We participated in another call with senior U.S. Postal Service officials today.  Here are our notes from the meeting.  We will continue to update you as the coronavirus crisis evolves.

• USPS will become much more proactive about communicating.
• Postmaster General Megan Brennan formed a full time team that includes Steve Monteith as our point of contact.
• Operations are pretty much normal, including all post offices open.
• A lot of this is a work in progress, but we should be getting more announcements over the coming days.
• The Postal Service is using their standard continuity of operations process they use in other disasters.
• Contact your local Business Service Network (BSN), District, or Area that you usually work with any operational issues.
• They urged all their BSN and sales to reach out to customers, which is why one of our members got an email survey about volume plans from her BSN.  It was a local initiative.  Many of us urged that USPS put out reassuring messages about the mail getting through, and any safety considerations with mail, packages, mail transport equipment, etc.
• A public statement on the safety of the mail is in the works.
• Hallmark is promoting card and letter writing in this time of crisis and USPS says send all the First Class Mail you can.
• USPS is working hard to enable 100% vote by mail for June Ohio primary, continuing to treat it state by state, but they don’t know about general public communications about vote by mail.
• Several participants suggested more communication of positive information about package volume growing and prescription medication mail volume.  USPS said it would.
• In response to a suggestion, USPS said it is looking at opportunities to cut postage rates or give incentives to keep threatened categories of mail in the mail.
• USPS is looking at adjustments to certain affected procedures such as Hold Mail.  As many businesses close, what will happen to their incoming mail?
• A participant suggested USPS make a statement it would not pursue an exigent rate increase to cover its losses as it did for the previous recession.
• Another suggested USPS talk to the Postal Regulatory Commission about putting the 10-year rate review on the shelf in order to remove one major concern from mailers.
• Another suggested blanket communication to all government constituencies—Congress, PRC and USPS—that our postal system depends on ratepayers and we must do what we can to keep them in the mail.  USPS said it was open to a suggested communication from mailers.
• A single public spokesperson and point of contact for this crisis was suggested.  USPS said it is looking into “putting everything in one place.”
• USPS is working on social distancing procedures for drop-shipping handoffs.
• A poster on social distancing in post offices is in the works.
• Postal employees are being offered liberal teleworking, but are not being forced to.  Where it makes sense, such as the New York Pricing and Classification Service Center, some office will telework in their entirety.
• Everyone interested should subscribe to emailed Industry Alerts.  Subscribe by contacting IndustryAlert@usps.gov .  There will be one today and one tomorrow, and probably many more.
• To ask questions or share information with USPS you can email IndustryFeedback@usps.gov with the subject line COVID-19.
• We will have another mailer association call with USPS at 11 on Monday.