Victory: FERS Sick-Leave Credit Becomes Law
APWU News
President Obama signed legislation Oct. 28 that will allow postal and federal workers who retire under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to receive credit for sick leave when they retire. The new benefit was included among a number of pay and retirement provisions in a compromise version of the 2010 Defense Authorization bill.
The law includes a provision long sought by the APWU and other organizations representing federal employees, which allows FERS-covered workers to receive a 50 percent credit for unused sick leave until Dec. 31, 2013. Starting on Jan. 1, 2014, they will receive full credit. Employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) already receive credit for sick leave when they retire.
“This is a great accomplishment for APWU and other organizations representing federal employees,” said APWU Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid. “We have always believed sick-leave credit for FERS employees is a matter of basic fairness.”
The FERS sick-leave provision was originally introduced in the House of Representatives as a stand-aone bill by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), but the bill suffered numerous setbacks.
The Defense bill — including the FERS benefit — was passed by the House on June 25, by a vote of 389-22. But a month later an amendment granting the benefit was withdrawn at the insistence of Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who threatened to filibuster. “Until this amendment is withdrawn, I will stay here, or I will have a colleague stay here, and we will talk about how this country is out of control in its spending,” he said. “We’ve institutionalized sick leave. We’ve made it an entitlement.”
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), the main sponsor of the amendment, agreed to withdraw it, but continued to defend the provision, saying, “This amendment will ensure that all federal employees are treated the same.”
On Oct. 7, 10 weeks after he withdrew the provision, Akaka was instrumental in getting it through a House-Senate conference committee, Reid said.
The House adopted the Defense Authorization bill — including the FERS sick-leave credit on Oct. 8, and the Senate followed suit on Oct. 22.
Rep. Edolphus Towns, (D-NY), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Federal Workforce Subcommittee, were also key to the effort to convince conferees to include the sick-leave credit and other workforce provisions.
The compromise legislation also includes a provision that would make it easier for federal agencies, including the Postal Service, to rehire retirees (for a limited time) without forcing them to take a cut in their annuity checks. “This provision will help eliminate the USPS objections to APWU’s efforts to return postal retirees to employment,” Burrus said. “If the bill is passed, the union will renew our discussion with management on this issue.”
The bill also includes:
- A provision that would allow employees who choose to work part-time toward the end of their careers to use a higher salary figure in calculations for how the reduced work factors into their retirement benefits.
- A provision that would move workers in Hawaii, Alaska, the Virgin Islands and other U.S. territories from cost-of-living adjustments to a locality-pay system. [The territorial COLAs, as they are known, would be applied differently to postal employees than to other federal workers. The T-COLAs would not be taxed and would not be credited towards retirement; for other federal employees these earnings would be taxed and would be credited toward retirement.]
- A provision that would allow FERS employees who left and then returned to government service to redeposit savings in the retirement system and earn credit for years they had previously worked.
USPS Announces New Pacific Area Operations VP
Drew Aliperto
Postmaster General Jack Potter has announced the selection of Drew Aliperto as vice president, Area Operations, for the Pacific Area. He replaces Michael Daley, who will retire next month after a 37-year career with the Postal Service.
In his new role, Aliperto will be responsible for approximately 14 percent of the nation’s mail and an area which has met and exceeded national on-time performance averages for Express, First-Class and Priority Mail.
“Drew’s extensive experience has given him a unique understanding of the means and methods necessary to achieve optimal performance of the state-of-the-art processing equipment and systems that support the most technologically advanced mail system in the world,” said PMG Jack Potter. “It also has given him a special appreciation of the critical role of our employees in maintaining their effectiveness.”
Aliperto, currently manager, Operations Support for the Pacific Area, has had responsibility for the development and implementation of operational programs and policies throughout some of the most geographically diverse and expansive service territories in the Postal Service.
A 32-year veteran of the Postal Service, Aliperto began his postal career as a mail handler in St. Paul, MN, in 1978. He later held several management positions, including manager and senior manager of Distribution Operations at processing facilities in Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as plant manager.
Before moving to his current position, Aliperto served for a time as the senior plant manager of the Sacramento P&DC.
source: USPS
USPS ‘Incentive’ Program Results In 19,000 APWU-Craft Retirements
Approximately 19,000 USPS employees in APWU-represented crafts will retire or separate from the Postal Service before Dec. 1 and receive a $15,000 incentive under an agreement negotiated by the union.
A Memorandum of Understanding creating the incentive program was signed on Aug. 24. “This agreement achieved a long-standing objective of the APWU,” said union President William Burrus.
The agreement applied to non-probationary career postal employees in the APWU bargaining unit; the incentive was offered to eligible employees who terminated their service through Optional (Regular) Retirement, Voluntary Early Retirement, or separation. (Eligible PTR and PTF employees received offers of proportional percentages of the incentive.)
It included employees in the Clerk Craft, Maintenance Craft, Motor Vehicle Services Craft, mail equipment shops, material distribution centers, and occupational health nurses, with some exceptions and limitations.
Not covered by the agreement were employees who were issued a notice of discharge on or before Aug. 24; MPE 9s, ET 10s, and ET 11s who could not be replaced without training; Operating Services employees; employees in the Accounting Services section of the IT/ASC bargaining unit, probationary employees, and Transitional Employees.
Depending on whether they were eligible for early or regular retirement, employees were required to apply for retirement by Sept. 25 or express interest by that date. Some employees can revoke their decisions until the effective date of retirement, so the final tally could be significantly lower than the 19,738 reported by the USPS.
According to the unofficial numbers as of Sept. 25, approximately 3,000 Mail Handlers, who received an offer virtually identical to the APWU-negotiated agreement, also took part in the USPS retirement-incentive program
Requests Optional VER Separations Total
Week ending Sept. 4 10,164 0 111 10,275
Week ending Sept. 11 3,387 1,056 38 4,481
Week ending Sept. 18 1,913 1,073 107 3,093
Week ending Sept. 25 940 667 282 1,889
TOTAL 16,404 2,796 538 19,738*
* All figures are unofficial. Because some employees can revoke their decisions until the effective date of retirement, the final tally may be lower. source: APWU
USPS Renames Mystery Shopper Program
As the Postal Service embarks on the new fiscal year, USPS has decided to refocus its Mystery Shopper program to improve desired employee behavior and influence customer loyalty and brand recognition.
“To better align with the program’s objectives and feedback from the field, the Mystery Shopper Program will become the Retail Customer Experience”, said Dean Granholm, vice president, Delivery and Post Office Operations.
One of the objectives of the program is to provide real-time data that lets the Postal Service evaluate its performance from the customer’s point of view. USPS also uses the feedback to provide recommendations for improvement in the program categories.
The Postal Service uses the program as a diagnostic tool to correct conditions that can stand in the way of customer satisfaction and revenue growth. The Retail Customer Experience program will give the Postal Service an objective view of interactions with customers.
The name change is a result of feedback received from area and district Customer Relations managers.
USPS News Link
USPS Partners With Hallmark to Provide Greeting Cards At Post Offices
Jack Ehlert was the first customer to purchase a greeting card at an Illinois
The Postal Service has partnered with Hallmark to provide greeting cards. Reportedly the “Greeting Card test pilot” will be performed in 1,500 Post Offices. The test phase is expected to run at least one (1) year which started October 1, 2009. USPS intends full implementation to approximately 15,000 Post Offices.
USPS has implemented the Greeting Card test pilot in parts of Illinois. According to Deana Carr, retail specialist, United States Postal Service: “Greeting cards are a true fit to the Postal Service’s core business. If customers are purchasing shipping supplies to mail their holiday, birthday, graduation or other gifts and they forgot to bring a card to mail with it, there will be a selection of greeting cards for their convenience.” source: Naperville (Ill) Sun
picture source: Naperville (Ill) Sun
Congress Approves FERS Sick-Leave Credit
APWU News
At long last! After a protracted campaign, postal and federal workers who retire under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) will receive credit for sick leave when they retire. The new benefit was included among a number of pay and retirement provisions in a compromise version of the 2010 Defense Authorization bill, which the Senate approved 68-29 on Oct. 22.
The bill was approved in a House-Senate conference on Oct. 7, and the House adopted the measure the following day. The legislation will now be sent to President Obama, who is expected to sign it into law.
The bill includes a provision long-sought by the APWU and other organizations representing federal employees, which would allow FERS-covered workers to receive a 50 percent credit for unused sick leave until Dec. 31, 2013. Starting on Jan. 1, 2014, they would receive full credit. Employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) already receive credit for sick leave when they retire.
“This is a great accomplishment,” said APWU Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid. “We have always believed sick-leave credit for FERS employees is a matter of basic fairness.”
The original legislation was written by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), who said the measure provided a financial incentive, because employees covered by the provision would avoid taking unnecessary time off toward the end of their careers.
The Defense bill — including the FERS benefit — was passed by the House on June 25, by a vote of 389-22. But the campaign for the sick-leave credit was dealt a setback a month later when an amendment granting the benefit was withdrawn at the insistence of Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who threatened to filibuster. “Until this amendment is withdrawn, I will stay here, or I will have a colleague stay here, and we will talk about how this country is out of control in its spending,” he said. “We’ve institutionalized sick leave. We’ve made it an entitlement.”
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), the main sponsor of the amendment, agreed to withdraw it, but continued to defend the provision, saying, “This amendment will ensure that all federal employees are treated the same.” Ten weeks after he withdrew the provision, Akaka was instrumental in getting it through the House-Senate conference committee, Reid said.
Rep. Edolphus Towns, (D-NY), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Federal Workforce Subcommittee, were also key to the effort to convince conferees to include the sick-leave credit and other workforce provisions.
The compromise legislation also includes a provision that would make it easier for federal agencies, including the Postal Service, to rehire retirees (for a limited time) without forcing them to take a cut in their annuity checks. “This provision will help eliminate the USPS objections to APWU’s efforts to return postal retirees to employment,” Burrus said. “If the bill is passed, the union will renew our discussion with management on this issue.”
The bill also includes:
A provision that would allow employees who choose to work part-time toward the end of their careers to use a higher salary figure in calculations for how the reduced work factors into their retirement benefits.
A provision that would move workers in Hawaii, Alaska, the Virgin Islands and other U.S. territories from cost-of-living adjustments to a locality-pay system. [The territorial COLAs, as they are known, would be applied differently to postal employees than to other federal workers. The T-COLAs would not be taxed and would not be credited towards retirement; for other federal employees these earnings would be taxed and would be credited toward retirement.]
A provision that would allow FERS employees who left and then returned to government service to redeposit savings in the retirement system and earn credit for years they had previously worked.
Click here to see how your senators voted.
Mailers Council Calls for Legislative Reform to Avoid Postal Service Insolvency
Filed under: mailers, postal, postal reform, press releases, usps
The Mailers Council, the nation’s largest coalition of mailers and mailing associations, has published a new white paper that warns of United States Postal Service insolvency without significant new legislative reform. The paper suggests other non-legislative steps to avoid collapse of the nation’s postal system.
The white paper is available on the Mailers Council’s website.
According to Mailers Council Board of Directors President James R. O’Brien, “The mailing industry, and the nearly nine million jobs it represents, and every American who depends on a reliable, affordable postal system, need Congress’ help now. Our research shows that recent legislation offers only temporary relief of the agency’s financial problems. Without more significant measures, such as those outlined in our white paper, the Postal Service will soon be unable to meet its financial obligations.”
The Postal Service was recently put back on the General Accountability Office’s High-Risk List, a reflection that the agency’s future is in jeopardy. It ended FY 2009 with a net loss of $3 billion and is expected to report a nearly $7 billion deficit for FY 2010. Mail volume declined by approximately 26 billion pieces in one year. Next year, the Postal Service will be close to its statutory borrowing limit of $15 billion, with no sign of being able to repay these funds anytime soon.
Legislation approved on September 30 gave the Postal Service a one-year reprieve from the large annual payments required to prefund its retiree obligations. However, because of staggering declines in mail volume, changing communication patterns and the ongoing recession, the USPS may be unable to pay its bills or its employees by the end of FY 2010.
The Mailers Council’s white paper offers these recommendations for addressing the Postal Service’s problems:
- The Postal Service needs to be allowed to reduce its head count.
- It must be allowed to close unneeded facilities and consolidate its retail network.
- The Postal Service needs greater control over compensation.
- It should be allowed to adjust its pre-funding schedule for retiree health benefits when economic conditions dictate.
- An arbitrator should consider the financial health of the Postal Service when making a decision in the collective bargaining process.
- The Postal Service should complete its study of five-day-a-week delivery and fully present its findings for further discussion.
The Mailers Council is a coalition of corporations, nonprofit organizations, and major mailing associations. Collectively, the Council accounts for 70% of the nation’s mail volume. The Mailers Council believes that the USPS can be operated more efficiently, supports efforts aimed at lowering postal costs, and has the ultimate objective of containing postal rates without compromising service
APWU: Casual Exception, Penalty OT Exclusion Periods Set
FY 2010 Casual Exception Period Set
Article 7.1.B.5 of the 2006 National Agreement provides exceptions to the six percent and 11 percent casual caps during accounting periods 3 and 4. For Fiscal Year 2010, the casual exception period will be from Nov. 21, 2009 through Jan. 15, 2010.
2009 Penalty Overtime Exclusion Period Set
The December period referenced in Article 8, Sections 4 and 5, of the National Agreement, during which penalty overtime regulations are not applicable, consists of four consecutive service weeks. (See Why Is the Penalty Overtime Exclusion Period Only 28 Days?) This year the period begins Pay Period 26-09, Week 1 (Dec. 5, 2009) and ends Pay Period 1-10, Week 2 (Jan. 1, 2010).
Postmasters Say USPS Management Styles Are Like Some Banana Republic Dictators
Excerpts from National League Postmasters President Charley Mapa:
I just returned from the LEAGUE’S Western Area II meeting held in Kansas City Missouri. In the thick of times when the constant message of the Postal Service is doom and woe, here was a group of LEAGUE Postmasters gathered to do the things that the LEAGUE does so well; train, brainstorm, problem solve, network, train some more and take time to have fun!….Where the Postal Service seems to spend an inordinate amount of time in some districts tearing Postmasters down and humiliating them, LEAGUE Postmasters gathered to support one another and build one another up. There was no Area VP, no district manager, and no POOM. The entire atmosphere of the conference was refreshingly positive.
I don’t want to make the 3 day meeting sound like some it was a modern day Postmasters’ Woodstock love fest, for it was not. Serious issues were discussed, issues like the future of an NPA/PFP program that might have lost its effectiveness, districts hounding Postmasters for having the courage to stand up for other Postmasters, districts whose management styles reflect something more in tune with some Banana Republic Dictators than with what should be expected of Public Servants treating their managers with respect, dealing with the threat of a Postal Service turning its back on the American people by wholesale closings of post offices and the constant shifting of workload from hardworking clerks, carriers and supervisors to the backs of Postmasters. Read more
Postal Service Goes Mobile
New features for mobile devices
It’s a Post Office on your phone. Customer convenience and product access are the focus of expanding the most poplar online services onto web-enabled mobile devices.
Some of the most popular functions currently available on usps.com are now available on cell phones and other mobile devices. The new feature include Track and Confirm, Post Office locator, and the most popular application, ZIP Code lookup.
With more than 232 million mobile communications devices in the United State–a growing number of which can access the web–the promise of Internet access from virtually anywhere n the country is fact becoming a reality.
“Our new mobile capability makes USPS services even more convenient for our customers,” said Robert Bernstock, president Mailing and Shipping Services.
Any mobile user with web access will be able to log on the Postal Service mobile site no matter where they are, without having to use a personal computer, Bernstock said.
If they’re on the road, they;ll be able to use the Post Office locator function to find a Post Office that’s close to them. And they’ll also be able to track an d confirm delivery of their mail or package using their mobile phone, he said.
The Postal Service is also designing applications for “smartphones and other mobile devices like the Apple iPhone, Blackberry and iPod Touch which take advantage of additional capabilities such as GPS
Mobile applications make it easier for customers to interact and transact business with the Postal Service . These applications are the latest in a series of enhancements, upgrades and solutions designed for Postal Service customers.