Mail In Motion

[Music] you've written a letter and you've nailed it first class or airmail United States or any place in the world all your letter gets where you want it to go in the shortest possible time is the job of the postal transportation service who is 30 men are the backbone of the postal system they keep the mail in motion [Music] this is barb Smith six months ago he took a civil service examination for employment in the postal transportation service and achieved a high grade he also passed a rigid physical examination mother is an offer of employment as a substitute postal [Music] my reports to the district transportation manager who explains that the basic function of the postal transportation service is to transport the united states mail to keep the mail moving toward its destination bob accepts the appointment takes it off to defend of states the equipment necessary to protect the mail to identify himself as a postal transportation service work his training again is assigned to TTS terminal where the primary breakdown in the process of distribution is performed there are 71 terminals in the United States most of them located at railroad stations all of them a maze of belts chutes corridors elevators and moving trucks bob is now one of the 10,000 tunnel postal transportation clerks who keep the mail in motion from the time it is loaded onto the belts until it leaves the tunnel properly dispatched via train and trucks in this terminal located Washington DC 10,000 sacks of mail are processed daily this job requires hundreds of highly skilled distributors who worked around the clock 365 days a year but barb has no knowledge of distribution and can only perform the more laborious work pulling sacks from one truck to another dumping up mail on a portable belt for distribution by experienced employees [Music] it is a question of ball and lift and dump then dump a tired substitute realizes that if he is to get away from this laborious you must learn something about the distribution and dispatch of mail like other postal transportation clerks he spends countless hours studying the geographical locations scheming out the correct routes for each of the 800 post offices in his examination assignment months later Bob takes his first case examination postal transportation clerks must make a grade of at least 95 to pass his equipment is inspected by the examiner quis scheme booked and schedules every week perks must revise and pre study the ever-changing supplies and schedules [Music] the bond is naturally apprehensive but he gives the signal and begins casing the cards [Music] off to a slow start he gains speed and finishes at a rate of 32 cards a minute [Music] the examiner checks the cards through the use of a code on the back he finds eight errors out of 800 and points out the correct supply for each office in error Bob receives the mark of 99% he will continue to take examinations and his confidence will grow within three years you will have King knowledge of approximately 5,000 post offices having acquired considerable knowledge of distribution Bob is assigned to the terminal where both males are handled on this several distribution rack sacks are made up for States and other terminals although he is working alone is part of a fast system where the performance of each individual affects every other individual the jam up at any one point can cause serious problems throughout the entire organization as the sacks are filled and dispatch to the correct train for transportation to destination sacks of Parcel Post are dumped up on we're clerks working at high-speed make the primary breakdown for the various racks in the section of all sizes and shapes up which go to the racks for distribution [Music] during an eight-hour day Bob processes the equivalent of 160 sacks of Parcel Post [Music] to them along with the word of encouragement and advice [Music] when the Mayor was kept in motion this vast terminal is a smooth and efficient operation but the flow of mail varies and the distributor's are continually fighting against time to keep the mail moving [Music] the volume becomes too great and over taxes the facilities of the terminal there are delays and increased costs twelve billion pieces of third and fourth class mail are distributed and transported each year a tremendous task requiring expert knowledge and close teamwork by postal transportation clerks [Music] [Applause] airmail is another responsibility of the Bureau of Transportation as preferred service it costs more but is well worth the money from New York City is delivered in London England as quickly as a regular that hurt the new incoming air mail is delivered to the postal transportation service by the airlines two important tools the postal transportation clerk uses are the twine cutter to open entire packages and the thumb stall put the letters in two pigeonholes the jargon used in the postal transportation service is peculiar for example Philip North number one and number two means mail in these pigeon holes will be dispatched to a railway post office running between Philadelphia and Norfolk the number one package will be worked first because it includes cities near the beginning of the run Bob receives on-the-job training under the guidance of regular clerks after the airmail has been distributed into the cases are tied up and sent to the pouch table where they are thrown into ponch's of destination life that an airmail field is never static flight patterns are constantly changing planes are grounded in mail must be related to trains and trucks the air mail clerk must know the proper distribution and dispatch for airmail flights and surface transportation as well [Music] this complex system of routing requires specialized skill and flexibility which is peculiar to the industry around the clock and against time they work to distribute and dispatch as much mail as possible on each right 800,000 airmail flights serving 550 cities carry 1 and 1/2 billion pieces of airmail yearly with America's great Exodus to the suburbs the highway post office has become a vital segment in the transportation of mail HBO's not only transport mail they also provide the facilities for distribution on route IRA post offices are not restricted by the rigid schedules of railroads and Airlines routes are set up to meet the individual requirements of the post offices serve the direct exchange of mails is both expeditious and economical eliminating the need for mail messenger and star route service of the highway post office is the answer to the serious problem of providing good postal service during periods of shifting populations at president there are 184 HP old routes which traveled 15 and 1/2 miles yearly the American people are on the move post-office is moving with [Music] this is Barb's first trip than a railway post office the crew reports to the RPO car to perform advance distribution before the train leaves this RPO runs between Washington and Chicago pouches and sacks are strung along the car according to an official diagram to accommodate mail to be distributed and dispatched during the run each rack contains from ten to sixteen pouches of sex each RPO car has a different layout because the scope of distribution varies for each run letter-case headers are inserted in the pigeon holes for the city and state mail which will be distributed down dispatched most transportation clerks worked throughout the night so that mail will reach post offices early in the morning to ensure first delivery by letter carriers outside the car there seems to be confusion as trucks to be loaded with me or are maneuvered into position but actually everything is in order the clerk calls our pouches in a jargon familiar only to the postal transportation clerks each run is scheduled to receive specific dispatches from post offices airmail fields highway post offices and other railway post offices a record is made of all pouches received and dispatched [Music] the conductor gives the highball and the run begins nearly 18 billion pieces of first-class and six billion pieces of second-class mail are handled by the postal transportation service yearly as the momentum of the Train picks up letters are snapped into the digital would increase speed the palms table becomes the center of activity there is a spray dakar in the PT s that is unique working in small groups or cruise parts develop a keen sense of teamwork while competition between crews results in high productivity the speed of distribution now has reached its peak and will continue at this pace until the train nears the end of the run each clerk understudies one or more assignments and can step in and fill a vacancy at a moment's notice each of these veteran clerks knows the proper distribution and dispatch for approximately five thousand post offices bricks work not only against time but against the sway and bounce of the speeding RPL car one of the advantages of railway post office service is that it permits receipt and dispatch of mail Postal Service to the smaller cities and towns along the run is accomplished on the fly these are the most exciting moments of the run particularly for the new man the mail for dispatch enclosed in a special patch is brought to the door the clerk designated to make the throw and catch is on the lookout for familiar landmarks as the train approaches the point where the Mail's are exchanged he watches for the crane on which the incoming punch is held he throws the pouch lifts the catcher off what makes the catch the pouches brought to the parks table and distributed quickly so that patrons of the next station they receive same-day delivery [Music] [Applause] Bob Smith has now satisfactorily completed his probationary year a letter from his district manager offers him an assignment as a regular clerk in a pts terminal he is ready to take his place among those who have dedicated their lives to the principle that the must go through the men of the postal transportation service the men who keep the mail in motion [Music]