NALC: GOP playing politics with federal employee pay
February 01, 2012
Today, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.R. 3835, a bill introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) to extend for another year the freeze on federal employees’ pay. This legislation would freeze federal pay for federal employees and members of Congress for a third consecutive year. President Obama’s fiscal year 2013 budget includes a small increase for federal employees, a modest 0.5 percent.
The legislation takes advantage of members of Congress who support federal employees. Member of Congress who vote to increase the pay of federal workers will be forced to vote simultaneously for a pay increase for themselves.
On Tuesday, a “Dear Colleague” letter was circulated by Democrats in the House. It calls out the political pandering of the GOP, as H.R. 3835 “inappropriately groups Members of Congress who earn $174,000 per year with the men and women of our federal service. While we are not opposed to a freeze on Members’ pay for fiscal year 2013, we will not support a pay freeze for federal employees for a third consecutive year.” And in its closing, the letter suggests what the GOP should do to reduce the deficit, raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and not freeze the wages of middle-class workers.
Source: NALC Activist Alert
NALC: Extension of payroll tax holiday should not be paid for on backs of federal workforce
As the House of Representatives prepares for a final vote on the payroll tax holiday extension later today, the Republican majority has once again turned to federal employees to foot the bill for it. NALC has weighed in over and over with Congress on the inappropriateness of treating federal workers as the cash cow or “pay-for” for programs that most Americans are able to enjoy. NALC fully supports the extension of the payroll tax holiday while the economy continues to struggle, but certainly not on the backs of the federal workforce.
H.R. 3630, the “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011,” extends the current 2 percent payroll tax cut for one year. The bill offsets the costs of these extensions in part by freezing federal employee pay for an additional year through 2013, and it would increase federal and postal employee pension contributions by 1.5 percent over three years, starting in 2013. It would kill the retirement supplement that is paid to federal workers in lieu of Social Security for those in FERS who retire before age 62. This would affect those FERS employees retiring in 2013 or after. New employees hired in 2013 with less than five years of previous federal employment would be hit even harder, paying 4 percent of salary toward retirement benefits instead of the current 0.8 percent while slashing benefit levels by up to 44 percent. (This is achieved by reducing the “years of service” credit from 1 percent to 0.7 percent per year and by basing your annuity on your highest five years of salary instead of the currently used highest three years of salary.)
This bill is irresponsible and unfair to federal workers. Please call your member of Congress as soon as possible — click here for a contact information list — and urge him or her to vote NO on H.R. 3630. Also, click here to read a Federal-Postal Coalition letter that was sent to Congress on this last week that provides more information.
The payroll tax holiday should not be paid for by federal employees!
In Solidarity,
Fredric V. Rolando, President
National Association of Letter Carriers
California Congressman Calls On PMG To Keep Mail Processing Facility Open In Stockton
Filed under: Congress, consolidations, politics, postal, postal news, usps
From the office of Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-CA-11)
December 8, 2011
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-11) wrote to the United States Postal Service, calling on Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to ensure that the processing and distribution center in Stockton which is being considered for closure remains open. The closing of the facility would mean an estimated 187 jobs would be lost in the Stockton area.
“Recently, we have seen that unemployment has fallen across the nation. Unfortunately, we have not seen the same decrease in our region, and we cannot bear to lose any more jobs. In this economy, we need to be creating jobs, not losing them,” said Rep. McNerney.
In his letter, McNerney also expressed his displeasure at the lack of transparency throughout the deliberation process over the potential closure of the facility. As the window for public comment comes to an end, the Postal Service has continued to withhold vital information related to their decision-making process regarding the facility. The Area Mail Processing (AMP) study conducted by the USPS has been kept from the public. Read more
Senators Seek to Stop USPS Cutbacks
Filed under: APWU, politics, post office closings, postal, postal news, usps
Is Your Senator on Board?
Twenty senators are asking Congress to impose a six-month moratorium on USPS plans to consolidate more than 250 mail processing plants, close thousands of post offices, and eliminate overnight mail delivery, in order to give lawmakers an opportunity to consider postal reform legislation. Read more
Video: Congressman: PMG Plan For USPS Means Americans Underserved
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) Postmaster plan for USPS: 100k laid off and closures means Americans and rural U.S. are underserved
Alaska Delegation Refutes USPS Inspector General Bypass Mail Report
Nine Assertions “Either Inaccurate, Incomplete, or Are Not Well-Considered”
Alaska’s Congressional Delegation today sent a letter to the United States Postal Service Inspector General, prodding the department for answers to nine questionable claims made in this week’s report “Bypass Mail: Beyond Its Original Purpose.” Read more
NAPUS: A Tale of Two Postal Bills
Filed under: NAPUS, politics, postal, postal news, Postmasters, usps
From The National Association of Postmasters of the United States – eNAPUS Legislative and Political Bulletin
Two vastly different postal bills are pending before the House and Senate. The bills, H.R. 2309 and S. 1789, contain numerous divisive provisions; some are common to both. Consequently, they do not seem to be on the fast track. However, their paths to the floor follow different roadmaps and provide guideposts on how NAPUS and others may seek to shape the outcome
Even with the procedural disparities, both bills share a common and major deficiency; neither bill provides the USPS with a fair and equitable calculation of its pension liability – a $55 billion omission. Rather, H.R. 2309 and S. 1789 continue to impose a punitive pension liability on the USPS that seeks to offset the federal government’s failure to account for its own pension liability. This failure is bipartisan and the blame is shared with the White House
This past week, a new national survey found that Americans continue to strongly oppose USPS efforts to close post offices, and substantiates NAPUS arguments before the Postal Regulatory Commission relating to post office use. Also, on Friday, President signed into law legislation (HR 2112), which defers the $5.5 million retiree health prepayment until December 16. Read more
NY Congressman Condemns USPS Plan To Correct Financial Woes by Closing Post offices
Filed under: politics, post office closings, postal, postal finances, postal news, press releases, usps
and Slashing hundreds of Thousands Of Jobs
From the office of Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17)
POST OFFICE NEEDS OVERHAUL, NOT U-HAULS
11/18/11
Washington, DC — Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) issued the following statement condemning the U.S. Postal Service for singling out post offices for closure, and considering slashing hundreds of thousands of jobs, while failing to identify root causes for their massive debt.
“I am fed up with the continued bumbling from the Postal Service who are pinning their financial woes on seniors and working families in New York, and around the nation, rather than looking at the real reasons why they have lost money. They argue locations targeted for closure have lost money, but for a department awash in billions of dollars in red ink, it is logical to assume there are few post offices actually making money nationwide. The people of the Bronx, Rockland and Westchester Counties rely on their neighborhood Post Offices and it will be a hardship for many residents who are not able to easily travel to other locations.
“I find it puzzling that their plan to correct their financial woes is to make access to post offices more difficult and inconvenient. They are charging more for services, but make them less accessible. And they wonder why they continually lose business. This is a business plan designed for failure. If they wish to essentially go out of business, they risk abandoning many of their most loyal and dependant customers.
“The Post Office needs to find ways to be more efficient, not be more secluded. It needs to waste less, not deliver less often. It needs to be more responsive to the people, not shutter their windows and move out of town. I want the Post Office to succeed, and for the American people to have ample access to facilities, but I need to see that the Post Office is serious about correcting their own flaws.”
Senators Lieberman, Collins, Carper, and Brown React to USPS Losses
Filed under: politics, postal, postal news, postal reform, press releases, usps
WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn), Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-Maine), Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) reacted Tuesday to an announcement from the Postal Service that it lost $5.1 billion in Fiscal Year 2011. The loss would have been $10 billion without emergency Congressional intervention.
Sen. Lieberman: “This is yet more confirmation of what we already know: the Postal Service is in such deep financial trouble that mail delivery would be disrupted sometime next year unless bold action is taken. Senators Collins, Carper, Brown, and I have proposed bold reforms in our 21st Century Postal Service Act, which was approved by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week. I urge my colleagues to support our bill as a last ditch effort to save this valuable national asset upon which millions of people and businesses rely every day.”
Sen. Collins: “It’s no surprise the red ink continues to flood the U.S. Postal Service. Absent action, it won’t be able to meet its payroll a year from now. The Postal Service is the linchpin of a $1.1 trillion mailing and mail-related industry that employs approximately 8.7 million Americans in fields as diverse as direct mail, printing, catalog companies, and paper manufacturing. It literally won’t survive without legislative and administrative reforms. That’s why the bipartisan bill passed by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee represents a huge step forward toward giving the Postal Service the authority it needs to restructure, modernize, survive, and thrive. I’m hopeful that this bipartisan compromise legislation will move swiftly through the Senate.”
Sen. Carper: “I have been saying for some time now that Congress needs to come together on a plan that can save the Postal Service and protect the more than eight million jobs that rely on it. Last week, we took an important step in our effort to reform the Postal Service by passing the bipartisan 21st Century Postal Service Act (S.1789) out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Today’s report again underscores the urgency of this situation. But while the situation is dire, it is not hopeless. That is why we need to pass this bipartisan and comprehensive bill – the only bipartisan proposal from Members in either Chamber – as soon as possible. It is my hope that Congress and the Administration can come together on this plan in order to save the Postal Service before it’s too late.”
Sen. Brown: “Combined with losses from previous years, it is clear that the Postal Service faces a significant risk of being insolvent by next year. Congress will need to act soon to address some of the major financial challenges the Postal Service is facing. The 21st Century Postal Service Act is ready to head to the floor and it’s my hope that it will be called up as soon as possible, so that we can begin to put the Postal Service on a path towards financial solvency.”
Tell Your Legislator: Vote No on H.R. 2309
A bill that would destroy the Postal Service as we know it was approved by a key congressional committee on Oct. 13, and could come up for a vote in the full House at any time. It is urgent that APWU members ask their legislators to vote no on H.R. 2309.
To help APWU members send the message to Congress, the union will be mailing a brochure to every union member’s home in the coming days. President Cliff Guffey is asking union members to sign the postcard included in the brochure and mail it to their legislators. Read more