The US Postal Service Board of Governors meets in closed session beginning at 10 AM this morning, and according to Postcom, they’re expected to announce a 2.1% hike in the price of postage:

From Postcom:

Click here to download this week’s podcast, or click the play button below to listen online. [audio:http://postcom.org/postalweek/09.07.11.twip.mp3]
Previous podcasts in the series are at thisweekinpostal.info.

From Postcom:

Click here to download this week’s podcast, or click the play button below to listen online. [audio:http://postcom.org/postalweek/06.23.11.twip.mp3]
Previous podcasts in the series are at thisweekinpostal.info.

From Postcom: “Join PostCom President Gene Del Polito and Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway in a discussion of a number of wide-ranging topics including: the PRC’s recent five-day decision, the Annual Compliance Determination, the PRC’s complaint process, difficulties with service performance measurement, and more.”

Click here to download the mp3 file, or click the play button below to listen online. [audio:http://postcom.org/netcasts/04.11.11.goldway.mp3]

From Postcom:

Click here to download this week’s podcast, or click the play button below to listen online. [audio:http://postcom.org/postalweek/03.18.11.twip.mp3]
Previous podcasts in the series are at thisweekinpostal.info.

From Postcom:

Click here to download this week’s podcast, or click the play button below to listen online. [audio:http://postcom.org/postalweek/03.04.11.twip.mp3]
Previous podcasts in the series are at thisweekinpostal.info.

From Postcom:

Click here to download this week’s podcast, or click the play button below to listen online. [audio:http://postcom.org/postalweek/02.18.11.twip.mp3]
Previous podcasts in the series are at thisweekinpostal.info.

The Association for Postal Commerce (Postcom) has joined postal unions in calling on the President to do something about the Congressionally mandated over-funding of pensions that threatens to bankrupt the US Postal Service:

Mr. President, we join our voice with those of our colleagues who deal with each day’s challenge of ensuring that our nation has the benefits that come from a universal mail system. Mail is, and will remain, for quite some time to come, an important part of the way this nation communicates and does business. The U.S. Postal Service is an Executive Branch agency. It is being imperiled needlessly by budget scoring mechanisms that don’t even comport with reality. It’s time to direct others within the Executive Branch to take sensible steps to rectify this matter.

From Postcom:

Have you ever noticed that as long as national posts are fat and happy with a growing mail business, they’re more than content to remain state-run services? But as soon as the going gets tough and the mail business looks like it’s on the skids, everybody looks to privatize the post. If the concept of a universal mail service is no longer a viable or supportable concept, what makes anyone think some schlemiel would be interested in buying a dying post?

via PostCom: Postal News and Information from Around the World.

The following letter to the editor of the Washington Post was sent today by PostCom President Gene Del Polito:

As an editorial publication, the Washington Post is entitled to an opinion of its own. Regarding your recent editorial on the Postal Service, however, you’ve flat out gotten it wrong.

Correcting the misallocation and misuse of postal payers’ dollars on the funding of the Postal Service’s retirement-related obligations would not be a give-away to postal unions. Rather, it would be addressing properly an injustice that is bleeding money needed to reinvigorate the nation’s postal system, and appropriately reflect the enormous contributions already made by all who pay postage to ensure the nation’s postal system remains whole.

Next time, please learn a bit more on what you are about to write before you write it. Using a bit more journalistic shoe leather to do correct and complete research will get you much farther than just accepting whole the line of misinformation some of those in postal management want you to swallow.

via PostCom: Postal News and Information from Around the World.