USPS Announces Pay Freeze for Management & Administrative Employees
To help reduce costs, the Postal Service today announced it is freezing Postmaster, manager, administrative and supervisor pay for fiscal years 2011 and 2012. USPS also is changing its sick and annual leave earnings formulas for new hires in these positions.
Effective Jan. 14, 2012, individuals hired from outside the Postal Service as supervisory or managerial employees or as Postmasters will accrue annual and sick leave at different rates than current employees (see table below). The accrual rate for current employees in these positions — as well as current employees who are promoted to these categories in the future — will not change.
This action follows decisions made earlier this year, including an officer and executive pay freeze implemented in July. Last spring, the American Postal Workers Union, which represents 209,834 employees, agreed to a two-year pay freeze and other provisions that will save the Postal Service $3.8 billion over the term of the negotiated labor agreement.
Today’s announcement affects nearly 62,000 Executive and Administrative Schedule (EAS) category employees, including more than 44,000 represented by the Postal Service’s three management associations. The National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS) represents 23,385 supervisory and managerial employees. The National Association of Postmasters of the United States (NAPUS) and the National League of Postmasters of the United States (NLPM) represent 13,741 and 7,271 Postmasters, respectively.
Today’s announcement follows pay consultations with those associations. USPS consults with management associations on pay and benefit packages. Postal Service management employees do not have access to collective bargaining.
The wage freeze also applies to 17,439 additional EAS employees not represented by management associations.
Formula for Earning Sick and Annual Leave (calculated by years of service)
|
New Hires |
Current Employees |
|
|
Annual Leave |
10 days if less than 5 years |
13 days if less than 3 years |
|
15 days if 5 years |
20 days if more than 3 years |
|
|
20 days if 15 years or more |
26 days if more than 15 years |
|
|
Sick Leave |
3 hours per pay period |
4 hours per pay period |
Note: One pay period equals two weeks. There are 26 pay periods per year.
source: USPS News Link
USPS Issues Final Decision on Postmaster Pay Package
Filed under: pay, pay info, postal, postal news, Postmasters, usps
for Fiscal Years 2011-2015. Postmaster Salary Range Increase of 6.5% from January 2013 through January 2016.
“Severe Financial Difficulties” Cited, as PFP Salary Rating Applications are Suspended for FY 2011 and FY 2012.
After 4 months of pay talks between representatives from both Postmaster organizations and the Postal Service, today the Postal Service issued a final decision concerning changes in pay policies, schedules, and fringe benefit programs for Postmasters.
Below is a jointly released statement from NAPUS President Bob Rapoza and League President Mark Strong, both leaders expressed disappointment that many of the proposals they presented were not included in the pay package.
“During the past four months, NAPUS and the League have been engaged in pay talks with the Postal Service. During this time we presented our case and put forth our best arguments to no avail due to the current financial condition of the postal service Today we received the final pay package delivered to our offices..”
“At the beginning of Pay Talks the postal service had projected a loss of $8.5 billion and now, 120 days later, the projected loss is $10 billion. This financial crisis we are in is through no fault of the more than 26,000 Postmasters who work extremely hard to manage the postal services most critical operations and provide universal service to the American public. While realizing that the financial condition of the Postal Service dictated the tone of the pay talks process, we believe that some of our recommendations could have been included in the package without adding significant costs to the program.”
“The Pay Package includes a 6.5% increase in the minimum and maximum salary ranges of the EAS pay schedule from January 2013 through January 2016. However, PFP Program ratings will be suspended and not be applied to salaries for FY 2011 and FY 2012. A determination as to whether PFP ratings will be applied to salaried for 2013 through 2015 will be based on the economic condition of the Postal Service during those years.”
“The Performance Evaluation System (PES) is discontinued and a joint work group will be established by the Postmaster associations and the Postal Service, to determine how to incorporate the compensation portion of the discontinued PES into the NPA component of the PFP Program.”
“It is not just Postmasters that will have to manage without a pay raise in 2011 and 2012. The entire federal work force is in the same boat and there are a lot of people around the country who’ve lost their jobs, and others who seen a decline in wages.”
For more information on changes to leave and health benefits contributions, please click Pay Package 2011-2015 to see the entire EAS Pay Package for Postmasters (FY 2011-2015.)
Charlie Moser
November 9, 2011
NALC: Final Contract COLA Under 2006-2011 Agreement Stands at $832
The projected accumulation toward the ninth and final contract COLA under the 2006-2011 National Agreement stands at $832 following the May 13 release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March.
This final COLA of the National Agreement will be based on the July 2011 CPI.
2012 Retiree COLA: 2.9%
The projected accumulation for the 2012 retiree COLA was 2.9 percent following the release of the April CPI.
Because there was no retiree COLA for 2010 or 2011, the 2012 retiree COLA will be determined by comparing the average CPI during the third quarter of 2011 and the average during the third quarter of 2008.
2012 FECA COLA: 3%
Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) COLAs are applicable only in cases where death or disability occurred more than one year prior to the adjustment’s effective date.
The projected accumulation for the 2012 COLA under FECA was 3 percent following the release of the April CPI. The 2012 FECA COLA will be based on the increase in the CPI between December 2010 and December 2011.
source: National Association Of Letter Carriers
note: The APWU Ratified Contract Agreement waived COLAs for 2011 and deferred 2012 COLAs until 2013
Court Denies APWU’s Request Seeking USPS Pay For Performance Records
Filed under: APWU, legal cases, pay info, postal, postal news, usps
The American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, requested information from the United States Postal Service under the Freedom of Information Act on September 10, 2008. APWU requested “the most recent Pay for Performance bonus and/or pay increases . . . contain[ing] the following information: finance number, last name, first name, middle initial, level, title, PFP lump-sum amount, PFP wage increase.” APWU had requested that the Postal Service disclose information containing the agency’s decisions regarding bonuses and salary increases for its employees. USPS denied APWU’s request, invoking the FOIA exemptions contained in 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3) (“Exemption 3”) and 5 U.S.C § 552(b)(6) (“Exemption 6”). USPS argued that its Pay for Performance records are based on individual, unit and corporate performance indicators devised by the Postal Service and reflecting its efforts to “improve customer service, generate revenue, manage costs and enhance a performance-based culture” and therefore exempt from public disclosure.
After its administrative appeal of USPS’s determination was denied, APWUf filed suit on February 6, 2009.
More from the court case
USPS relied upon 39 U.S.C. § 410(c)(2) in support of its claim that it is permitted to withhhold the information requested by APWU. Under § 410(c)(2) the Postal Service is not required to disclose “information of a commercial nature, including trade secrets, whether or not obtained from a person outside the Postal Service, which under good business practice would not be publicly disclosed.” 39 U.S.C. § 410(c)(2).
As a threshold matter, the parties agree that § 410(c)(2) is a statute of exemption as contemplated by Exemption 3. The parties disagree, however, on whether the requested information falls within the scope of § 410(c)(2). In support of its position that the requested information is covered by § 410(c)(2), USPS submitted the declaration of Jane Eyre, the Manager of the Records Office of the Postal Service. Ms. Eyre explained that the Pay for Performance program is a “merit program” in which salary increases and/or lump sum bonuses are awarded to individuals using “a wide range of scores based on an individual’s performance and corporate/unit indicators.” According to Ms. Eyre, the PFP program is “unlike most other government programs, where salary increases are based in large part on cost of living allowance (COLA) and time in service. The PFP program is grounded in the USPS mandate to provide service in a competitive marketplace and create a performance based culture.”
APWU argued that (1) the requested information is not “of a commercial nature” within the meaning of § 410(c)(2); (2)s that “good business practices” would not prevent the disclosure of the requested information.
Information of a Commercial Nature
USPS asserted that the PFP information is “of a commercial nature” within the meaning of § 410(c)(2) because the information “is used to place a numeric value on employees for purposes of making employee staffing decisions, which in effect are labor decisions with underlying commercial and financial implications.” APWU disagreed with USPS’ analysis, asserting that “[n]owhere does the [Postal Service] demonstrate that the PFP information actually has financial implications; nowhere does it explain who faces the purported financial implications; and nowhere does it detail how the financial implications could arise.”
The Postal Service has promulgated regulations containing a non-exhaustive list of information that is to be considered commercial in nature. Among other types of information, the regulations state that “[r]ecords compiled within the Postal Service which would be of potential benefit to persons or firms in economic competition with the Postal Service” are commercial in nature and therefore exempt from mandatory disclosure.
The Court agreed with USPS that the Pay for Performance records are of a commercial nature and denied APWU’s request.
APWU:Pay Raise Set for Nov. 21
APWU News Bulletin
APWU-represented postal workers will receive a 1.2 percent increase in their annual salaries effective Nov. 21. The raise will be reflected in the paychecks issued Dec. 11, and will be based on the grades and levels in effect on Sept. 6, 2006. The increase will apply to employees covered by the APWU-USPS 2006-2010 contract.
“The Collective Bargaining Agreement is our union’s strongest achievement,” said APWU President William Burrus. “At a time when the Postal Service is experiencing severe financial difficulties, the contractual commitment must be honored, and the required 1.2 percent pay increase must be paid. Despite excessing, reassignments, and early retirements, the raise must be granted.
“With the salary increases, upgrades and cost-of-living adjustments, wages for the vast majority of APWU members have increased by approximately $3,800 under the current contract,” he said. “In these difficult times, that is quite an accomplishment.”
The agreement expires Nov. 20, 2010. Under a separate contract of similar duration, Operating Services employees at USPS Headquarters in Washington and at a facility in nearby Merrifield, VA, also will receive a 1.2 percent raise Nov. 21. (APWU-represented employees in Information Technology/Accounting Services will receive a 1.2 percent raise Jan. 16; their contract runs to Jan. 2011.)
Per APWU bylaws, an across-the-board contractual salary increase results in a dues adjustment. This raise will lead to a 62 cents per member per pay period increase in dues for career employees, and an increase of 40 cents per member per pay period for Transitional Employees. Thirty-nine cents of the 62-cent increase will go to the career employees’ locals, and 23 cents will go to the national union, including the union’s private-sector organizing fund.
Updated pay scales were included in the Nov./Dec. edition of The American Postal Worker magazine, and are posted on the Pay Information pages of www.apwu.org
http://www.apwu.org/dept/ind-rel/irpayinfo.htm#112109payscale
APWU: Upgrades and New Pay Schedule Effective Feb. 16, 2008
Filed under: APWU, contract, pay info, postal, Uncategorized
From APWU
All APWU-represented employees covered by the 2006-2010 APWU-USPS collective bargaining agreement will be upgraded one pay level effective Feb. 16, 2008. The upgrades are being implemented via new pay schedules.
The new pay schedules reflect pay increases of approximately 2.6 percent from the old levels to the new ones. Generally, employees will move to the same step – for example, Grade 5 Step G employees will be promoted to Grade 6 Step G – and will carry their step waiting time with them. So, if a Grade 5 Step G employee was due an increase to Step H on March 15, 2008, the employee will still receive their step increase on March 15, 2008. Some upgrades – from Grade 3 to 4 and Grade 7 to 8 – will result in shorter . A special procedure – described below – applies to employees who were in Grade 9 as of Feb. 15, 2008.
Multi-Grade Promotions
The new schedule eliminates three old pay grades: Grades 1, 9, and 10 (as shown in this partial view of the new pay schedule).
Grade 1: As of Feb. 15, 2008, only a small number of employees were assigned to Grade 1. They will be promoted to the new Grade 3. The new schedule starts at Grade 3, which is the upgrade of the old Grade 2.
Grade 9: Approximately 250 employees who were in Grade 9 as of Feb. 15, 2008, will be promoted to the new Grade 10, which is the upgrade of the old Grade 11.
Grade 10: As of February 2008, there are no employees in Grade 10.
Employees in Grade 9 will not be promoted to the same step in Grade 10. Instead, they will be slotted by a two-step process. First, the Postal Service must identify the salary that would have been attained had Grade 9 been retained and upgraded to Grade 10 – an increase of approximately 2.6 percent. For example, a Grade 9, Step H employee would have attained a salary of $50,885 if he or she had been upgraded to Grade 10. Second, the Postal Service must identify the salary in the new Grade 10 that is closest to but not less than that amount. In this case, that would be new Grade 10 Step E, with a salary of $51,109. This is an increase of slightly more than 2.6 percent. Upon reaching the top step of Grade 10, the employee would realize the value of a multi-grade promotion.
Full-time Regulars (FTR) [pdf]