Facing a projected loss of $8 billion loss this year and a need to reduce workforce numbers by 220,000 by 2015, the Postal Service has begun contract negotiations with the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO (NALC). Contract talks with the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) begin Aug. 30.
The two unions represent 247,000 of the Postal Service’s 560,000 career employees.
“Wages and benefits for all employees represent nearly 80 percent of our costs,” said Tony Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president. “To remain solvent, we must negotiate contracts that address our total labor costs and enable us to downsize quickly to adjust to America’s changing mailing needs while being fair to our customers and employees.”
Over the last four fiscal years, the Postal Service has reduced its size by 110,000 career positions and saved $12 billion. Expenses, however, continue to exceed revenues, due in part to an overstaffed workforce.
Wages and benefits for NALC and NPMHU employees exceeded $15 billion and $3 billion respectively last year. Both current contracts expire Nov. 20, 2011.
The Postal Service already has negotiated a new contract with the Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO (APWU), which is projected to save more than $3.8 billion over its four-year term.
Negotiations with the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, whose compensation package totaled $6 billion last year, are at an impasse and will be resolved through interest arbitration.
For more information on labor negotiations, click here.
source: USPS News Link
Yay for LV Carrier. He speaks for all carriers as they stand around and wait for every piece of mail. This is often discussed on our floor – what about those people who never touch the mail? And why do we wait for the mail – they should be trying to stay ahead of us – not the other way around. Cut-off times should be utilized, get us on the street early and let us do our job. And why do we scan MSPs – dumb idea, especially when you are scanning on another route – what is the point?
I say let the plant get mail to us to deliver while we are out on the street – not in the morning with traffic and other potential problems. And the reason labor is 80% is because the word SERVICE is in USPS – people get what they pay for and we still provide it.
Up yours, Scab Bitch Potter
I agree with LV Carrier. They need to down size ALL areas. management, clerks, and carriers. Give incentives to those that do a good job and start suspending those that don’t come to work.
OK, I might believe salaries represent 80% of total costs, hard to believe, but I will go along with it. What I would like to know is what percentage of the total postal staff is administrative/supervisors and what percentage of that 80% represents their salaries. What percentage of total salary costs is spent on folks that never touch a piece of mail other than while at their own mailbox retrieving checks and bonus checks and perks checks and reimbursement checks for boondoggles, ETC. Divulge those figures. If you are only a statistician or marble or bean counter, step aside. We need to concentrate more on delivering what we have rather than knowing what we have or how much, that really does not matter in austere times. What about the persons that track MSP scans, why do we need that and why do we need those people. Any 3rd grader can tell you that arrival time at those scans depend on what time you get your mail, ho much mail you get, whether or not you have to deviate for a handoff, traffic, Express mail, construction etc. No need for a high priced bean counter to manage such a wasteful program. Get back the 4 hour clerks to help work the mail in the morning at $25 per hour for 4 hours is $100, versus several carriers, as many as 50 or more standing around for up to an hour on some days could be close to $1500 or more. Use your head, not bean counters. Put them back to craft or put them on the street, we can no longer afford that luxury. It seems that the more volume drops, the more administrative people we get doing street observation, the longer it takes to get the mail to the carriers, the more mandated O/T we get and they spend more on machines to speed up less volume. Someones pockets are getting lined. Wise up or close up.
so what did y’all decide?