Here are some of the stories we told you about in 2001:

January

On January 4, the price of a first class stamp increased by a penny, to 34 cents. The USPS had wanted a two cent increase, but accepted the lower price set by what was then called the Postal Rate Commission.

The postmaster of Barron WI was sentenced to two months in a halfway house and two months of home confinement after he was found to have stolen a blood sample from the mail. The blood was his own- the sample had been taken after he was stopped for drunk driving.

The Postmaster General told the USPS Board of Governors at their monthly meeting that for the first time ever, advertising mail volumes rose faster than first class in the first quarter.

PMG Henderson announced that the USPS had entered into a seven year agreement with FedEx valued at $7.2 billion under which the company would carry Express and Priority Mail on its planes, and also have the right to place FedEx collection boxes at post offices.

The OIG reported that management/employee relations at the Toms River NJ post office had deteriorated to the point that there was the potential for violence. The report described how, during an interview with inspectors, the postmaster had played with a .38-caliber shell.

Postmaster General Henderson announced that he would retire when his contract expired at the end of May.

February

A month after raising prices, and facing a two billion dollar loss for the fiscal year, the USPS Board of Governors voted to begin proceedings with the PRC to increase rates again in early 2002.

March

The Board of Governors ordered a halt to more than 800 construction projects in all 50 states, citing the agency’s precarious finances. BOG Chairman Robert Rider warned that the USPS’s ability to meet its universal service obligation would be in jeopardy without legislative changes.

Emery Worldwide went to federal court to try and stop the USPS/FedEx deal. The company stood to lose millions if its contract to carry Priority Mail was canceled. The court ruled against Emery.

Deputy Postmaster General John Nolan told the National Postal Forum in Orlando that the USPS would cut staffing by the equivalent of 75,000 employees over the next five years in an effort to stem financial losses. He also said the service would cut administrative costs by 25 percent.

April

As projections of the fiscal year’s loss approached $3 billion, the Board of Governors directed management to study the possibility of eliminating Saturday delivery as a cost cutting measure.

Air transport companies petitioned the Justice Department to open a formal anti-trust inquiry into the USPS/FedEx deal.

A former employee armed with a gun and several knives entered the Kearny NJ mail processing center and stabbed three employees before he was tracked down by policemen who shot and killed him when he refused to drop his weapons.

May

As postal finances worsened, the USPS Board of Governors took the unusual step of overruling the Postal Rate Commission’s January rate decision, increasing postage rates on most mail as of July 1, but leaving the first class one ounce price at 34 cents. It was only the second time the BOG had ignored the PRC’s recommendations. A second rate increase in six months sparked an immediate outcry from mailers- Neil Denton of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers said “I hope the Postal Service knows what it’s doing. The Board of Governors may have just launched the U.S. Postal Service into a death spiral”.

The BOG announced that USPS Chief Operating Officer John E. Potter would be the next Postmaster General.

June

Nationwide installation of FedEx collection boxes at post offices began.

Jack Potter was sworn in as the nation’s 72nd Postmaster General.

July

After a preliminary study (and fierce reactions from mailers and politicians), the USPS Board of Governors decided against pursuing the elimination of Saturday delivery.

Wearing the logo of the US Postal Service, Lance Armstrong won his third Tour de France.

August

In an accounting maneuver, the Bush Administration moved the postal service “off-budget”. The move “reduced” the federal deficit by the $1.3 billion loss the service was running at the time.

On August 27, FedEx planes began carrying Express and Priority mail.

Mail order hatcheries worried that their business might be damaged by FedEx’s refusal to carry live chicks on its planes, as Emery had done when it transported most Priority Mail. The USPS insisted it could make arrangements with commercial airlines to transport the birds.

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