http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp Joe's Blog by Joe Schick en-us Copyright 2012 Quad/Graphics Inc.. All Rights Reserved. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:00:01 GMT 60 http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=38742&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=joesblog_rss Speak up mailers! It's time to put the USPS on the path to sustainability for good! Once again we're at a pivotal point regarding the future of the U.S. Postal Service, and mailers have an opportunity to influence the outcome. The reality is that all ... Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 CDT http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=38742 http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=38731&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=joesblog_rss What's really happening inside the beltway? It's politics at work and it ain't pretty. It's no secret that the USPS has been losing First Class Mail volume and revenue for the last decade. It's no secret that the USPS has operated with labor representing ... Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:00:00 CDT http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=38731 http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=38725&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=joesblog_rss "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." - Mark Twain This could be what the USPS is saying every day as they are processing the nation's mail. Does the Postal Service have financial problems that threaten their existence as we know ... Tue, 6 Sep 2011 00:00:00 CDT http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=38725 http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=38700&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=joesblog_rss As Yogi Berra once said, "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else."Our new Postmaster General, Pat Donahoe, seems to have heeded Yogi's words and is determined to not wind up in that other place. When he took the reins ... Mon, 7 Mar 2011 00:00:00 CDT http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=38700 http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=36660&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=joesblog_rss After being dragged through Exigency War I (EWI) that lasted from July to October, the mailing industry was just getting back to the business at hand. The exigency experience shifted valuable resources (time and money) away from what should have been ... Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:00:00 CDT http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=36660 http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=35751&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=joesblog_rss The Postal Service took their best shot at convincing the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), their customers and anyone else that would listen that they needed an exigent price increase. Their claim was that the current financial crisis was caused by ... Wed, 1 Sep 2010 00:00:00 CDT http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=35751 http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=34788&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=joesblog_rss Lost in all the headlines related to the exigent price increase was the publishing of a report on July 12 by the USPS Office of the Inspector General (OIG). That report is titled "Assessment of Worksharing." The OIG has been working on this report for ... Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:00:00 CDT http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=34788 http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=33469&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=joesblog_rss Let's make it clear that we do appreciate not having to deal with any postal price increase in 2010. But truth be told, the USPS would not have been able to raise prices in 2010 anyway since CPI-U was negative. Let's also make it clear that any price ... Sat, 15 May 2010 00:00:00 CDT http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=33469 http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=32867&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=joesblog_rss The good news ... Summer Sale II has been approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). It is the same as last year's sale in the timing (July 1 - September 30) and rebate (30%) for new mail volume. It is different in that the minimum volume needed ... Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 CDT http://www.qg.com/joesblog.asp?newmessageid=32867