USDANEWS VOLUME 56 NO. 7 - AUGUST 1997

"Auntie Em:" R.I.P. at USDA
"Auntie Em" was considered a kindly character in "The Wizard of Oz." But "Auntie Em Mail" has been branded as a burden on USDA's budget--and has caused a change in USDA's policy on the processing of outgoing mail.

Effective June 1997, the "destination address" must be typed on all official outbound first-class mail from USDA headquarters offices in the Washington, DC complex. If it is not typed, but is hand-written instead, USDA's mail processors have been instructed to not pick up that item of mail from the USDA HQ office in which it is originating.

June Bryan, USDA's Mail Manager with the Office of Operations in Washington, DC, explained that "Auntie Em" mail is the mailing industry's term often used to describe mail whose destination address has been written by hand, instead of being typed.

"That's fine when you're writing a personal letter," she advised. "But it also means that you'll have to pay at least 32 cents for postage--and you can't take advantage of any postal discounts."

Bryan explained that the U.S. Postal Service offers monetary incentives for what it calls "quality addresses."

"One big example," she said, "is that mail with a typed destination address is readable by optical character readers in the Postal Service's processing post offices."

"This allows them to process the mail faster and more efficiently--so, as a reward, they'll offer to the sender the potential for discounted postage rates."

Because the volume of official mail leaving USDA HQ offices is greater than 500 pieces per day, the Postal Service will charge only 29.5 cents in postage for the traditional one-ounce letter being mailed in the standard-sized 4" x 9.5" envelope, called a "business envelope." "Again," she advised, "that's if the destination address was typed--either directly on the envelope or on a mailing label."

This requirement does not apply to "internal mail"--commonly referred to as "chain mail"--which does not leave USDA.

This is spelled out in section 8c of Departmental Regulation 3050-1, titled "Mail Management" and dated May 28, 1996.

She said that, while the regulation does not make a distinction between "business envelopes" and the 9.5" x 12" "flat envelopes" which are typically manila in color, the regulation is currently being enforced only for business envelopes. Why? "USDA is currently not being offered any discounts for special preparation of flat envelopes," she said.

How were headquarters employees notified about this rather significant change in preparing official first-class mail?

Bryan said that agency mail managers and deputy administrators for management were asked to review the draft reg and provide comments. Then, upon its approval, OO sent fliers in June to all HQ complex employees about this new requirement.

Does this requirement for typed "destination addresses" also apply to official first-class mail leaving USDA field offices?

Bob Gililland, chief of OO's Mail & Reproduction Management Division, said that the daily volume of official mail from field offices generally does not meet the "500 pieces per day" threshold, so the requirement does not apply to them.

So, does this requirement mean that our computerized offices at headquarters must now make room for electric typewriters, in order to type all these destination addresses for official first-class mail?

"Most of the computers and printers at USDA headquarters offices," Bryan replied, "have the capability of producing printed labels and/or printed envelopes."

"We project USDA will save $150,000 in postage annually," Gililland said, "because of this mail management initiative." ¤

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