U.S. Postal Service deposits totaling $65 billion a year are vulnerable to theft, robbery and mishandling because of inadequate security and failure to follow procedures, according to a report to Congress Tuesday.
About $6.3 million was at least temporarily lost in the 2001 fiscal year, although much of it was recovered, the General Accounting Office said in its report on an investigation of postal security requested by Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz.
Read MoreU.S. postal workers are being given potassium iodide pills to protect against thyroid cancer in the event of a radiological emergency.
“Employees are out there in all of these communities nationwide and we wanted to err on the side of caution,” Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Brennan said.
The USPS said Monday it was buying nearly 1.6 million pills from Tampa-based Anbex, Inc. for distribution to workers who want to have the tablets if a radiological emergency occurs.
Read MoreThe U.S. Postal Service has embarked upon two automation projects that, within five years, could save nearly $3 billion in operational costs annually and reduce its employees’ workload by the equivalent of 37,500 full-time workers.
One system will arrange magazines and other large, flat mail in the order it is delivered by carriers. A second system will combine flat and letter mail into a single sequenced package. If the technology, which has not yet been proven, works as hoped, the daily tasks of a letter carrier could be reduced by 20 percent, said Tom Day, Postal Service vice president of engineering.
USPS unveils electronic stamp they plan to sell to certify authenticity and delivery time of emails. The technology, called “electronic postmarks,” will not necessarily end the era of free e-mail. But it does create a “first-class” version with a small delivery charge. The postmarks are likely to be used to transmit sensitive documents, for instance, to authenticate the sender and reassure the recipient.
Read MoreThe U.S. Postal Service, mailers and the Bush administration are confident Congress will approve legislation that could keep postal rates steady until 2006, but passage may be a tougher fight than first thought.
The legislation is needed for the postal service to lower its pension contributions after a review revealed it has almost fully funded future obligations for postal employees and retirees in the Civil Service Retirement System. As a result, it could lower its retirement contributions by $2.9 billion in fiscal year 2003 and $2.6 billion in FY ’04.
Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.
