Postal 3 In Postal 2
Desiderato Merriwether
Postal Services is the mail and package processing center for all academic and administrative departments of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Our offices are located in the Campus Services Building at 650 Witzel Ave. across the river from the main campus. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 7:45 AM until 4:30 PM. Contact us at our campus phone number 424-1145 or email us at posta...@uwosh.edu.
The United States Postal Service has a storied history, familiar to many. It began with the Second Continental Congress and Benjamin Franklin in 1775. It continued when the U.S. Constitution empowered Congress to establish Post Offices and post roads in 1787. Congress exercised those powers with the passage of the Post Office Act of 1792, which made postal services a permanent fixture of the federal government.
The Postal Service retains the largest physical and logistical infrastructure of any non-military government institution, providing an indispensable foundation supporting an ever-changing and evolving nationwide communication network.
Postal Facts 2024 provides the public with information about the U.S. Postal Service. The facts in this publication may be reproduced for the purpose of stating the fact itself, in a business, informational or academic context and the like, and in the body of text discussing factual subject matter relevant to the fact being presented. However, these facts may become outdated after publication and seeking the latest information is advised.
The Commission is an independent agency that has exercised regulatory oversight over the Postal Service since its creation by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, with expanded responsibilities under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. The Commission is composed of five Commissioners, each of whom is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of six years. A Commissioner may continue to serve after the expiration of his or her term until a successor is confirmed, except that a Commissioner may not continue to serve for more than 1 year after the date on which his or her term would have otherwise expired. Not more than 3 of the Commissioners may be adherents of the same political party.
The Office of Accountability & Compliance is responsible for technical analysis and formulation of policy recommendations for the Commission in both domestic and international matters. It provides the analytic support for Commission review of rate changes, negotiated service agreements, classifications of new products, post office closings, amendments to international postal treaties and conventions, as well as other issues.
The Office of General Counsel provides legal assistance on matters involving the Commission's responsibilities, defends Commission decisions before the courts, and manages the formal complaint process.
The Office of Public Affairs & Government Relations facilitates prompt and responsive communications for the Commission with the public, Congress and federal agencies, the Postal Service, and information media.
The Office of Secretary & Administration records the official actions of the Commission; preserves Commission documents; maintains personnel records; and provides other support services including managing the Commission's library, docket room, and computers.
The USPS Office of Inspector General conducts, supervises, and coordinates audits and investigations relating to the programs and operations of the Commission, and identifies and reports fraud and abuse in Commission programs and operations.
The museum uses exhibits, educational public programs and research to make this rich history available to scholars, philatelists, collectors and visitors from around the world. The National Postal Museum Library is one of 21 specialized libraries in the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives system. The National Philatelic Collection was the basis of the Library when it was established in 1990 (opened to the public in 1993). Now, with more than 40,000 books, journals, catalogues and documents, the National Postal Museum Library is among the world's largest postal history and philatelic research facilities.
"We must do more to combat rising mail crime, and that starts by getting our Postal Police back on the street where they can more effectively do their jobs. The longer this senseless directive stays in place, the longer mail theft and violence against mail carriers continues to escalate," said Rep. Garbarino. "Postal Police Officers serve a critical public safety role, but they can only do so much while shackled to their desks. This bill will enhance public safety by removing current restrictions confining Postal Police to USPS property and empowering these officers with the freedom they need to address mail crime."
"Restrictions imposed upon Postal Police Officers limit them in carrying out their important public safety role. The bipartisan Postal Police Reform Act will reverse earlier misguided decisions and give officers the ability to enhance the safety of our mail system. Congress needs to take action to reduce property thefts and physical threats to our letter carriers," said Rep. Calvert.
"Mail theft, particularly of checks, has been a significant problem in D.C. and throughout the country," Rep. Norton said. "One of the most effective ways we can protect mail, postal property, and postal employees is to give U.S. Postal Police Officers (PPOs) the authority to do their jobs whether or not they're on postal property. Our bill would recognize the authority of PPOs to protect mail, postal property, and postal employees wherever they are located."
Going postal is an American English slang phrase referring to becoming extremely and uncontrollably angry, often to the point of violence, and usually in a workplace environment. The expression derives from a series of incidents from 1986 onward in which United States Postal Service (USPS) workers shot and killed managers, fellow workers, police officers and members of the general public in acts of mass murder. Between 1970 and 1997, more than 40 people were killed by then-current or former employees in at least 20 incidents of workplace rage. Between 1986 and 2011, workplace shootings happened roughly twice per year, with an average of 1.18 people killed per year.[1]
The symposium was sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service, which has seen so many outbursts that in some circles excessive stress is known as "going postal." Thirty-five people have been killed in 11 post office shootings since 1983. The USPS does not approve of the term "going postal" and has made attempts to stop people from using the saying. Some postal workers, however, feel it has earned its place.[2]
On December 31, 1993, the Los Angeles Times said, "Unlike the more deadly mass shootings around the nation, which have lent a new term to the language, referring to shooting up the office as 'going postal'."[3]
On August 13, 1970, Alfred Kellum, 41, shot and killed postal supervisor Harry Sendrow, 54, who had sent Kellum home for being intoxicated. Five hours later, Kellum was found unconscious and was arrested. Police officers said he appeared to be intoxicated.[4]
On May 19, 1983 postal worker Elizabeth Diane Downs shot her three children and herself, killing one and critically injuring the other two, in her car on a deserted road. Downs claimed that she'd been flagged down by a "bushy haired man" who she claimed attempted to rob her and then shot her and her children possibly to avoid witnesses, but her then 8-year-old daughter Christie testified that her mother had been the one to perpetrate the shooting. Downs was convicted of the first degree murder of her seven year old daughter, and attempted murder for her other children, ages 9 and 3 years. She has been eligible for parole since 2008, but has been denied on multiple occasions.[5]
On August 20, 1986, during the Edmond post office shooting, postman Patrick Sherrill shot and killed 14 employees and wounded six at the Edmond, Oklahoma, post office. Sherrill then killed himself with a shot to the forehead.[6]
On August 10, 1989, Escondido letter carrier John Merlin Taylor shot and killed his wife, then drove to the Orange Glen Post Office and killed two co-workers before ending the spree by shooting himself in the head.[7][8]
A former United States postal worker, Joseph M. Harris, killed his former supervisor, Carol Ott, and her boyfriend, Cornelius Kasten Jr., at their home with a katana. The following morning, on October 10, 1991, Harris shot and killed two mail handlers, Joseph M. VanderPaauw, 59, of Prospect Park, New Jersey, and Donald McNaught, 63, of Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, at the Ridgewood Post Office.[9][10]
On November 14, 1991, in Royal Oak, Michigan, Thomas McIlvane killed five people, including himself, and injured five others with a rifle in Royal Oak's post office, after being fired from the Postal Service for "insubordination". He had been previously suspended for getting into altercations with postal customers on his route.[11]
For some time before the Royal Oak incident, the service had experienced labor/management and operational problems and customer service complaints. This had drawn the attention of local media. The Office of Senator Carl Levin investigated Royal Oak, the results of which were summarized in a September 10, 1991, staff memorandum. The memorandum documented "patterns of harassment, intimidation, cruelty and allegations of favoritism in promotions and demotions ... [and] testimony relating to wide-ranging delivery and service problems" before the McIlvane shooting.[12][13]
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