Are more USPS buyouts and early retirements coming?

Lynch optimistic about solving U.S. Postal Service's financial woes

Congressman Stephen Lynch

"...It would allow the USPS to offer buyouts and early retirement packages to 100,000 employees, and authorize a switch to five-day delivery – eliminating Saturday mail service – if the Postal Service cannot come up with other cost savings within two years...."    
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Give more incentives for employees to retire, says Sen. Carper

Senator thinks USPS should encourage retirement

"...Sen. Carper suggested that Congress give the Postal Service the means to "give more incentives for employees to retire."..."    

This Article is From: yourpostalblog.blogspot.com
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Another U.S. Postal Service early retirement incentive this year?

The big question from postal employees at or near retirement age is, will there be Another U.S. Postal Service early retirement incentive this year? Many employees feel that in these hard economic times they need to delay their retirement or not retire at all. The last three early retirement offers have failed to get the needed numbers of employees to retire. The last retirement offer provided a small monetary incentive, but it failed as well. A recent article from Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com, dated March 30, 2010, quotes the the deputy postmaster general as saying, 'We may not have to. It's a timing issue. The average age of postal employees is 53, and their retirement packages are already funded.' However, if you talk to a postal employee, their opinion tends to differ from this managerial position. Postal Employees, as well as most federal employees, are limited to a $25,000 VSIP if their agency decides to request a monetary incentive. The Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment Authority, also known as buyout authority, allows agencies that are downsizing or restructuring to offer employees lump-sum payments up to $25,000 as an incentive to voluntarily separate. Many employees say it will take the $25,000 VSIP to get them to even consider retiring and many complain that the past 'early out' offers are made without enough prior announcement to permit employees to prepare for such a huge, life-altering decision. Employees would like to see the USPS make and announcement far enough in advance that they could investigate finding other employment or simply having an appropriate amount of time to discuss it with families. Additionally, with the APWU going into contract negotiations this year, employees say they have to at least wait until they see where the USPS will go with pay raises, benefits, and health insurance costs. If the USPS fights to further raise Health Insurance costs, many employees will be forced to continue working just to be able to afford insurance in retirement. If the past (last three offers) is any sign of the average USPS employee retiring any time soon ...it's just not going to happen without dangling several juicy carrots in front of them!

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Plot to kill Post Office cloaked by right wing ‘recess rally’ chaos

"...Potter, who was named by a GOP-appointed Postal Board during the Bush administration, has proposed cuts in the workforce as the solution. He says that at least 677 post offices should be closed, most of them in major cities, and that 55,000 workers should be fired. The USPS workforce, the unions note, has already shrunk, through retirements and buyouts, to 603,000 workers, from 773,000 several years ago...."    

This Article is From: www.pww.org

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Rumors of.... USPS Postal Buyout? Volunteer Early Retirement?

Plenty of rumors are floating around across the nation from postal facility to postal facility about postal early outs, USPS buyout programs and Volunteer Early Retirement (VERA). There are very few articles to be found on this subject. There is no doubt that the postal service is determined to reduce the numbers of employees substantially to justify the cost of automation as well as justifying the ridiculously low rates offered to big bulk mailers. Here are a couple of articles we have found on the subject. NOTE: None of this information has been verified, so take it with a grain of salt. The first article is from the Federal Times. This short article details the USPS' authority, or lack of authority, relative to offering a program to only CSRS and excluding FERS. The second article is from the PostalReporter.com. This article references a letter from the Los Angeles APWU detailing an upcoming Volunteer Early Retirement Authority (VERA) approved by OPM. Again, we have not verified the source. However, we speculate, if the letter is genuine, there would not be many APWU members that would take this offer, as it offers no monetary incentive. L.A., due to the size of the district, would be a great test ground to determine if the USPS would be successful without an incentive ...not going to happen for the majority since it would be costly to an employee not at Minimum Retirement Age (MRA). What do you think? If you have any paperwork that the reference can be verified, please share it with us!