The Alliance urges the Commission to 1) address deficiencies in the Postal Service Flats Plan Pursuant to Section 206 of the PSRA, which falls short of the comprehensive plan to control Flats costs that Congress intended; and 2) highlight that the Service’s Flats Plan fails to include measurable metrics to ensure accountability for its planned reforms.

The post News/Media Alliance Requests Rejection of USPS Flats Plan appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

With the guidance of the News/Media Alliance and its members, the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on Business Reply Mail (BRM) on October 12. Mailers had expressed concerns with the timeliness and consistency of BRM service; therefore, the OIG evaluated the effectiveness of the Postal Service’s BRM operations. Their findings indicate that mailers and their customers value BRM service, but processing delays, insufficient data, and incomplete close-out procedures hinder operational effectiveness and customer satisfaction. The OIG recommends that USPS management develop strategies to ensure sufficient management and oversight.

The post USPS Office of Inspector General Releases Business Reply Mail Report appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The United States Postal Service filed notice of price changes to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on October 6, which are scheduled to take effect January 21, 2024. The average increase is 7.3% for within county mail and 1.5% for outside county mail. In its filing, USPS said that its’ strategy for Periodicals price changes is “to maximize use of cap space on Outside County Piece prices, after resolving workshare discount compliance” and to increase Within County prices “to meet workshare passthrough requirements”. A spreadsheet detailing the increases for periodicals and marketing mail is attached. The Postal Accountability and Enhance Act (PAEA), passed in 2006, introduced a price cap on market dominant products. Price increases for each class of market dominant mail is limited by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Year-to-date, the Postal Service has a $7 billion loss despite continued rate increases and remains behind in progress on the Delivering for America plan. The PRC will review the changes before they are scheduled to take effect; however, it is unlikely to change what has been proposed since the PRC review is limited to verifying that the increase does not exceed the CPI cap. The Alliance is working on numerous avenues to address the rate increases.

The post USPS Files January Rate Increases appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The United States Senate confirmed the nominations of Thomas G. Day and Robert Taub as Commissioners of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on September 28. President Biden made the nominations, and they were advanced by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs following hearings that took place earlier this month. As an independent agency that exercises regulatory oversight over the Postal Service, the PRC’s responsibilities include preventing anticompetitive practices, promoting accountability, adjudicating complaints, setting postal rates, and helping oversee delivery service standards. The PRC is made up of five commissioners who serve six-year terms. Taub is a two-time appointee to the Commission following unanimous confirmations in 2011 and 2016. This will be Taub’s third term, and he previously served as the chairman from December 2014 until January 2021. As a first-term commissioner, Day will bring broad experience in both the global and domestic postal sectors, including 35 years working in senior roles at the Postal Service.

The post Senate Confirms Day And Taub to Postal Regulatory Commission appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The News/Media Alliance and the National Newspaper Association sent comments to the Postal Regulatory Commission on September 15 addressing the possibility of a Performance Incentive Mechanism (PIM) being applied to Periodicals class mail. The comments state that if a PIM is applicable, it should remove an additional 2 percent surcharge unless the Postal Service achieves 95 percent on-time performance for Periodicals.

The Alliance also submitted a letter on September 15 to the USPS on the draft Flats plan, which was a requirement of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022. The Alliance is encouraged that the Postal Service is seeking industry input; however, we state that the plan should include more clear and verifiable metrics, a focus on lower costs, and further examination of all cost centers that have led to flats processing issues.

The post Alliance Comments on USPS Performance Incentive Mechanism and Flats Plan appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) new rule providing for Remote ID requirements originally scheduled to take effect on September 16 was extended to March 16, 2024. The News Media Drone Coalition, of which the Alliance is a member, sent a letter urging a delay in the deadline and expressed concerns about the availability of modules and firmware updates. After that date, operators could face fines and suspension or revocation of pilot certificates. Remote ID is the ability of a drone in flight to provide identification and location information that can be received through a broadcast signal and helps the FAA, law enforcement, and other federal agencies locate the control station when a drone appears to be flying in an unsafe manner. The Alliance will continue to monitor these developments.

The post FAA Extends Deadline for New Drone Requirements appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The post Congressmen Connolly & LaTurner Send Letter to Postal Board of Governors Requesting Pause in Rate Increases appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The next session – Intelligent Mail for Small Business (IMsb) Tool is on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, at 1:00 pm EST.

To join, please use the Meeting URL below:
https://usps.zoomgov.com/j/1603767418?pwd=TTFONWNVMXQ2UW1wcUVCcEt5WFllZz09
Meeting ID: 160 376 7418
Password: 996767

• If requested, enter your name and email address.
• Enter meeting password: 996767

Join Audio by the options below:
Call using Internet Audio
Dial: 1-855-860-4313, 1-678-317-3330 or 1-952-229-5070 & follow prompts

Additional Upcoming Webinars:

• September 12 Periodicals – Statement of Ownership (SOO) Postal Wizard (PW) Entry
• September 26 Business Customer Gateway (BCG) / Postal Wizard (PW)

Note: Meeting links and presentations are also posted on PostalPro and can be found at Mailing Services | PostalPro (usps.com)

The post USPS Hosting Webinars on Electronic Documentation and Postage Statement Submissions appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

1. Confirm whether your organizations’ drones have remote ID capabilities. The FAA has a database where you can search for declarations of compliance that will tell you whether your units are certified to comply with remote ID.
2. Update your organizations’ drone registrations with the FAA. You will be required to upload the serial number for either a remote-ID capable drone or a remote ID broadcast module to your existing drones’ FAA registrations. If you are purchasing new drones, you will need to complete a new registration.
3. The FAA has not finalized its policies for “session IDs”. The News Media Drone Coalition, including the Alliance, supported this provision that will allow operations to broadcast unique session IDs rather than the news drone’s serial number. The FAA intends to seek comment before finalizing the plan. We will continue to monitor that proceeding. In the meantime, after September 16, news drones will need to broadcast their serial number. The database that correlates the serial number with the drone-registration database will only be accessible to the FAA, but the information will be made available to law enforcement and national security on request.

The post FAA Rule on Drone Remote ID Requirements Effective September 16 appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The post USPS Files Volume Incentives for Marketing Mail appeared first on News/Media Alliance.