Sign up today for one of several excellent education classes Group 1 is currently offering throughout the months of April and May. Classes other than those listed below may be available upon request. Please call 1-800-859-4133 for class dates and locations. These classes give you the opportunity to get answers to your questions and to share your experiences with Group 1 products with others.

For more information regarding our education classes, visit our Education department's web site at www.g1.com/education.

Postmaster General John Potter recently promised the nation, following this summer's planned rate increase, postage prices won't rise again for two years. The postal governing board is expected to give final approval next week to a 3-cent rate increase, boosting first-class stamps to 37 cents this summer. Once that increase is in place, Potter said: "I am committed to maintain that rate schedule until at least calendar year 2004."

With that promise, he guarantees the agency won't apply for an increase next year. The long and complex process of raising rates means it can take almost a year for a rate application to take effect. In the meantime, the agency is seeking to simplify the way it does business under a plan sent to Congress.

That plan would overhaul the agency's operations, including such possibilities as closing some offices, phasing in price increases in regular steps and even cutting back on six-day-a-week delivery. Facing rising costs and shrinking business, the U.S. Postal Service lost $1.6 billion last year. Failure to make fundamental changes would force it to operate under its "present increasingly outmoded business model until enough customers abandon the system to make financial failure unavoidable," the Postal Service said in its proposal.

Potter stressed he isn't recommending wholesale post office closings and promised to work to keep six-day service. But he also noted that, unlike years ago, stamps are now available in grocery stores and via mail order, telephone and Internet. And he said every aspect of postal operations needs to be looked at to improve finances and efficiency.

The proposal calls for a new law converting the post office to a commercial government agency after 2006. Meanwhile, there would be changes to cut costs and improve efficiency. Legislation is being sought to allow changes in "service levels and delivery frequency." With more pricing flexibility and adjustments to operations, he said, "we believe that we can protect six-day delivery well into the future."

Among other changes would be working with the Postal Rate Commission to streamline the rate process to provide more regular and predictable price changes, including phased-in rates. Potter said that might mean small annual increases for commercial mailers while the public would get an increase every other year or every third year. The post office has not received any taxpayer subsidy for operations for years, although Congress recently voted $500 million to assist in coping with the anthrax contamination and to seek ways to prevent it from happening again.

The proposed long-term changes would move to a more private-business type of bargaining with unions, including a mediation process similar to that in the Railway Labor Act. Unlike the current system that often ends in compulsory arbitration, the proposed plan would include the possibility of strikes and lockouts.

William Burrus, president of the American Postal Workers Union, called that idea a "nonstarter" because the process could be manipulated by the White House to impose a settlement. Burrus also reiterated his union's stance that the post office could increase revenues by reducing discounts it gives major mailers for presorting mail.

The proposed new agency would also drop the current requirement that it break even financially over time for one that allows profits that could be used to finance capital improvements or for other purposes. It would use private business style purchasing rather than government systems and would look for new products and services to offer, including investing in related businesses and possibly permitting other retail operations in post offices.

Group 1 is pleased to announce upcoming changes to our Internet Support services. These changes include the ability to create, view and update your Open Service Requests, and to search through our new Solutions Knowledge Base for the answers to your product questions. In order to accomplish this, we are implementing Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology throughout our Support Web site.

Beginning May 1, 2002, SSL will be required in order to access ALL areas of our Support Web site. Please test your browser NOW to ensure that you can continue receiving online support.

If your browser is properly configured, you will receive a confirmation page. If you have visited the Support Web site recently, chances are you have already tested SSL compatibility via the new pop-up window that appears on the main index. It only takes a few seconds to test. For help on what to do if the test does not work, CLICK HERE.

For additional information about SSL, CLICK HERE for an FAQ. For additional information about Group 1's privacy policy, please view the online version here.

Look for future announcements regarding Online Support initiatives coming to a browser near you.