Know your employee ID number and
USPS PIN: Your key to self-service HR
Employees can complete benefits, retirement and separation transactions at personnel kiosks, through
PostalEASE online via Blue and LiteBlue or by phoning the
new HR Shared Services Center toll free.
It's all part of PostalPEOPLE, a joint effort by Human
Resources and Information Technology, which helps us reduce costs by standardizing HR systems and better using
our resources through the Shared Services Center. It helps
engage employees by giving them self-service options to
make more informed decisions about their benefits. And, all
these goals are part of the Postal Service's Strategic Transformation Plan 2006-2010.
To access PostalPEOPLE, you'll need your employee ID
and your USPS PIN.
Don't know your Employee ID? Look on your latest earnings statement. It's at the top, near your name.
Don't know your USPS PIN? Visit the PostalEASE Web
site or call PostalEASE at 877-4PS-EASE (877-477-3273).
Once you've provided the necessary information, your
USPS PIN will be mailed to you.
2005 financials released: USPS finishes
2005 debt free
Record revenues of $70 billion and record mail volume
of 212 billion pieces allowed the Postal Service to finish
2005 with a $1.4 billion surplus - a surplus that's been
used to reduce our once $11 billion debt to zero and maintain stable rates since 2002.
But despite the strong financial and productivity records
of recent years, we are facing a modest increase in postage
rates in January.
The price change was compelled by 2003 legislation requiring the Postal Service to put aside more than $3 billion
into escrow each year beginning in 2006. Without that requirement, postage rates most likely would have remained
at current levels until 2007.
Although the postal financial news is positive and the
2006 forecast projects a surplus from operations,
Postmaster General Jack Potter cautioned that because of
the anticipated $3.1 billion escrow requirement, the Postal
Service will likely have a net deficiency approaching $2
billion.
Give me Lady Liberty
 The Postal Service is getting a jump on the January
price change by issuing the
nondenominated First-Class
Mail definitive stamp Lady
Liberty and U.S. Flag in
Washington, DC. The stamp
went on sale earlier this month
and features two of the most
recognized symbols of the
United States - the Statue of
Liberty and the American flag.
Carl and Ann Purcell of Alexandria, VA, took separate
photographs of the Statue of Liberty and the American flag
and combined them to create the montage used in the
stamp art.
Super Stamps for 2006: Super heroes,
super sluggers and super stars
What do Batman, baseball, Brooklyn's Verrazano-
Narrows Bridge, Hattie McDaniel and Harley Davidson
have in common? They're all American icons being highlighted on 2006 commemorative stamps.
The stamps honor comic book super heroes, baseball
sluggers, America's longest bridge span, the first African
American to earn an Oscar and America's love affair with
motorcycles.
Favorite children's book animals, the 2006 Olympic Winter Games and Wonders of America are other featured topics. Benjamin Franklin, Sugar Ray Robinson, Katherine
Anne Porter and Judy Garland are among the distinguished
Americans to be commemorated.
To see and read more about next year's stamp images,
go to http://www.usps.com/communications/news/stamps/
2005/sr05_054.htm. |
A FAST Deployment: Drop Shipment
Appointment System retired
The Drop Shipment Appointment System (DSAS) is officially retired. It's been replaced by Facility Access and
Shipment Tracking (FAST), an online appointment-
scheduling tool that simplifies drop shipment scheduling
and encourages customers to provide accurate and timely
information when scheduling appointments. FAST has
been deployed nationally to 800 facilities - including all
business mail centers.
Hundreds of FAST users were trained and application
support teams were available onsite at locations to help get
the system running. Successful deployment occurred on
schedule - except in Louisiana District, which was
affected by Hurricane Katrina. Louisiana District facilities
now open to drop shipments are using FAST. Facilities that
aren't open will go live on FAST as soon as they're able to
receive drop shipments.
To learn more about FAST, visit the Network Operations Web site at http://blue.usps.gov/wps/portal/
!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_16OV.
Sioux Falls sees better mail flow with
surface visibility
 All eyes were on the
Sioux Falls, SD, Processing and Distribution
Facility when it became
one of the first plants nationwide to implement
Surface Visibility.
Surface Visibility allows the Postal Service to track individual handling units
(trays, tubs and sacks) from origin to destination using a series of barcode scans on the handling units, containers and
trailers used to move the mail.
Scanners are used to collect the data. They also can
alert employees if they are placing a handling unit into the
wrong container or a container onto the wrong trailer. The
system lets the destinating plant know how much mail is on
the way and when it will arrive.
QuickConnect: Meeting the need for
speed
 Have you noticed a
new icon on your desktop? It's QuickConnect.
It can speed up your
connections to postal
applications.
Information technology equipment and applications are helping
USPS run virtually every
aspect of the business. Connecting to these applications
rarely is an issue at larger sites. But at dial-up sites, waiting
for applications to respond can be agonizing.
QuickConnect originally was intended for low bandwidth
sites (56K or below). However, anyone having performance
issues with applications found on the QuickConnect menu
can now try it to see if it helps.
Information Technology is committed to moving all offices to a high-speed Internet connection. Until then, dial-up
users have QuickConnect.
Request QuickConnect through eAccess. Once your
manager or supervisor and your district information services manager approve your request, you'll have access.
Simply check the icon and select the desired application.
Learn more about QuickConnect at the IT Web site - http://it - under IT Spotlight. If you need assistance, call
the IT Help Desk at 800-USPS-HELP. When prompted, say
"PPP."
Postal Employees' Relief Fund still
accepting donations
For many of us, the holiday season has been time spent
with family, friends and loved ones - sharing good food,
holiday music and the joy of the season.
This year's hurricane season has made celebrations like
that difficult for some USPS employees. Uprooted from
their s and scattered across the country, many of
them have spent this holiday season reflecting on the
changes in their lives.
The Postal Employees' Relief Fund (PERF) was set up
as a way for USPS employees to help each other after a
natural disaster hits. And you have responded like never
before - nearly $1 million has been donated to PERF
since Hurricane Katrina hit at the end of August.
You can make your contribution by visiting www.postalrelief.com and clicking the "Donate Now" button, or by sending a check or money order payable to:
PERF
PO BOX 34422
WASHINGTON DC 20043-4422
You also can select PERF for your Combined Federal
Campaign (CFC) contribution. PERF's CFC code is 9891. |
