USPS OIG Report: Payments to Contract Postal Unit and Village Post Office Suppliers

Objective Our objective was to determine if the Postal Service timely terminated payments to Contract Postal Unit (CPU) and Village Post Office (VPO) suppliers when services were no longer provided. The Postal Service fulfills its universal service obligation partly through its Alternate Access Channels programs, which offer postal products and convenient mail services where customers…

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USPS-APWU arbitration decision puts moratorium on plant consolidations and outsourcing retail

July 11, 2016 The Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union have a new contract. Last week, the arbitrator on the case, Stephen Goldberg, issued his decision and award, thus ending a two-year dispute. The new contract provides protections against layoffs for all career employees (who were on the rolls as of July 8),…

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First village post office in Cove, Texas opens at candy store

By David A. Bryant – May 22, 2015 COPPERAS COVE, TX — The U.S. Postal Service held a ribbon-cutting for its first village post office to open in the city Thursday inside Candy Outfitters on Business U.S. Highway 190. Of the nearly 800 VPOs in operation across the nation, the Cove location is the only…

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Downtown Lee’s Summit, MO post office might close – USPS to hold meeting Jan. 28 at City Hall

By Russ Pulley – January 21, 2015 The United States Postal Service might close its downtown Lee’s Summit office, moving the retail operation and post-office boxes to an existing facility about a mile away. David Rupert, a spokesman for the Postal Service, said officials are in early stages of talking about the step, which would…

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Village Post Offices, part 2: More debut, more questions too

In a previous post, “It takes a Village Post Office, but for what?” we questioned the financial rationale for VPOs and asked why many of them were now being placed in densely populated areas. Now there’s more reason to pose such questions. A couple of days ago, an article in The Press Democrat touted the…

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Three Village Post Offices debut in Sonoma County

Early morning commuters stopping at Larkfield’s Highway Espresso can now get a book of stamps or mail a letter while ordering the drive- thru’s signature “Highway Jolt” coffee drink. Over in Roseland, customers at La Famiglia Deli can mail a package while ordering a “Warm Leo Ray” pastrami and mushroom sandwich. And at Cloverdale Pharmacy,…

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It takes a Village Post Office, but for what?

Almost every day over the past year, there’s been a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of a new Village Post Office. There are hundreds of stories in local newspapers about these grand openings. The Postal Service clearly thinks that Village Post Offices play an important role in its vision of the future. But it’s…

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Village Post Office to Open in Henry County – 72nd VPO in Greater Indiana District

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Mount Summit is a tiny town in Henry County with a population of about 350 and is about 40 minutes east of downtown Indianapolis. The novel “Raintree County” written by Indiana native Ross Lockridge helped put Henry County on the map in 1948. Raintree County was the fictional name for Henry County….

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