The Universal Postal Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It comprises 192 member states and is headquartered in Bern,Switzerland.
The United States Postal Service (USPS),also known as the Post Office,U.S. Mail,or Postal Service,is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States,its insular areas,and its associated states. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the Constitution of the United States. As of 2023,the USPS has 525,469 career employees and 114,623 non-career employees.
The United States Post Office Department was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service,established in 1792. From 1872 to 1971,it was officially in the form of a Cabinet department. It was headed by the postmaster general.
Canada Post Corporation,trading as Canada Post,is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada.
In the United States government,independent agencies are agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments and the Executive Office of the President. In a narrower sense,the term refers only to those independent agencies that,while considered part of the executive branch,have regulatory or rulemaking authority and are insulated from presidential control,usually because the president's power to dismiss the agency head or a member is limited.
Postal service in the United States began with the delivery of stampless letters whose cost was borne by the receiving person,later encompassed pre-paid letters carried by private mail carriers and provisional post offices,and culminated in a system of universal prepayment that required all letters to bear nationally issued adhesive postage stamps.
The Royal Mail Group Limited,trading as Royal Mail,is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels). The company used the name Consignia for a brief period in the early 2000s but changed it afterwards.
Australia Post,formally known as the Australian Postal Corporation,is a Commonwealth government-owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is located on Bourke Street,Melbourne,above the Bourke Street Post Office.
Jersey Post is the licensed universal service provider of mail service for the Bailiwick of Jersey.
India Post is an Indian public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi,India. It's trade name of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office,it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world,and India is the country that has the largest number of post offices in the world. It is involved in delivering mail (post),remitting money by money orders,accepting deposits under Small Savings Schemes,providing life insurance coverage under Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) and providing retail services like bill collection,sale of forms,etc.
John E. "Jack" Potter is the president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority since July 18,2011. He is the former United States Postmaster General and CEO of the United States Postal Service (USPS),having become the 72nd postmaster general on June 1,2001. Potter is the second longest-serving postmaster general,following Gideon Granger.
The system for mail delivery in the United States has developed with the nation. Rates were based on the distance between sender and receiver in the nation's early years. In the middle of the 19th century,rates stabilized at one price regardless of distance. Rates were relatively unchanged until 1968 when the price was increased every few years by a small amount. Comparing the increases with a price index,the cost of a first-class stamp has been steady. The seal of the Post Office Department showed a man on a running horse,even as railroads and,later,motorized trucks and airplanes moved mail. In 1971,the Post Office became the United States Postal Service,with rates set by the Postal Regulatory Commission,with some oversight by Congress. Air mail became standard in 1975. In the 21st century,prices were segmented to match the sorting machinery used;non-standard letters required slightly higher postage.
Posti Group Oyj,trading internationally as Posti Group Corporation,is the main Finnish postal service delivering mail and parcels in Finland. The State of Finland is the sole shareholder of the company. Posti has a universal service obligation that entails weekday deliveries of letters in all of Finland's municipalities. Posti's head office is located in Pohjois-Pasila in Helsinki. Posti's history spans nearly 400 years.
A public utilities commission is a quasi-governmental body that provides oversight and/or regulation of public utilities in a particular area,especially in the United States and Canada.
The United States Postal Regulatory Commission,formerly called the Postal Rate Commission,is an independent regulatory agency created by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. Like the Postal Service,it was defined in law as an independent establishment of the executive branch.
Cream skimming is a pejorative conceptual metaphor used to refer to the perceived business practice of a company providing a product or a service to only the high-value or low-cost customers of that product or service,while disregarding clients that are less profitable for the company.
The Israel Postal Company,formerly called the Israel Postal Authority and currently doing business as Israel Post,is a government-owned corporation that provides postal services in Israel.
Ministry of Communications is a Central ministry under the Government of India responsible for telecommunications and postal service. It was carved out of Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on 19 July 2016.
Steve Hutkins is a retired professor at the Gallatin School of New York University and a leading advocate for the United States Post Office. He runs the influential website "Save the Post Office".
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