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This news archive is from 4th Quarter of 2003

UAMS News Items

U.S. Postal Service Move Update Initiative (March 2003)
New Fund Raising Stamp for Sept 11th Rescue Workers

Move Update Initiative

According to a 1998 Price Waterhouse study, UAA (undeliverable-as-addressed) mail is less than three percent of total mail volume, but costs the U.S. Postal Service $1.5 billion to process - $438 million for forwarding and $768 million for return to sender.

The MOVE Update initiatives are to improve mail quality, refine the MOVE update process, reduce costs associated with undeliverable mail, and improve service.

Currently the Domestic Mail Manual requires that addresses on all presorted and automated first-class mail be updated within 180 days before the mailing date using an USPS-aproved method. It has been proposed that this 180-day window be reduced to 90 days and ... [applied] to other classes of mail

Providing mailers with manually prepared address notifications is the least effective and most costly Move Update method for the Postal Service. This cost is deferred onto the mailer for each returned piece.

The UAMS Mail processing endeavors to comply with these requirements, but it is the responsibility of each department to ammend and update their own mailing lists. Each time a piece of mail is returned with a notice of address change, the department should make note of the new addressing in their mailing list. Documentation of the proposed rules for the Move Update Initiative is available at the USPS Rapid Information Bulletin Board System and is available in both PDF and text formats.

Fund Raising Stamp

The United State Postal Service announced on March 11, 2002 the sceduled release of a new Fund rasing stamp.

The stamp is to honor the heroes of the September 11th terrorist attack on America.

WASHINGTON - At a White House ceremony, President George W. Bush and Postmaster General John E. Potter unveiled a new "semipostal" stamp that will raise funds to provide assistance to families of emergency relief personnel killed or permanently disabled in connection with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The price of the Heroes of 2001 semipostal stamp will be 45 cents. The 11-cent difference between the sales price of the stamp and the underlying postage in effect at the time of purchase consists of a contribution. Funds raised in connection with sales of the stamp, net of the Postal Service's reasonable costs, are to be transferred to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The stamp is expected to be available in post offices nationwide starting in late spring.

Today's unveiling marked both the six-month anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the start date for the production of 205 million Heroes of 2001 stamps.

"The Postal Service is proud to honor the men and women who gave their all in the rescue efforts following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11," said Potter. "Sadly, many of these true American heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice. We hope this stamp will be a lasting tribute to them and a testimony to the spirit and resolve of our great country."

Also participating in the unveiling ceremony were firefighters William Eisengrein, George Johnson and Daniel McWilliams and photographer Thomas E. Franklin. Eisengrein, Johnson and McWilliams participated in rescue efforts in New York City. Franklin, a staff photographer for The Record in Bergen County, N.J., took the now famous photograph of the three firefighters as they raised the U.S. flag at "ground zero."

Designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, D.C., the Heroes of 2001 stamp image features a detail of the photograph by Franklin, the word "heroes" and acronym "USA" in capital letters stacked in the upper right-hand corner of the vertically formatted design and the year "2001" in the lower right-hand corner. Running at a ninety-degree angle along the upper left-hand edge of the design are the words "First-Class" in capital letters.

Adjacent to that is a plus sign (+) denoting that the price of the stamp is higher than the First-Class rate.

The self-adhesive, non-denominated Heroes 2001 stamp is a semipostal, which means it will be valid for postage at the First-Class first-ounce letter rate in effect at the time of purchase (currently 34 cents). The remainder is a tax-deductible contribution and may not be used to pay postage.

The Heroes of 2001 stamp is the second semipostal in U.S. history. The first was the Breast Cancer Research stamp, which is still available at post offices across the country, by toll-free phone order at 1 800 STAMP-24 and online at the Postal Store at www.usps.com. To date, the Breast Cancer Research stamp has raised about $24 million for breast cancer research.

Located in Little Rock, Arkansas