Trends in Print and Mail

The last blog post proposed a new reporting structure of the US Postal Service (USPS) and the Postmaster General (PMG). This post will review the Universal Service Obligation (USO) and provide a draft USO for your consideration.

The USO is the vaguely defined responsibility of the USPS to provide consistent service at affordable rates to all citizens irrespective of geography. The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) calculates the costs of the USO and publishes a report on those costs.

In my decades of working in the mailing industry, there’s never been as much public interest in the US Postal Service (USPS) as there is right now. I remember the headlines of 1970, but that’s because my father was a postal worker. I was just a kid and didn’t appreciate the situation.

50 years later, the situation is different. My business – and the businesses of my customers – are tied to the fate of the USPS. The pandemic has hit the mailing industry hard, with massive declines in volumes. News websites and social media are awash with stories about mounting losses and substantial delivery delays. The importance of vote-by-mail in the upcoming election has further politicized the situation.

The financial situation of the USPS is bad.

It’s been eight weeks since Mr. Louis DeJoy began his service as the 75^th Postmaster General (PMG) of the United States and Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). In that short period of time, he’s done something his recent predecessors could not – have the Congress and the Press shine a spotlight on the USPS.

However, the coverage is around 99.76% negative.

With the current pandemic, there’s been a renewed call for more states to offer voting by mail. Not as an exception to voting in person, but as the preferred method for elections. There are already five states that conduct elections entirely by mail: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah. 21 other states allow voting by mail for certain elections. Expansion of voting by mail seems to be a natural progression.

Election authorities must take action to ensure integrity and visibility throughout the process. That includes a high-integrity production system for printing and mailing, plus using the US Postal Service (USPS) Informed Platform for mailing and receiving ballots.