Q&A: Is there proper postal carrier attire?

Are postal carriers not required to wear uniforms anymore?

"...Permanent full-time city letter carriers and other postal employees who deal with the public are required to..."    

This Article is From: www.tampabay.com

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Anthrax Update

New DNA Technique Led Authorities to 'Anthrax Killer'

"...A government scientist told the Associated Press Sunday that investigators started with DNA from some of those victims and matched specific DNA patterns to anthrax cultures that the suspect, Army scientist Bruce Ivins, 62, was responsible for in the lab...."    

This Article is From: www.foxnews.com

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FERS Sick Leave

House Passes FERS Sick-Leave Bill

"...included in a larger bill, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1108), which Waxman also authored. The bill is similar to a bill (H.R. 5573), which was introduced earlier this year by Rep. James Moran (D-VA).

Under the provision, federal employees who retire within three years from the date of enactment would receive credit for 75 percent of unused sick leave; employees who retire more than three years after enactment of the legislation would get full credit, similar to CSRS employees. Federal employees hired after 1983 are covered by FERS; most of those hired in 1983 and before are covered by CSRS...."    

This Article is From: www.apwu.org

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Government Accountability Office report,: USPS Outsourcing not justified

USPS Unable to Justify Outsourcing, GAO Finds
APWU Web News Article #71-08, July 28, 2008

"...The report pointed out that, under the terms of the collective bargaining agreements, when the Postal Service is contemplating outsourcing, it “must consider five factors: public interest, cost, efficiency, availability of equipment, and qualification of employees – and must determine whether outsourcing will have a ‘significant impact’ on work performed by postal employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.”

If outsourcing will have a significant impact on postal employees, the USPS “must compare the costs of performing proposed work with postal employees and with a contractor, notify the affected union that it is considering outsourcing and consider union impact before making a decision.”

But the GAO was unable to determine the Postal Service’s total outsourcing contracts related to bargaining unit work, because the USPS does not track these contracts separately. And, the GAO found, “the Service does not know the savings related to its outsourcing efforts because it does not have a process to evaluate the impact of outsourcing or to track actual savings...."    

This Article is From: www.apwu.org

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Reports: Possible pipe bombs found at two Ohio post offices

"...WBNS-TV says the devices were found at postal facilities in Guysville and Stewart..."    

This Article is From: usatoday.com

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Doggies Gone Postal

Postal Workers Barred From Carrying Doggie Treats

"...Mail carrier versus dog: the eternal conflict. Contrary to the cliché, some dogs aren't trying to chase mail carriers away, they can't wait to see them. That's because some carriers try to soothe the savage beasts along their routes with doggie treats..."    

This Article is From: wcco.com

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Mailman seeks comfort in kilt

"...Paul Lunde, who promoted the resolution in Oregon and has worn kilts on St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, and occasional Saturdays when his supervisors aren't paying attention, said that expanding the uniform choices would be a way to express his Celtic heritage, just as Jewish postal workers are allowed to wear yarmulkes...."    

This Article is From: www.boston.com

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USPS Advisory Council: APWU -v-Bush

APWU Sues Bush Over Failure To Appoint USPS Advisory Council

"...Under the law, the postmaster general serves as chairman of the council, the deputy postmaster general serves as vice-chair, and the president is required to appoint 11 other members, including four nominated by postal labor unions; four representatives of major mail users; and three representing the public at large. The postmaster general is named in the suit because the responsibility for forming the council may have been delegated to him as chief executive officer of the Postal Service..."    

This Article is From: www.apwu.org

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COLA Update for June 2008 (CPI)

Contract COLA: $1,330

"...The actual COLA will reflect the increase in the CPI between January and July 2008. It will be payable the second full pay period following the release of the July 2008 index..."   

Source: www.nalc.org

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(APWU) Burrus to VER-Eligible Employees: ‘DON’T GO’

"...about an offer of Voluntary Early Retirement (VER), APWU President William Burrus is advising union members to delay making a decision as long as possible.

“The decision about when to retire is a personal one that is influenced by family obligations and lifestyle,” Burrus said. “But the attractiveness of ending a career early should be weighed with consideration of factors that may not be readily apparent.”

In addition to life-long annuity reductions, he said, employees should realize that the Postal Service offer is being made because of the prospect of heavy financial losses in the current fiscal year and beyond. “The opportunity to retire early may be tempting, but it is not being offered for the employee’s benefit: It is intended to improve the financial condition of the Postal Service.”

“An employee who retires after 25 years of service can expect to receive an annuity of less than half of the average basic salary of the last three years,” Burrus said. He noted that this would exclude most of the time period covered by the 2008 upgrade and the September 2008 Cost-of-Living Adjustment, which is expected to be over $1,000 — one of the largest in postal history.

“Employees who can work for another 15 years before reaching their annuity maximums can expect pay hikes over that time equal to the nearly $18,000 in raises over the past 15 years,” Burrus said of the increase from $34,000 to September’s $52,000.

“The USPS would save about $1 million in salary, benefits, and retirement annuity for each such employee,” he said.

“Those who take the early-out offer will allow the Postal Service to avoid these future obligations, while receiving a significantly lower annuity for the balance of their lives — and lives of their survivors.” The annuity reduction would be “substantial,” he said, and cannot be justified unless the Postal Service offers an incentive.

“We have discussed incentives with the Postal Service,” Burrus said, “but, so far, management has refused to consider any kind of bonus in conjunction with the early-out offer.” The discussions with management are continuing, he said.

“We do not oppose Voluntary Early Retirement per se,” Burrus said, “but we believe incentives should be offered and all eligible employees should be included.”

“And we expect that if a sufficient number of employees do not accept the early-out, the Postal Service will still face a significant deficit, and will still be forced to find ways to reduce the workforce. We will be having continuing discussions with postal management,” he said, “and these discussions will be influenced by the number of employees who voluntarily retire without incentives.”

“In this uncertain economy, there is no reason to make a hasty decision,” Burrus said. “Energy and medical costs are escalating, which will make it extremely difficult to survive on a fixed income. One simply has to consider the financial disincentives to retire early, especially without an upfront monetary incentive.”

“As employees who meet the eligibility criteria think about their choices, I ask that they forgo making a quick decision. At this time, the union’s recommendation to eligible employees is that unless you have compelling personal reasons to retire early, DON’T GO.” ..."    

This Article is From: www.apwu.org

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Clinton to Address Letter Carriers' Convention

Over 8,800 Delegates Heading to Boston Event

"...Over 8,800 letter carriers are planning to convene in Boston July 21-25 as delegates to the 66th Biennial National Convention of the National Association of Letter Carriers -- the largest convention among AFL-CIO unions...."    

This Article is From: www.marketwatch.com

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Employees Would Be Best Served by Postponing Early-Out Decisions

"...We also can expect that if a sufficient number of employees do not accept the early-out offer, the Postal Service will still face a significant deficit, and will still be forced to find ways to reduce the workforce. In light of these factors, it would be foolish for employees to retire early without achieving all of their personal objectives. The union will continue to discuss the details of the early-out offer and will report the results of those discussions. Among the subjects to be addressed are whether all APWU-represented employees will be included and whether eligible employees will receive an incentive bonus for retiring...."    

This Article is From: www.apwu.org

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Severance Pay for Postal and Federal Workers

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Federal Severance Pay

APWU President Burrus states, "...that for this VER, which is not the result of contract negotiations, severance pay must accompany an offer of early retirement."

With this valid statement, postal workers are wondering how severance pay is computated. OPM explains it as follows [Reference: http://www.opm.gov/oca/pay/html/severance_pay.asp]:

Description

Severance pay is authorized for full-time and part-time employees who are involuntarily separated from Federal service and who meet other conditions of eligibility.
Eligibility for Severance Pay

To be eligible for severance pay, an employee must be serving under a qualifying appointment, have a regularly scheduled tour of duty, have completed at least 12 months of continuous service, and be removed from Federal service by involuntary separation for reasons other than inefficiency (i.e., unacceptable performance or conduct).
Ineligibility for Severance Pay

An employee is not eligible for severance pay if he or she is serving under a nonqualifying appointment; declines a reasonable offer of assignment to another position; is serving under a qualifying appointment in an agency scheduled to be terminated within 1 year after the date of the appointment; is receiving injury compensation under 5 U.S.C. chapter 81, subchapter I; or is eligible upon separation for an immediate annuity from a Federal civilian retirement system or from the uniformed services. The employing agency must determine whether an employee was provided a reasonable offer, as defined in 5 CFR 550.703.
Qualifying Appointments

The following appointments are qualifying appointments for severance pay eligibility:

* A career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service or the equivalent in the excepted service;
* A career appointment in the Senior Executive Service;
* An excepted appointment without time limitation, except under Schedule C or an equivalent appointment made for similar purposes;
* An overseas limited appointment without time limitation;
* A status quo appointment, including one that becomes indefinite when the employee is promoted, demoted, or reassigned;
* A time-limited appointment in the Foreign Service, when the employee was assigned under a statutory authority that carried entitlement to reemployment in the same agency, but this right of reemployment has expired; and
* A time-limited appointment (or series of time-limited appointments by the same agency without any breaks in service) for full-time employment that takes effect within 3 calendar days after the end of a qualifying appointment.

Nonqualifying Appointments

The following types of appointments are nonqualifying appointments and do not convey eligibility for severance pay:

* An appointment at a noncovered agency (see the definition of agency in 5 CFR 550.703);
* An appointment in which the employee has an intermittent work schedule;
* A Presidential appointment;
* An emergency appointment;
* An excepted appointment under Schedule C or an equivalent appointment made for similar purposes;
* A noncareer appointment in the Senior Executive Service or an equivalent appointment made for similar purposes; and
* A time-limited appointment (except for a time-limited appointment that is qualifying because it is made effective within 3 calendar days after separation from a qualifying appointment), including�
o A term appointment;
o An overseas limited appointment with a time limitation;
o A limited term or limited emergency appointment in the Senior Executive Service, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 3132(a), or an equivalent appointment made for similar purposes;
o A Veterans Readjustment Appointment; and
o A Presidential Management Fellows appointment.

12 Months of Continuous Employment

To be eligible for severance pay, an employee must have completed at least 12 months of continuous service by the date of separation. This continuous service may consist of one or more civilian Federal positions held over a period of 12 months without a single break in service of more than 3 calendar days. The positions held must have been under one or more qualifying appointments; one or more nonqualifying temporary appointments that precede the current qualifying appointment; or an appointment to a position in a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard that precedes the current qualifying appointment in the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, respectively.
Resignations and Involuntary Separation

If an employee expects to be involuntarily separated and resigns, the employee is considered to have been involuntarily separated if he or she resigns after receiving a specific written notice that he or she will be involuntarily separated by a particular action effective on a particular date; or a general written notice of reduction in force or transfer of functions which�

* Is issued by a properly authorized agency official;
* Announces that the agency has decided to abolish, or transfer to another commuting area, all positions in the competitive area by a particular date (no more than 1 year after the date of the notice); and
* States that, for all employees in that competitive area, a resignation following receipt of the notice constitutes an involuntary separation for severance pay purposes.

However, a resignation is not considered an involuntary separation if the specific or general written notice is canceled before the separation (based on that resignation) takes effect. Resignations under any other circumstances are voluntary separations and do not carry entitlement to severance pay.
Computation of Severance Pay Fund

An employee�s severance pay fund may consist of two parts�the basic severance pay allowance and an age adjustment allowance, if applicable.
Basic severance pay allowance

The basic severance pay allowance consists of�

* One week of pay at the rate of basic pay for the position held by the employee at the time of separation for each full year of creditable service through 10 years;
* Two weeks of pay at the rate of basic pay for the position held by the employee at the time of separation for each full year of creditable service beyond 10 years; and
* Twenty-five percent of the otherwise applicable amount for each full 3 months of creditable service beyond the final full year.

The weekly rate of basic pay for employees with variable work schedules is determined based on the weekly average for the last position held by the employee during the 26 biweekly pay periods immediately preceding separation. The regulations at 5 CFR 550.707(b) provide specific instructions on calculating the weekly rate for various types of variable work schedules, including part-time work and seasonal work. For information on how to calculate the approximate amount of severance pay for employees with non-variable work schedules, please see the �Severance Pay Estimation Worksheets� at http://fehb.opm.gov/rif/general/egrifben.asp.
Age Adjustment Allowance

The basic severance pay allowance is augmented by an age adjustment allowance consisting of 2.5 percent of the basic severance pay allowance for each full 3 months of age over 40 years.
Rate of Basic Pay

Rate of basic pay means the rate of pay fixed by law or administrative action for the position held by the employee, including, as applicable, annual premium pay for standby duty, law enforcement availability pay, straight-time pay for regular overtime hours for firefighters, night differential for prevailing rate employees, locality payments, and special rate supplements. Rate of basic pay does not include additional pay of any other kind. (See definition of rate of basic pay in 5 CFR 550.703.)
Lifetime Limitation

An employee may not receive a total of more than 52 weeks of severance pay during his or her lifetime.
Creditable Service for Computing Severance Pay

The following types of service are creditable for computing an employee�s severance pay:

* Civilian service as an employee (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 2105), excluding time during a period of nonpay status that is not creditable for annual leave accrual purposes under 5 U.S.C. 6303(a);
* Service performed with the United States Postal Service or the Postal Rate Commission;
* Military service, including active or inactive training with the National Guard, when performed by an employee who returns to civilian service through the exercise of a restoration right provided by law, Executive order, or regulation;
* Service performed by an employee of a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard and who moves to a civilian position with the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, respectively, without a break in service of more than 3 days; and
* Service performed with the government of the District of Columbia by an individual first employed by that government before October 1, 1987, excluding service as a teacher or librarian of the public schools of the District of Columbia.

Accrual and Payment of Severance Pay

Severance pay accrues on a day-to-day basis following the recipient�s separation from Federal employment. Severance payments must be made at the same pay period intervals that salary payments would be made if the recipient were still employed. The amount of the severance payment is computed using the recipient�s rate of basic pay in effect immediately before separation. Severance payments are subject to appropriate deductions for income and Social Security taxes. Severance payments are the responsibility of the agency employing the recipient at the time of the involuntary separation that triggered the current entitlement to severance pay. The regulations at 5 CFR 550.709 provide more details on the accrual and payment of severance pay.
Reemployment and Termination or Suspension of Severance Pay

If an individual entitled to severance pay later accepts a position with the Federal Government or the government of the District of Columbia, he or she is no longer eligible for severance pay and severance pay is terminated. The employing agency must then record on the appointment document the number of weeks of severance pay the individual has received. If the employee again becomes entitled to severance pay, the agency from which the employee is involuntarily separated must recompute the severance pay allowance on the basis of all creditable service and the individual�s current age. The agency must deduct the number of weeks for which severance pay previously was received from the number of weeks it would take to exhaust the recomputed allowance.

If an individual entitled to severance pay is employed by the Federal Government or the government of the District of Columbia under a nonqualifying time-limited appointment, severance pay is suspended during the life of the appointment, but resumes (without being recomputed) when the employee separates from the nonqualifying time-limited appointment. The resumed severance payments are the responsibility of the agency that originally separated the individual involuntarily.
References

5 U.S.C. 5595
5 CFR part 550, subpart G

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Early Retirement Incentive ...other government entities

While the USPS attempts to reduce employee numbers without benefit or cash incentives, other government organizations provide a more appealing offer. In one example, the State of New Jersey offers (2008) an Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) with Paid New Jersey Health Benefits Program (SHBP) post-retirement medical benefits, additional years of service (an additional 5.45% of final average salary), and $500 per month for 24 months after retirement, paid separately from the retirement allowance. Now that's a State that appreciates their employees ...and of course the $136 million in immediate budget savings, and more savings in future years. If one singular State can reap such huge benefit, how much would the Postal Service save in a similar early retirement offer?

Of course, no one can fault the USPS for FIRST attempting to reduce numbers without benefit or monetary incentives, as it makes sense to first try to take the cheaper way out ...no matter how unsuccessful that will be. However, there will be a few that will take the Voluntary Early Retirement without incentive, and that will produce an economic benefit to the USPS. The big question is, "when will the USPS offer a VSIP to truly entice individuals to retire that were not already considering retirement?" Some speculate they will not offer a cash or benefit incentive at all, while some realize that will be the only way to reduce numbers substantially. Let's wait and see how well this non-incentive offer pans out.


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USPS VERA Approved

[NPMHU] First Update on VERA: Voluntary Early Retirement

"...The National Office has learned that the Postal Service has formally been granted authority by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to offer a VERA to certain postal employees during the period from June 30, 2008 through June 30, 2009. ..."    

This Article is From: npmhu317.blogspot.com

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Postal Early Outs

"...a buyout payment. Some agencies are offering both (on a very limited basis) but the USPS is not going to do that. Buyouts are worth a maximum of $25,000, but after deductions the take-home payment is in the $16,000 to $18,000 range. ..."    

This Article is From: www.federalnewsradio.com

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Post office to cut 20K employees

"..."I've heard rumors that they're not offering cash -- this would be a buyout without cash, so they must be going to offer years of service," said Jones, a clerk at the drive-through service window. "I'm planning to stick around a couple of more years."..."    

This Article is From: www.delmarvanow.com

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Local postal workers tired of violence in workplace

"..."Management is constantly harassing, intimidating, finger pointing, and bullying letter carriers on the workroom floor on a daily basis," said Williams. "Management is constantly standing behind us while we are prepping our mail, in order to try and see if they can intimidate us into speeding up in the office." Tensions are high because of the need to deliver mail on more routes with fewer employees. Representatives from the U.S. Postal Service say they are facing economic challenges and are looking for ways to work more efficiently while still treating their workers appropriately. ..."    

This Article is From: www.9news.com

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APWU Meets with USPS, Seeks Bargaining Over Early-Outs

"...“I also reiterated our request for all pertinent information,” he said, “including the Postal Service’s request to the Office of Personnel Management requesting authority to offer early-outs, and OPM’s response.” Under the law, federal agencies, including the Postal Service, must receive approval from OPM to offer Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) opportunities to their employees...."    

This Article is From: www.apwu.org

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COLA CPI-W Update: May 2008 CPI-W

May 2008 CPI-W COLA

"...The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 1.0 percent in May 2008 according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS)..."    

This Article is From: www.narfe.org

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