Auntie ABATE / “Cuz” Report

Dear Cuz,

Why is it that my newsletter comes on different days every month and comes so late?

Sometimes Under read and Uninformed.

Dear Un,

Unfortunately, our newsletter delivery is at the mercy of the United States Post Office and their ability or inability to get it out in a timely fashion. We mail out the next month’s newsletter, well before the end of the month and at one of the least expensive rates the post office offers us in order to save our organization, and you, money. Mailed items that pay a higher rate get a higher delivery priority.

Delivery of the newsletter is problematic, has been going on for years, and is especially delayed during the holiday season. This year especially, with COVID going on, there was an overabundance of mail order purchasing taking place. Those packages needed to get delivered – and if you shop Amazon, they get delivered by the USPS. Besides that, COVID vaccines hit the streets….by that I mean transportation of the vaccine was being done through UPS and FedEx and took the highest priority of all. Because of that, the general public might have turned to the USPO as an alternative to using UPS and FedEx during the holidays for their shipping needs…. adding even more deliveries to an already stretched system. I have personally seen postal employees working well into the evening hours and on weekends making deliveries, so I have no doubt that they did their best to get everything out asap. The USPS no doubt, was also dealing with COVID issues amongst their employees causing them to be short staffed. Part of the delays may also have been caused by new policies that were enacted last June when the new Postmaster General was put into place. Not that I’m making excuses, but those are some of the things we are dealing with.

But by golly, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. ABATE is in the process of getting a Periodical Permit which will not only save us money, but we are told will have a higher mailing priority that the rate we use now. They tell us we will save a few thousand dollars a year by switching to this permit and should get our newsletter quicker than we have gotten it in the past – double bonus. Unless there are some hiccups, that determination should be made this coming spring. Fingers Crossed.

You have the option as a member, to request a digital or emailed copy of our newsletter. You need to advise the office that you would like to receive the newsletter electronically and the staff will switch you over. Digital copies of the newsletter are available every month on the first.

“Cuz”