USPS Is Axing Its Next Price Hike, Postmaster General Says
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Price hikes aren’t abnormal for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). In July, the price of the Forever Stamp went from 63 centers to 66 cents, having just been upped from 60 to 63 cents in January. These increases are part of the Postal Service’s 10-year Delivering for America (DFA) plan, with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy telling Americans in 2022 that prices would keep going up at an “ uncomfortable ” rate. Now, DeJoy appears to be changing his tune a bit, as the USPS is axing its next price hike. Read on to find out why the Postal Service is scrapping its holiday surcharge.
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The holiday season is a hectic time for everyone, but the USPS is particularly busy. Over the past few years, the Postal Service was not only tasked with delivering gifts and packages, but it also faced higher year-end costs due to staffing shortages tied to the COVID pandemic, Federal News Network reported.
To combat this, the agency added a holiday surcharge during the peak season—much like those added by FedEx and UPS. According to Retail Dive, these surcharges date back to 2020 .
“Prior to me being here, we never had an incremental charge,” DeJoy said on Tuesday, per Federal News Network. “We put it in, because in my experience in the commercial business, when you have to do such exponential, extra work, you should, in fact, charge for it—and we did.”
However, this policy is changing in 2023.
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According to a Sept. 19 press release from the USPS, the Postal Service is nixing plans to add the holiday surcharge this year. This means that when it’s time to mail out gifts, you won’t be paying extra for residential area delivery, Saturday delivery, or for minimum volumes, the agency said.
“We are ready to handle any peak season volume in a superior and routine manner,” DeJoy said Tuesday, per Retail Dive. “That is why we will not be adding any additional surcharges for our customers this peak period. We will continue to be the most affordable way to mail and ship during the holiday season.”
In the release, the agency added that the decision not to levy additional charges creates “increased predictability in pricing for customers.”
According to Retail Dive, both FedEx and UPS will still be adding peak season surcharges starting next month.
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DeJoy said that the USPS is able to skip the surcharge because it made improvements in other areas, Federal News Network reported.
“We’ve made a lot of operational improvements that eliminated some of the extra activities that we had when I first got here,” DeJoy said.
Specific improvements include offering better pay and benefits to career workers, Federal News Network reported—and over the holidays, the USPS will also hire fewer seasonal employees and rely instead on its career workforce. In 2022, roughly 20,000 seasonal workers were hired, but this year, that number will be cut in half.
In the press release, the USPS said that ahead of this year’s peak season, it’s also adding more new package sorting machines, increasing daily processing capacity, creating more reliable ground transportation, and offering a new shipping solution in the form of USPS Ground Advantage .
RELATED: See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says .
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While the holiday season is always busy, DeJoy said he’s not sure if the Postal Service will see higher mail volume at the end of 2023, according to Federal News Network. (During the 2022 holiday season, the Postal Service processed over 11.7 billion pieces of mail and packages, per the release.)
However, regardless of volume, the agency stressed its commitment to preparing and providing “outstanding service” this year.
“We understand the importance of every single package and letter that is sent during the holidays,” DeJoy said in the release. “That is why we continue to adapt and execute on strategies to modernize and transform the Postal Service into the high performing organization the nation expects and deserves. I am confident in our ability to handle the peak season surge and deliver exceptional service to the American people during the holidays and beyond.”
See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says
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Your mailbox serves a very simple purpose: receiving mail and leaving outgoing mail for a carrier to pick up. Still, some of us enjoy sprucing up our mailboxes, adding personal flair, color, or even decals to help an otherwise standard mailbox stand out. But if you notice a paw print sticker on your mailbox that you didn’t add, don’t start peeling it off just yet—it’s likely part of a program run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to help keep carriers safe. Read on to find out what these stickers mean and why you shouldn’t remove them.
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In 2023, more than 5,800 Postal Service workers were attacked by dogs while delivering mail, up from 5,300 in 2022, according to a USPS press release.
Larger cities had the highest numbers of attacks, with Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland claiming the top five spots.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder . “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
To her point, the USPS writes that “all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive.” In fact, many of the attacks that letter carriers report are by dogs whose owners told them, “My dog won’t bite.”
Such an attack can result in consequences for the homeowner, too. According to data from the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555, the USPS states.
“When a postal employee suffers an injury, the owner could be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee,” they explain.
RELATED: USPS Is Making These Changes to Your Mail, Starting Now .
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To combat dog bites, the Postal Service shared tips on how pet owners can “support safe mail delivery.” These include keeping dogs inside the house or behind a fence, away from the door or in another room, or on a leash.
“Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child,” they state.
Mail carriers also follow protocol to keep them aware of areas where dogs might be present, and they’re equipped with scanners to remind them of possible dog hazards, as well as dog warning cards that are added during mail sorting.
In 2020, the USPS added another preventive measure: the PAWS Program . First introduced in Pennsylvania, the program uses mailbox stickers to keep carriers safe.
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The PAWS Program uses color-coded stickers affixed to mailboxes to inform mail carriers about dogs in the area. An orange sticker with a black paw print tells carriers that there is a dog at this home, while a yellow sticker with a black paw print tells them there is a dog at the next house.
Citizens are informed ahead of time that the stickers may appear on their mailboxes. In a notice sent to Lakewood, Ohio, residents, the Postal Service wrote, “Carriers will soon be placing a paw sticker on mailboxes to indicate that a dog or dogs live in the area —yellow indicates dog nearby/orange indicates dog at residence. The sticker will act as a reminder to the carrier that they should proceed with caution, especially when delivering packages to the door.”
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Removing these stickers may do more harm than good, as your mail service can be halted if your carrier feels unsafe. Not only does this affect the home of the dog owner, but it also applies to the entire neighborhood, the USPS said in a previous press release . Service isn’t restored in these instances “until the aggressive dog is properly restrained.”
At the end of the day, these stickers are put in place to “reduce the risk of dog bites and attacks that occur while delivering mail,” which is just another reason you should leave the sticker on your mailbox.
“We all love our dogs,” Kimberly Tilley , acting postmaster for Winston-Salem, told WGHP. “We love our animals, but we … have to take responsibility to protect the carrier and the people around us as well from our animals.”
Tilley added that dog bites are more common than you think, and they can be traumatic for carriers. “Once a carrier has been bit, it sets some fear in them long term for the rest of their life,” she told the outlet.
However, although these stickers are strongly recommended, if you object to having a sticker placed on your mailbox, you can opt out , Kyle Stevens , Southwest Carrier Annex station manager in South Dakota, told KELO in 2021. To do so, the first step would be to contact your local post office.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
