USPSNEWS@WORK
Postal Service awards domestic air
contract to UPS
The Postal Service awarded a contract to United Parcel
Service (UPS), significantly enhancing the Postal Service's
business relationship with UPS involving the domestic air
transportation of mail. The agreement calls for UPS to
transport primarily First-Class Mail and Priority Mail items
to and from 98 U.S. cities.
The contract is a three-year arrangement with the possibility of a two-year extension. Currently, UPS provides the
Postal Service with mail transportation to and from 16 U.S.
cities.
"The Postal Service is one of the largest users of air
transportation in the nation and UPS operates one of the
world's largest airlines," said Postmaster General Jack
Potter. "It only makes sense for us to take advantage of the
reach offered by UPS. The added advantage of the similarity of our operations will enhance the Postal Service's ability
to provide the highest levels of service for our customers."
UPS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael
Eskew said the agreement is good for both companies.
Reagan stamp reissued
 Left to right: Van Nuys District Manager
Kerry Wolny, Reagan Library
Foundation Executive Director R. Duke
Blackwood, 8-year-old Mitchka Saberi
and USPS Board of Governors Chair
James Miller. Saberi, a third-grader,
wrote an essay on Reagan that was
read by Blackwood during the
ceremony.
The Reagan stamp
won overwhelming support as it was reissued in
its new 39-cent denomination recently in Simi
Valley, CA.
"Ronald Reagan's record is proof that one
person, determined and
dedicated, can shoulder
the greatest of burdens
and carry them through
to victory - and in his
case, even make it look
easy," said Board of Governors Chair James Miller, who
dedicated the stamp. Miller served as Reagan's director of
the Office of Management and Budget, and later chaired
the Federal Trade Commission.
The Reagan stamp was first issued Feb. 9, 2005, as a
37-cent commemorative stamp.
"Reissuing a commemorative U.S. presidential stamp in
a higher denomination is a very rare occurrence," said
Reagan Library Foundation Executive Director R. Duke
Blackwood. "Mrs. Reagan is touched that the Postal
Service is honoring her husband in this manner."
USPS environmental efforts recognized
 USPS has been a pioneer in using
alternative fuels such as biodiesel.
The Postal Service
was honored at a White
House ceremony recently
with a 2006 Closing the
Circle (CTC) Award for its
progressive use of biodiesel fuel.
Biodiesel is a domestically produced, renewable fuel that can be
manufactured from a variety of natural vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled yellow grease, such as fryer-oil waste
from restaurants.
The CTC Awards, presented annually by the Office of
the Federal Environmental Executive, recognize outstanding achievements of federal employees and their facilities
for efforts that result in significant contributions to environmental stewardship.
Puerto Rico Post Offices launch
passport services
 Left to right: Washington, DC, Resident
Commissioner for Puerto Rico Luis
Fortuo, Caribbean District
Manager/Executive-in-Charge Priscilla
Maney, Secretary of State for the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Fernando Bonilla and U.S. Department
of State Regional Director for Passport
Services Darrell Smith launch passport
application services at San Juan's Hato
Rey General Post Office last week.
Puerto Ricans now
can apply for passports
at eight Post Offices on
the island - with 11
more offices to launch
the service in July.
USPS Caribbean District officials have been
working for several years
to add passport services
for Puerto Rican customers. It's a welcome addition, as shown by a line of
15 applicants ready to
start their paperwork right
after an opening ceremony in San Juan recently.
Customers now can apply for passports at Post Offices
in Caguas, Carolina, Fajardo, Arecibo, Mayaguez, Ponce,
Vieques and San Juan.
New scanners get thumbs-up in
Pennsylvania test
 Erie, PA, Letter Carrier Bill Applebee
awaits a customer's signature before
capturing the image with a new
Intelligent Mail Device scanner.
For a week in May,
Erie District employees
tested new Intelligent Mail
Device (IMD) scanners
(IMDs) under a variety of
weather conditions.
The IMDs boast a larger, color screen and other
technical improvements
over previous scanners.
The new devices take a
digital picture of the customer's signature and have the ability to
scan barcodes at any angle. They will help the Postal Service
increase visibility of the mailstream, from pickup to delivery.
The tests, conducted by Intelligent Mail and Address
Quality (IMAQ) with support from area IMD coordinators,
also helped fine-tune user training - getting the program
ready for rollout to some 300,000 IMDs nationwide, starting
later this year.
The IMD program is a joint effort of IMAQ, Delivery,
Engineering and Information Technology.
Lake Charles, LA, employees donate the
gift of life
 Acting Lake Charles, LA, Finance
Manager Rickey Richard participated in
World Blood Donor Day at the Lake
Charles Post Office.
Saving the world isn't
easy - saving a life is.
World Blood Donor Day
was celebrated recently
and the Lake Charles, LA,
Post Office opened its
doors to be part of the
worldwide event. Every
employee - clerk, carrier,
mail handler, maintenance
personnel, supervisor and
manager - had the opportunity to share the gift of life.
According to Life Share, the blood donation organization
that facilitated the event, each year more than 4.5 million
patients in America need blood transfusions to live. Those
transfusions take place about every 2 seconds. Globally,
60% of the global blood supply goes to approximately 18%
of the world's population.
USPS Information Technology cited for
Katrina efforts
The Postal Service is being honored for its innovative
use of technology to respond, reconnect and re-establish in
the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
USPS Information Technology has been selected to receive a Government Solutions Center Pioneer Award from
Federal Computer Week. It recognizes public sector organizations for their efforts "to deliver results-oriented government services."
After the storm struck the Gulf Coast last year, IT, working with its partners at IBM, quickly set up a hurricane information delivery system on USPS.com and Blue. Through
the Web site, the Postal Service kept customers informed
about the status of their mail delivery and local Post
Offices. Internally, Blue kept displaced employees connected and provided job-related information.
The Postal Service's IT hurricane response efforts will
be recognized July 26 in Washington, DC, at a showcase
event for government IT programs.
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