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NATIONAL: Route Adjustments
Around the country, post offices are preparing for the Modified Interim Route Adjustment Process. What seems to be agreed upon by NALC Presidents across the country is the ability of the union to oversee the route adjustments.
Though the NALC may agree that adjusting routes is preferable to layoffs, there is also the fact that carriers will loss their routes. During this period of adjustment, the most consistent advice given by NALC branch Presidents is to do your route 'by the book'. Which includes following flow charts, taking all allotted breaks and following all safety procedures.
The following excerpts are taken from the NALC The Courier Branch 51 Fall River, Mass. newsletter, written by branch President Paul Knarr. This is a good representation of information and advice being passed around to all union members during route adjustments.
"With the implementation of FSS, the interim route adjustments, and the projected decline in mail volume the USPS is looking to eliminate 1,861 carrier positions in the Northest, which translates to a loss of between 18-20% of city carrier routes in the Northeast."
"They are projecting that the FSS machines will sort 80% of the flat volume and that they can anticipate 40-50 minutes of savings in the office per route. Once again, their projections."
"DOIS and under time: There are some supervisors who review the DOIS numbers and inform the carriers that they have under time and they should have time to assist on another route.
1) The base data is still not accurate in the system, but it is being worked on. There are numerous errors in carriers % to standard, and fixed office time which can skew the DOIS numbers.
2) Just because I may be leaving the office 30 minutes early, that does not mean that I have an extra 30 minutes to give them on the road. My route may show I have 6 hours on the road and 2 hours in the office, hence 30 minutes under time. But because I have Red Plum, or 5 trays of DPS, or 15 parcels, or had a long service talk, my 6 hours of road time reflected in DOIS could easily take 6 1/2, thereby eliminating the 1/2 hour under time.
3) The carrier determines if they have under time. Remember that if management feels that a carrier is overestimating their workload then they always have the option of walking with the carrier. DOIS is just a tool for management, but if you hold a hammer upside down it doesn't work very well.
4) There may be days when your column is down, you don't have a 3rd bundle, don't have a lot of parcels, no occupant in the DPS and you are leaving the office early. On these days you may legitimately have some under time and may be able to assist on another route."
Branches around the country are seeing both positive and negative responses to the adjustments. The bottom line is, that the adjustments are going to happen. The best way to approach these proceedings is in a professional manner befitting a letter carrier.
May 29, 2009
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GLOBAL: Privatization Hurts Britian Postal Service
Privatizing the United State Postal Service has been suggested for years. The outcome of which is unknown. However, Britain's Royal Mail may give and insight to what may come. According to Morning Star UK liberalisation has hurt the postal service.
The following are excerpts from the Morning Star Article: "The global study was carried out in 13 countries and showed that full liberalisation [privatization]of the postal market simply does not work."
General secretary Billy Hayes said: "We've said for a long while that liberalisation doesn't benefit the market. The UNI report shows that postal services are public services and don't sit well in the private sector."
It revealed the tremendous job losses caused by liberalisation, deterioration of working conditions in competing postal operators, increasing precarious working conditions through the increase in atypical work, cuts in wages and wage dumping."
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May 26, 2009
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Extended Voluntary Early Retirement
NALC News reports that eligible letter carriers (carriers who are 50 with at least 20years of service or any age with at least 25 years of service)who wish to voluntarily retire have an extended deadline. Effective dates: May 31, June 30 or July 31.
The following excerpt was taken from the NALC website: "Those covered by CSRS must accept a permanent reduction in their annuities of 2 percent for each year they are under age 55 on the effective date of their early retirement. There is no reduction for eligible carriers covered by FERS, but those carriers would not receive the special supplemental annuity benefits payable to annuitants under age 62 until they reach their minimum retirement age (age 55-57, depending on the employee’s year of birth). The Postal Service’s VER offer does not provide any financial incentives (lump-sums, special severance payments, etc.) to choose early retirement."
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May 26, 2009
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H.R. 22 Postal Accountability & Enhancement Act
H.R. 22 which originally introduced in 2005 by Rep McHugh, John M. [NY-23] and was meant to reform postal law. It also included Title VIII (Sec. 803).
This is an excerpt taken from The Library of Congress: Title VIII (Sec. 803) establishes in the Treasury a Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, to be administered by OPM, to cover the unfunded Postal Service liability for health care costs of current and future retirees. Requires the Postal Service, beginning in 2006, to compute the net present value of the future payments required and attributable to the service of Postal Service employees during the most recently ended fiscal year, along with an amortization schedule which provides for the liquidation of the net value amounts. Directs the Postal Service, for each year, to pay into the above Fund such net present value and the annual installment due under the amortization schedule. Makes OPM actuarial computations subject to PRC review.
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Major provisions to H.R. 22 have begun to gain support. The following is taken from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) website listing some of the proposed reforms.
"SUMMARY
H.R. 22 would change the laws that govern the operation of the United States Postal Service (USPS), particularly those regarding the cost of pensions and health care benefits of retired workers and the requirement to hold certain funds in escrow. CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would result in on-budget savings of $35.7 billion and off-budget costs of $41.6 billion over the 2006-2015 period. (The net expenditures of the USPS are classified as "off-budget.") Thus, CBO estimates the net cost to the unified budget would be $5.9 billion over the 2006-2015 period. All of those effects reflect changes in direct spending. In addition, we estimate that implementing H.R. 22 would have discretionary costs of about $1.6 billion over the 2006-2015 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. (Enacting the bill would not affect federal revenues.)
Enacting H.R. 22 would not affect how much the federal government spends on pension or health care benefits for USPS retirees. By increasing how much the Postal Service pays to finance those benefits and by eliminating the current-law escrow account requirements, however, the bill would increase future budget deficits as measured by the unified federal budget. Eliminating the escrow account requirement for the USPS would allow that agency to increase spending for capital improvements or other projects, pay down its outstanding debt, postpone or diminish future rate increases, or some combination of these options. Enacting the bill also would reduce direct spending by making the costs of the Postal Rate Commission and the USPS Office of the Inspector General subject to appropriation.
H.R. 22 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
Major provisions of H.R. 22 would:
- Eliminate a requirement in Public Law 108-18 (P.L. 108-18), the Postal Civil Service Retirement Funding Reform Act of 2003, that the Postal Service place savings from reduced pension contributions in escrow.
- Transfer from the Postal Service to the Department of the Treasury responsibility for paying pension costs associated with military service credits.
- Replace direct payments the Postal Service is making for retiree health care costs with payments designed to prefund some of the health care costs of current employees when they retire.
- Revise the procedure for raising postal rates.
- Strengthen the USPS Board of Governors and the Postal Rate Commission, which would be redesignated the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).
- Make other changes designed to increase the Postal Service's competitiveness with private industry."
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May 26, 2009
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Post Office To Reduce Home Purchases
According to a CNN report , the Postal Service will reduce the amount of home purchases the relocate employees. It has been the practice of the post office to purchase the homes of upper management employees during relocation.
A review by Senator Chuck Grassley concluded "while Postal Service relocations are generally comparable to other federal and private sector companies, the benefits it provides to relocating employees are very costly to the Postal Service."
In the last five years the Post Office has purchased 2,646 homes. Two thousands of those purchase in 2008 at an estimated cost of $73 million. One house purchased, belonged to Ronald Hopson a former postmaster in Lexington, South Carolina. The 8,400-square-foot, six bedroom lakefront home included 5 acres, four bathrooms, two half-baths and an indoor swimming pool, was purchased for $1.2 million.
Due the investigation by CNN as of June 14, the Postal Service will set a limit of $800,000 for a home. Previous to February 2009 the Postal Service had no limit on home purchase prices.
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May 24, 2009
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