail processing facility. Specifically, it provides directions for the following procedures:

• Evacuating people from facilities experiencing the BDS alert.

• Decontaminating potentially exposed people.

• Providing antibiotics to people.

This MI is based on the Postal Service Integrated Emergency Management Plan (IEMP), which is being implemented nationwide to establish an environment that better protects Postal Service employees, customers, and resources. For more information, go to http://blue.usps.gov/emergencypreparedness/ep_IEMP_awareness.htm (note that this URL is case sensitive).

MI AS-910-2004-8 is available on the Postal Service PolicyNet Web site:

• Go to http://blue.usps.gov.

• Under "Essential Links" in the left-hand column, click on References.

• Under "References" in the right-hand column, next to "PolicyNet," click on text.

The MI will be published online only.

- Vice President,
Emergency Preparedness, 7-8-04

The National Center for Employee Development — The Time to Plan and Act on Your FY 2005 Staffing and Training Needs Is Now

The National Center for Employee Development (NCED) is a Postal Service™-owned, world-class training, learning, and conferencing facility, centrally located in America's Heartland, Norman, Oklahoma. Courses are available for Postal Service employees and customers. For a full listing of courses offered at the NCED, go to www.nced.com. The schedule is now open in the Automated Enrollment System (AES).

We have noticed that many business mail units are particularly behind on training. If you are part of a business mail unit, please review your training needs for FY 2005 and reserve seats.

Courses of Particular Importance

If you have any questions, please go to our web site at www.nced.com, or contact:

BYRON R JACOBSON EMCM
TEAM LEADER BUSINESS MAIL ACADEMY
NATIONAL CENTER FOR EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
2701 EAST IMHOFF RD
NORMAN OK 73071-1198

Telephone: 405-366-4639
Fax: 405-366-4012
Internal e-mail: Jacobson, Byron
External e-mail: byron.r.jacobson@usps.gov

- National Center for Employee Development,
Employee Resource Management, 7-8-04

Customer Relations

Mail Alert

The mailings below will be deposited in the near future. Offices should honor the requested delivery dates. Mailers wishing to participate in these alerts, for mailings of 1 million pieces or more, should contact Business Service Network Integration at 703-292-4041 at least 1 month preceding the requested delivery dates. The Postal Service™ also offers electronic Mail Alerts via ADVANCE. For more information, see the ADVANCE Notification & Tracking System Technical Guide on the Internet at http://www.ribbs.usps.gov/files/advance/ADVTECH.PDF or contact the National Customer Support Center at 800-458-3181.