Pilot programs need privacy, too – USPS must comply with federal requirements

February 29, 2024 The Postal Service wants employees and contractors to know that the requirements under the Privacy Act of 1974 also apply to the organization’s pilot programs. The Privacy Act sets protections for personal information that USPS maintains in a “system of records,” which is any file, database or program from which the information…

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USPS tests new “rapid drop-off station”

August 3, 2022 The Postal Service is testing a new “rapid drop-off station” concept to help customers expedite Label Broker and prepaid mail acceptance transactions. Through the Label Broker service, customers who need to return a retail purchase but don’t have access to a printer can have a shipping label printed at a participating Post…

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USPS, DMV pilot program in California will continue until October 2022

July 6, 2022 The Postal Service has extended a pilot program that provides customers at select California Post Offices with state motor vehicles services. The pilot, which began last fall, will now continue until October 2022. Through the program, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has placed self-service kiosks in participating Post Offices in…

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APWU: USPS Connect Local pilot program expands to New York Districts

From: Sam Lisenbe <slisenbe@apwu.org> Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2022 Subject: USPS Connect Local Program APWU Family, I am resending this email because the original attachment was too large to be opened by some. The attachment has been changed to a zip drive, so hopefully this rectifies the problem. Attached is a notification letter dated February…

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APWU: Temperature Screenings at Postal Facilities

From: Vance Zimmerman <vzimmerman@apwu.org> Sent: Friday, May 15, 2020 10:50 AM To: APWU National Officers Subject: Temperature Screenings at Postal Facilities The APWU is continuing to make every effort ensure the safety of APWU represented employees. Part of these efforts now include the implementation of employee temperature screening. The screening equipment will first be tested…

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APWU: Injured on Duty Employees and USPS “Pilot Programs” Dispute settled

In a dispute initiated by the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), the issue was, “whether it is a violation of the National Agreement to assign injured on duty employees to perform work associated with a pilot program, experimental program, or other similar programs.” The parties agreed that, “Injured on duty employees will be assigned Clerk…

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CBP and USPS Should Assess Costs and Benefits of Using Electronic Advance Data

What GAO Found U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the primary federal agency tasked with targeting and inspecting inbound international items and seizing illegal goods, including illegal or inadmissible drugs and merchandise. As mail and express cargo arrive in the United States, both the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and express consignment operators (such as…

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OIG Report: High Throughput Package Sorter at the Denver P&DC

Background In October 2015, the U.S. Postal Service approved the purchase of a single pilot High Throughput Package Sorter (HTPS) machine for about $17 million for evaluation at the Denver, CO, Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC). This machine was designed to process more packages about twice as fast as current package sorters. The HTPS is…

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