Mailers Council Seeks to Delay Rate Implementation

The Mailers Council has petitioned James Miller, chairman of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, to postpone by at least 120 days the date when the new postage rates and rules take effect.

“In a series of meetings over the last several months, ranging from first-line managers to the Deputy Postmaster General, we have expressed the need for adequate time between final implementation of new rates and regulations,” wrote Robert E. McLean, executive director of the organization, which represents large commercial mailers. “Given the current financial state of the Postal Service and the favorable financial consequences of postal reform, we respectfully request that you adopt an implementation date that offers a minimum of 120 days to prepare for the new rates and the many, often complex, rules changes included in [the case].”

The Council’s letter follows a letter-writing campaign from members of the Direct Marketing Association to Miller and others protesting the Postal Regulatory Commission’s recommended decision on the postal rate hikes.