Peter Jaskiewicz

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world; as social distancing guidelines are set, our way of life has shifted. Non-essential businesses closed for a while but have since returned under the new guidelines. But even when times are tough, the workers continue to provide us their services, essential or not. One essential service that supports the country in these times is the United States Postal Service (USPS).

The United States Postal Service serves as a foundation for services offered by every level of government, whether federal, state, or local. For some people, the USPS is the only personal point of contact people have with the federal government. It also assists other agencies in providing passport services, getting Census Bureau surveys out to the public, and receiving absentee ballots. It is one of the most essential government services and during these times, the importance of it has risen.

USPS Truck

As an essential service, the postal service is an asset to the entire country. The USPS has the mandate to serve every American, no matter who they are or where they live. They have delivered us our mail, risking their lives in their daily routes to earn a living wage. For smaller and rural communities, the postal service plays a central role as an information hub, not just a postal center. In some communities, the USPS is the only delivery option they have. They cannot rely on Amazon, UPS, or FedEx to give them packages they ordered online. But USPS can and will provide them the service they need.

Believe it or not, the USPS served as a catalyst for developing many of our nation’s essential networks. This includes national roads, railroad systems, and even airlines. All of them emerged from the need to transport mail across the country as efficiently as possible. Plus, it allowed newspapers to share stories from one newspaper to another by sending copies through the mail for free. You could say our transportation services were founded in the name of delivery.

USPS Trucks

The post office has also historically helped all kinds of people find jobs, including immigrants, rural migrants, and those pursuing higher education. Since the 1960s, African Americans made up 21 percent of its employees.

As it stands, the post office still delivers 40 percent of the world’s mail and has adapted to changes with the rise of the telephone, fax machine, and Internet. As such, it has evolved to combat the growing pandemic. Despite the orders for closing businesses, the Postal Service continues serving the public, which now relies on it more than ever. For many home-bound and quarantined people, home delivery is the only source for medicine and other vital supplies.

Even with the rise of technology, the USPS supports its people in times of crisis. No matter the catastrophe – hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and more – the Postal Service has contingency plans to recover and restart delivery. It also plays an essential logistical role in national disasters for other agencies.

Amazon Package

The USPS also supports delivering items from online shopping, including Amazon. In the fiscal year, of 2019, Amazon accounted for nearly $3.9 billion in revenue and $1.6 billion in profit for the postal service. USPS delivered 1.54 billion packages for Amazon at that time or roughly 30% of the total volume. Amazon relies on the USPS for higher-cost deliveries. The online shopping service raked in $6.93 billion in sales worldwide from last year’s Prime Day and has projected a gain of $9.91 billion this year. Rena Lunak, a company spokesperson for Amazon, states that USPS continues to be a great partner in serving Amazon customers. The company also stated that USPS would be a major part of facilitating one-day deliveries.

 

Happy Holidays logo

As we approach the holiday season, the postal service will be hard at work in delivering holiday cards and gifts. One thing USPS does around this time is Operation Santa. This program was made to provide a channel for people to give back and help children and families who cannot celebrate Christmas normally. Here, postal employees respond to letters with a handwritten response signed by Santa, but other offices could purchase gifts for the children. Letter writers can request what they want, but they need to specify which toys, games, or clothing sizes or colors. Letter adopters can help a child or family in any way they can. This year, some changes were made. For the first time, USPS Operation Santa will be nationwide. Letter adoptions will be online only due to the pandemic. Countless kids and families were helped by this program, and it will continue to help for years to come.

USA Flag

The world may have changed, but USPS is one of the few services still going strong despite the spread of the virus. Without the United States Postal Service, we would not be able to thrive in these times of quarantine. This essential service is doing its part to support the nation in any way it can. So let us take a moment to thank the workers of the postal service for providing us with our essentials over the past few months.

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