I’m amazed anyone would
retire right now without waiting to see what comes out of
Congress by November 18th, the new deadline
for USPS to make its $5.5 billion payment. |
In
a CNBC interview, Postmaster General Patrick
Donahoe responds to comments made earlier this
week on “Squawk Box” by Rep. Darrell Issa
regarding the Post Office and its reforms. "If
we make any changes it probably won't be in
effect until next year, probably January time
frame". (01/27/12) |
APWU Discourages Members from Participating In
Align Networks Physical Therapy Services-I t is our
understanding that as a contract provider,
Align Networks and their therapists can share
information with the USPS that would otherwise
be protected by doctor-patient
confidentiality, including information that is
unrelated to workplace injuries. (01/26/12) |
Postmaster
General Donahoe is forging ahead with his
plans to dismantle the Postal Service by
lowering service standards and overnight
delivery. His plans have NO support from the
public, the employees and most elected
officials. Yet he forges ahead like a
dictator. As Postmaster, he should be looking
for ways to grow the business, not decimate
it. The closing of thousands of Post Offices
and Processing Plants around the country will
put the Postal Service on the road to ruin. (01/26/12) |
Why is the Postal
Service consistently overfunding FERS? What is
going on in CSRS pension plan? Take a close
look at why the assumptions have changed so
dramatically and determine if the Postal
Service’s employee population is significantly
different from the rest of the federal
government. Then, adjust the assumptions, and
the plans, accordingly. But most importantly,
take these funds out of the political process.
Why have we tied proper fund management to the
larger issue of reforming the nation’s postal
system? We should not let the important work
of shaping a new business model for a
communications infrastructure get bogged down
in issues around fund management. (01/26/12) |
Federal workers
have already made significant sacrifices to
help reduce our government’s budget deficit. We therefore urge
you to reject provisions such as those in the
House version of H.R. 3630 that would require
an additional one-year extension of the
federal pay freeze initiated in 2011; impose a
1.5% increase in federal employees’ retirement
contributions over a three-year period; and
eliminate the Federal Employees Retirement
System (FERS) Social Security supplement for
most federal workers.
AFGE Statement on
Federal Employee Retirement Hearing(01/26/12) |
Rep. Lynch: Hearing On Reducing Retirement
Benefits is Really Attack On Federal Workers
-
Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA) says hearing on
strengthening retirement pensions is nothing more than
eliminating federal pensions. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla.,
on Wednesday introduced a bill that would
increase how much federal employees pay toward
their retirement and steeply reduce pensions
for new employees. HR 3813, the Securing
Annuities for Federal Employees Act, would
raise contributions for current Civil Service
Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees
Retirement System (FERS) employees by 0.5
percentage points per year for three years,
beginning in 2013. This would make FERS
employees contribute 2.3 percent of each
paycheck toward their pensions, and require an
8.5 percent contribution from CSRS employees.
Legislative Attacks On Federal Retirement
Compensation Is Based On Misguided Assumptions(01/25/12) |
PRC Announces Simplified, More Transparent Rules For
Post Office Closure Appeals - The simplified rules will,
among other things, ease requirements for persons who file
appeals but do not or can not use the internet; allow
interested persons to file comments without first formally
intervening; and grant participants extra time to respond
to Postal Service motions and briefs. The rules streamline
the Commission’s review process as well. (01/25/12) |
A contracting officer with
fiscal responsibility
engaged in two schemes to defraud the U.S. Postal Service.
He used Government-issued credit cards and purchased over $19,000 in
luxury gifts for himself and his family. Welch used the
credit cards to purchase the gifts through online
retailers, which included a golf cart and boat motor.
(01/25/12) |
It appears likely that Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will call up S. 1789,
the Lieberman-Collins-Carper Brown postal relief bill
sometime next week. (01/25/12) |
Yesterday’s post, Chairman
Darell Issa Says USPS is Committee’s Priority; USPS Should
Cut 260,000 Employees, implied that the Chairman’s
statement overstated the head count reduction that he felt
is needed at the Postal Service. At the time, I thought
he was talking only of full time employees and the number
of full time employees is less than the 660,000 he
mentioned and therefore the job reduction would be less as
the number of Postal Service full-time employees is less.
A conversation with a member of the House Oversight and
Govnerment Reform Committee majority staff clarified
Chairman Issa’s comment. The Chairman was actually
talking about a reduction in total full-time and
part-time. (01/25/12) |
Despite a mandate to avoid
deficits, the post office loses up to $15 billion a year, Issa
told CNBC during an informal gathering of senior House Oversight
and Government Reform Committee members. (01/24/12) |
America’s message to Congress: We want first-rate mail delivery service, six
days a week - NALC - The American people
want Congress to take action to save the service network. As
President Rolando states in his letter, Congress should take
action to “strengthen and build the Postal Service, not weaken
and slowly destroy it.” As Congress debates the future of the
Postal Service, it should pause and take into account the will
of the people. (01/24/12) |
Invisible Hands: The
Businessmen’s Campaign to Dismantle the Post Office Save the Post Office - The leaders
of the Postal Service have made no secret of their plans for
reforming the postal system. They have issued white papers,
given speeches, presented “optimization” programs, and appeared
before Congressional committees.
The plans are clear: eliminate the layoff protections in
union contracts; cut the career workforce by nearly half while
tripling the number of non-career workers; reduce service
standards for first-class mail; do away with Saturday delivery;
give management control of workers’ benefit plans; consolidate
away over 250 processing plants; and close 15,000 post offices. (01/24/12) |
From his experience, Slavin has found
the USPS hasn’t been very forthcoming with information regarding
closures of post offices and why certain offices are being targeted.
He said even the postmasters are being kept in the dark. He’s frustrated
with the decisions being made and concerned about the future consequences.
|
Statement on USPS Asking PRC to Accelerate
Review of Network and Service Standard Changes
-
The
PRC issued a schedule last week that guarantees the Commission will
not issue its non-binding advisory opinion until July 10, 2012,
at the earliest. The Postal Service would like to move forward with
its planned network and service standard changes with the benefit
of the PRC’s advisory opinion, which it would need to have well
before May 15. . |
FOR MANY MONTHS NOW, postal management
and a chorus of pundits have delivered one message: Out-of-control
deficits are dooming the Postal Service, and it will survive only
if management is given the authority to radically downsize the system.
Half the country's post offices and processing plants must close,
Saturday delivery must go, service must be reduced, and over two
hundred thousand jobs must be cut. These steps, however, will
not ensure the survival of the Postal Service. This is not
a vision for the future. It's an invitation to a funeral.
. |
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