Tag: USPS

The US Postal Service and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA) have extended their collective bargaining agreement by two years. Postmaster General Jack Potter and NRLCA President Dale Holton signed the agreement earlier this week. The existing collective bargaining agreement was originally set to expire on Nov. 20, 2004. It has now been extended to Nov. 20, 2006. The agreement provides for a 1.3% wage increase effective Nov. 27, 2004, and a 1.3% increase effective Nov. 26, 2005.

The US Postal Service has entered into a Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) with Discover Financial Services Inc. that encourages more use of the mail and provides benefits for both organizations. “Adopting this NSA with Discover is another example of the Postal Service’s continuing effort to meet our customers’ needs by tailoring products and prices,” said Stephen M. Kearney, vice president of Pricing and Classification. “And we expect this agreement to be mutually beneficial.” Under the terms of the NSA, which was approved by the Governors of the Postal Service, Discover will earn lower rates for First-Class Mail volume in excess of 405 million pieces in the first year of the agreement. In exchange, Discover will accept information electronically from the Postal Service about undeliverable-as-addressed First-Class Mail in lieu of receiving the actual mail. This will result in significant cost savings for the Postal Service. The Postal Service-Discover NSA is functionally equivalent to the groundbreaking NSA with Capital One Financial Services implemented last year.

The U.S. Postal Service has gained international recognition for on-time delivery performance and customer care for its Global Express Mail (GEM) service. Paul Vogel, USPS vice president of Network Operations Management, accepted an award for GEM in Bucharest, Romania, at the 23rd Universal Postal Union (UPU) Congress, a gathering attended by members of postal services worldwide. GEM, one of the Postal Service’s expedited international mail delivery offerings, provides fast service to 18 countries.