Postal decade: 2000
TweetIt’s been quite a decade- here are some of the news items we told you about in 2000. If there are some interesting stories from 2000 that we’ve missed, tell us in the comments.
January
The nation awoke on New Years day ten years ago to find that the dreaded Y2K bug had been squashed- or more likely had never been such a big threat in the first place. To demonstrate that the federal government was running smoothly, the White House staged a New Years Day stunt during a press briefing by Y2K coordinator John A. Koskinen. A “letter carrier” (actually USPS Y2K communications manager Jon Leonard) stepped up to the podium announcing “Package for Mr. Koskinen”, and handed him an Express Mail package that had been mailed the day before from San Francisco. Kostinen, unfortunately, flubbed his lines, telling the assembled media “This is an actual FedEx package . . . from Los Angeles”.
A Chicago letter carrier, Larry J. Mack, was arrested after he was seen burning bundles of mail, some of it first class, in his back yard.
Computerworld magazine ran an item titled “Start-up taps Web to rent DVD films”. The company was, of course, Netflix, and had only been in business for about a year. According to the article, DVD rentals cost “between $3 and $5 each to rent, plus shipping and handling charges”. It also noted that DVDs were “sent in an unmarked package along with a preaddressed, prepaid return envelope. The customer can keep the disc for seven days from the day it arrives”.
The USPS said that it would seek a rate increase to go into effect in January 2001, sparking an immediate outcry from mailers- the Associated Press quoted Postcom’s Gene Del Polito: “If they really wanted to do something to stimulate people’s interest in moving their business to the Web, I can’t think of anything better they could have done”.
April
The postal service’s Chief Financial Officer, Richard Porras, suddenly retired after it was revealed that he and USPS Controller John Ward, had received $248,000 in relocation payments despite the fact that neither had moved more than 50 miles- Porras’s new house was 2 1/2 miles from his old one. More to the point, neither man’s job location had changed.
With more than 2 billion Christmas stamps left over from the prior year, the USPS announced that it would not issue new Christmas stamps for 2000.
May
PMG Henderson told the Associated Press that “I think the Postal Service ultimately will be commercialized”. He cited the pressure of competing with new technologies, in particular the Internet. “He likened bills and payments to the anchor store of a shopping mall, the main attraction of the mall. People know something they need to see is in the mail. The second anchor is magazines, he said.”
USA Today reported that Southeast Area Vice President Robert Davis was retiring after he was “accused of promoting a woman with whom he allegedly had a sexual relationship”, It was also reported that he had “misused a government car and frequently arranged his business meetings in Tampa, where he has a home”.
July
In an article headlined “Postal Service Gives ‘Check’s in the Mail’ A Whole New Twist”, the New York Times detailed how millions of certified letters, many containing tax payments or legal documents, had sat in “postal warehouses” for over a month because of a delay in implementing new software to track certified mail. In its story, dated July 28, the Times reported that “The Postal Service issued a nationwide directive that on March 15, all old certified mail forms were to be destroyed and only new ones — with scannable bar codes — were to be used. But the software to scan the bar codes was not downloaded into post office computers until this week, said Julie Rios, a Postal Service information systems manager.
Bloomberg reported that postal officials would “like to create a secure e-mail address for all U.S. residents that would also allow people to track and reroute their regular mail over the Internet”.
August
Postmaster General Bill Henderson announced that the USPS expected to end the fiscal year with a deficit for the first time since 1994. Henderson blamed a drop in first class mail volume, which resulted in a $600 million revenue shortfall along with some unexpected costs, including arbitration awards to letter carriers of $400 million.
September
The USPS confirmed reports that it was in discussions with FedEx on a partnership that would see the company handle transportation of some mail. No details were announced, but United Parcel Service said it would oppose the partnership on anti-trust grounds.
The Califano commission on workplace violence announced its finding that the concept of “going postal” was a myth, and said that the US Postal Service was one of the safest companies to work for.
The postal service announced that it would revive the old practice of businesses accepting small cash payments in the form of stamps. Called USPS Micropayment, the scheme would see business sending customers an invoice in the form of a card. The customer would place the appropriate postage on the card and return it to the business, which would then turn the stamps in for cash at the post office.
October
The former Administrative Services Manager for the postal service’s South Florida District, Jerry Lenn, and his wife, District IT manager Wanda Martinez, pleaded guilty to defrauding the USPS of $3.2 million in a scheme involving consultant contracts. The couple had fled to Venezuela in February, where postal inspectors tracked them down.
November
Negotiators for the USPS and its unions failed to reach agreements before the expiration of their collective bargaining agreements.
December
The USPS Board of Governors accepted “under protest” the one cent increase in the first class postage rate to 34 cents, along with other rate increases averaging 4.6%. The rate changes would take effect on January 7, 2001. The BOG reaction sparked mailers’ fears that another rate case would follow in the new year.
