Going Postal - Postal Privacy Act of 1992

Yet another rate increase and some reflection

Well effective tomorrow yet another postal rate increase. The price to mail a first class stamp goes up to 39 cents. It's a good thing I use the internet to pay my bills, send my cards. This event has caused me to do a little reflection on the history of what we like to refer to day as The United States Postal Service.

Postal Privacy Act of 1992

This bill, introduced in Congress by Rep Marcus P. Simmons R-Tennessee was little known outside of postal circles and passed with little fanfair. This bill was sweeping and had an immediate effect on the employess of the day. With the signing of this bill into law it's most immediate effect was to eliminate the jobs of some 3,500 postal employees who either were reassigned or were let go altogether.

The Postal Privacy Act for the very first time made it illegal to proofread the mail. Some 3,500 unsung heroes made this their livlihood and in one fell swoop of the pen it was no more. Banners like "Improving Illiteracy - One Letter At A Time" and "Accountability, Efficency, Readability - Use Your Highliter" Came down before the ink was dry. The end to an era had come.

It had always been a controversial program to those in the closed circles who knew about it but there had been many success stories and those will live on in the hearts of the men and women who performed the job. Joel Tremont of the Wykeegan Falls, NH office reminised the day he got a call from 95 year old Bessie McDaniel of the Wykeegan Falls Nursing Home. It seems that one day while sorting mail Joel came across Bessie's social security check as he did just about every month. Joel pinched the envelope tight and sqinted as he held the envelope up to the nearest bright light. Joel says he was almost fell over, "There was a $250 shortage in her check." "I was in disbelief".

Joel knew from previous mail that several of Bessie's grandchildren had birthdays comming up and in fact her first great grandchild was due any day. Joel took it upon himself to call the local Social Security office and notify them of the error in Bessie's check. Joel didn't mind the 35 minutes he was on hold as this was just as important to him as it would be to Bessie and her family. Ten minutes after talking to the Social Security Representative the error had been found and a new check was issued and sent that day. "Bessie called to personally thank him and I know for a fact the both were in tears" Postmaster Hebert LaGuardino stated. With this one act of unselfishness in the course of just doing his job, Joel was nominated for "Proofreader Of The Month".

January 8, 2006

Of course the main problem with the program is that it was not widely known. A better explanation of its demise is to say that the program was not acknowleged at all. Due to the massive manpower it would have taken to impliment this program throughout the US and to 100% of the mail it was just something that could notprogress and ultimatley could not continue. In the 1986 edition of the Postal Educator it mentioned, almost as an afterthought the amount of proofreading effectivly was less than 1% of all first class mail delivered.

Jason Stroud of Garden Hills, New Jersy put it this way, "That less than 1% had better communication than any other point in their lifetime". When you take into consideration of how many people either were illiterate, had bad spelling or just plain horrid penmanship...."this program came through for them and their loved ones", "It was their lifeline".

Stan Johansson of Beaver Creek, Idaho recalled one day when he received a recipe from a relative. He readily admitted that her "...handwriting left something to be desired but if not for the great folks who read my mail I would have used cauliflower instead of the intended chilipowder."

Although true that those types of comments came from the program's benefactors. The program did have it's detractors and as time went on the voices of those detractors grew more loudly. The loudest was Representative Marcus Simmons.

"These people who had their mail opened enroute to the intended recipient lived in shame"! exclaimed Rep Simmons. "They received a copy of their mailings with crossouts, highlites, blackouts...you name it" Although when pressed for specific examples or copmplaints from the general mailing public Rep Simmons balked, "Who is going to come forward and admit to something so hideously shamefull?" Still adamant on the subject he pressed onward, eventually sponsering the legislation in Congress where is was buried as an amendment to the 1991 US Clean Air legislation. It was buried so deep within the legislation the Postal Privacy Act was never mentioned in the Federal Register.