Postal RUMORS

Rumor: USPS looking for Postmasters & Managers Customer Service nominees for the next round of TV & Print Ads

RUMOR: USPS is replacing City Carriers, Processing, Distribution & Delivery Positions Exam 470 with Exam 473

RUMOR- The Next round of early outs will be offered to everyone, craft and management (6/7/04)

For Mystery Shopper Offices - The Pacific Area notified Postmasters that because no one seems to be taking the Balloon rate surcharge seriously, they are going to add this to the Mystery Shopper scenarios. This is a nationwide incentive to charge the correct rates. (6/7/04)

RUMOR- An APWU Regional Coordinator has filed internal charges against a long-time National Business Agent for cursing at the coordinator.

Mail Handlers Tentative Schedule for VER Released -In mid-January 2004, approximately 8,400 mail handlers will receive a mailing from the Postal Service - called a Statement of Interest or SOI package - which asks them to indicate their interest in possible early retirement. Mail handlers interested in taking advantage of this VER offer will have until early February to submit their SOI forms. Any voluntary retirements finalized under this process will be effective on April 30, 2004. (NPMHU.org) 12/31/03

Stamp Vending Machines-The United States Postal Service (USPS) is currently providing stamp vending services to customers in a reliable, easily accessed, and cost effective manner via postal lobbies and other high traffic areas such as museum lobbies. However the USPS would like to provide this same service at a lower cost while maintaining or improving current levels of service. As such the USPS is requesting information for the servicing, cleaning, replenishing and maintaining of stamp vending equipment in selected postal and non-postal facilities. The supplier will also be required to collect cash, make bank deposits, be responsible for refund payments, and maintain and relocate equipment per USPS instructions. 12/17/03

ATMs in Postal Lobbies Program-The United States Postal Service is seeking to identify potential sources that could provide ATMs in United States Postal lobbies- 11/03/03

RUMOR: National USPS is in talks to reduce or outsource retail (window clerks). USPS is already doing this by trying to lure the customers away from the traditional over the counter transactions to more and more retail contract outlets in malls, Hallmark stores, ATMs, etc.-9/12/03

USPS Western Region is putting several senior district managers and managers of selected P&DC's on a 12 /7 schedule, from 9PM until 9AM, apparently it is too improved service on overnight, 2 day and perhaps a trial balloon for craft. LuNewsViews reader- 7/19/03

This is a message #1305 from the Early Out forum . LuNewsViews takes no responsibility for its accuracy.

Paul B: I contacted the OPM and they were kind enough to provide the following response. I found it interesting that the Postal Service asked the OPM to hold their request without action back in March. The response speaks for itself. I hope this information helps all of you.

From: Davis, Judith A [JADavis@opm.gov]
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 4:49 PM
To: (Name witheld)
Subject: OPM review of Postal Early Retirement Authority

Dear (Name withheld):

This responds to your May 15, 2003, inquiry regarding the United States Postal Service's (USPS) request for voluntary early retirement authority (VERA).
Although OPM received a request for VERA from the USPS in January 2003, in March 2003, USPS officially asked us to hold their request without action until OPM publishes new VERA regulations. The new VERA regulations, which implement the provisions of the Homeland Security Act (P..L. 107-296) and allow VERA to be used for restructuring rather than solely to avoid reduction-in-force, are in clearance and will be published in the Federal Register for public comment before they become final. Any announcement on plans to request or offer voluntary early retirement must come from the USPS. For further information, please contact Ms. Susan LaChance, Manager, Selection, Evaluation, and Recognition, at:

    U.S. Postal Service Headquarters
475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Room 9671
    Washington, DC 20260-4250

By statute, an agency must request VERA from OPM. OPM approves a VERA request only if it meets the statutory requirements (i.e., an agency is undergoing a major reorganization, reduction in force, or transfer of function in which a significant percentage of the agency's workforce will be subject to separation or demotion). Upon approval, an agency should use the authority only to the extent necessary to achieve voluntary reductions in the workforce made necessary by factors such as lack of funds, shortage of work, reorganizations, or closures.

If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Judith A. Davis
Manager, Transportation, Commerce, Justice,
   & Services Group
Center for General Government
Division for Human Capital Leadership & Merit Systems Accountability
Office of Personnel Management, Room 6484
Phone: (202) 606-2327

SPECIAL Early Retirement News FROM LuNewsViews : LuNewsViews has received communication from OPM regarding the Postal Service's request for early out retirement authority 5/1/03 (link corrected)

From the mailbag

"The early retirement authority requested by USPS is awaiting publication of new early retirement authority regulations--which we believe will be published very shortly. Once they are published, we will give USPS's request our full attention. It will be up to USPS to determine which employees, geographic locations, etc, will be offered early retirement."

The above was received from OPM via e-mail April 24, 2003 the author of the e-mail was the same person from OPM who wrote the e-mail message on 2/14/03:

Added 4/4/03- "The USPS has requested voluntary early retirement authority from the Office of Personnel Management. This request is for "line" workers within USPS. However, there are some issues concerning the request that have not yet been worked out. Once these problems have been resolved, it is likely that USPS will obtain voluntary early retirement authority. At that point, they should be able to offer it to their employees in the occupations, geographic locations, and organizations of their choosing. We hope to resolve the difficulties with the USPS request within the next two weeks or less." From OPM 2/14/03

I will continue to post any news I receive in order to keep employees informed. However, nothing has been substantiated as yet. LuNewsViews

From the Bring on the Early Out Forum

Cholesterol Dan #771

04-28-2003 10:39 AM ET (US)
FLASH: I just got off the phone with the federal registry. It takes three working DAYS, not weeks, to publish documents. Also, no documents regarding postal early-outs have been submitted as of Monday April 28, 10:35 am, Eastern time.

Cholesterol Dan #773

04-28-2003 11:37 AM ET (US)
FLASH: I just got off the phone with OPM. I talked to a mid-level manager. He told me that Post Office management did put in a request in January to offer early outs, but that THE OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT TURNED IT DOWN! He went on to say that they are expecting the Post Office to submit another request more to OPM's liking in late May to early July. At that point, OPM might or might not accept the new request. He said that the APWU was told LONG AGO to take misinformation off their web site, but refused. In particular, the April 1 date, and the statement that early-outs are promised, particularly offend OPM

Cholesterol Dan #774

04-28-2003 11:53 AM ET (US)
I just got off the phone with the union. I talked with the head of the department handling early-outs. I told him wat OPM told me. (See my previous post) He told me that he would look into it; that it was the first he heard of it. I gave him the name and phone number of the mid-level manager at OPM that I talked to.

Dan Kuralt
Springfield, Ma. APWU Area Local Executive Vice President
- Monday, April 07, 2003 at 08:10:29 (PDT)
To all,

I attended the New England Local Presidents' Conference in Portland, Me. this past Saturday, April 5, 2003. Brother Burrus spoke on the issue of the President's Commission. He indicated that he would be communicating with the membership through the next national magazine on this issue and others.

There was no discussion with him on contractual issues.

A legislative information packet was put out at the NPC in St. Louis. A CD is to follow, to each local. I was not at St. Louis and do not know what else was discussed there. The N.E. Conf. is a far smaller and more informal gathering than the NPC.

The issue of possible retirement incentives being offered to people by USPS was raised, with Burrus saying he didn't believe that USPS had the billion or so dollars that would be required to give what they gave in 1992. He doesn't see any incentives being offered as a result of that.

He mentioned the number of members who responded to the question of whether they were thinking of taking the early out that is being offered. I don't remember the exact number but I think it was between 3,000 and 4,000 members. The system they were using for responses was down for a couple of days.

source: 21st Century Postal Worker

Taken from 21st Century Postal Worker (scroll down to Roland Petit) -Rumor has it that Director Raymer has chosen Bobby Donelson's replacement when he retires this June. Supposedly, Gary Kloepfer will be appointed to Bobby's Assistant Director "A" duties and Western Region NBA, Idowu A. Balogun will be appointed to Gary's Director at Large duties. Can anyone substantiate this? 4/13/03

Unofficially: LuNewsViews has learned that APWU President Bill Burrus told attendees at the National APWU President's Conference (March 31-April 1st) that USPS will not release plans of facilities consolidations/closings until after the Presidential Postal Commission's report at the end of July. 4/13/03

RUMOR-(meaning nothing official as yet) Early Out Retirement: USPS has requested voluntary early retirement authority from the Office of Personnel Management. However, there are some issues concerning the request for a "blanket" early out for all APWU bargaining unit employees. OPM is requiring early out retirement be offered to employees by areas. After each area identifies which positions can be eliminated --they will forward the list to USPS Headquarters. Once these issues have been resolved, it is likely that USPS will obtain voluntary early retirement authority. But the "blanket" offer to all APWU covered employees is supposedly dead in the water for now. LuNewsViews 2/22/03

Added 4/4/03- "The USPS has requested voluntary early retirement authority from the Office of Personnel Management. This request is for "line" workers within USPS. However, there are some issues concerning the request that have not yet been worked out. Once these problems have been resolved, it is likely that USPS will obtain voluntary early retirement authority. At that point, they should be able to offer it to their employees in the occupations, geographic locations, and organizations of their choosing. We hope to resolve the difficulties with the USPS request within the next two weeks or less." From OPM 2/14/03

Burrus Update 4/4/03- Meanwhile, the union has rejected overtures by the Postal Service to offer early retirement opportunities to employees in limited geographical areas, which OPM could approve while the new regulations are being drafted. The Memorandum of Understanding between the APWU and USPS required management to seek authority to offer retirement opportunities to all APWU-represented employees, and the union has no interest in restricting the offer.

Plant Consolidations/Closings: The plan to close/consolidate offices has been put on hold until after the report from the Presidential Postal Commission which is due July 31, 2003. LuNewsViews 2/22/03

USPS Retail Services: The Postal Service is trying to reduce Retail Services at stations and replace them with contract offices. The push by USPS continues in an effort to eliminate window clerks- see previous article on reducing workforce Overtime/FMLA: As previously reported the Bush administration is proposing to modify Overtime and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) LuNewsViews 2/22/03

USPS Has Submitted Request for Early Out Retirement - USPS seeks to offer “early outs” to APWU-represented employees from April 1 through Sept. 30, 2003
-APWU 1/27/03

Excerpt from agreement Re: Excessing-"In light of the need to prepare for the possibility of employee reassignment, the parties agree that the Postal Service will immediately begin withholding all residual vacancies. The need for withholding these residual vacancies is provided by the consolidation plan and recognized pursuant to this memorandum"

APWU Considers Options in Response to Wide Range of Threats-President William Burrus has informed national officers of the broad outlines of APWU's plan to respond to what he calls "the greatest challenges in the history of the union" - By Dan Sullivan, Southwest Michigan Area Local, Editor. 1/31

Editorial: Workers deserve more than rumors- USPS managers have floated rumors -but no hard facts - about plans to close and consolidate plants across the country and have tantalized older employees with a promise to go to the Office of Personnel Management for authority to offer early-out retirements. Both these plans could affect tens of thousands of postal workers. By Dan Sullivan

Moratorium on Excessing Extended-Having failed in a timely manner to provide the APWU with a list of USPS facilities that are to be consolidated or closed, the Postal Service has agreed to extend the moratorium on excessing beyond May 31. The deadline for providing the finalized list of plant consolidations was Dec. 31, 2002. This target date had been set by the two-year contract extension.

Read excerpts from the Transformation Plan 1/20/03

Burrus Update: The Postal Service has informed us that the plant consolidation plan has not been finalized and is not available for distribution, as required by the Excessing Memorandum. The Postal Service has informed us that the plant consolidation plan has not been finalized and is not available for distribution, as required by the Excessing Memorandum. With ratification of the contract extension, management’s obligation to petition OPM for early retirement opportunities takes effect. The union expects receipt of a copy of the request, as required, by Feb. 1, 2003. 1/13/03

APWU explains EARLY OUT Retirement in the Jan/Feb National tabloid-Under federal law, federal agencies, including the Postal Service, cannot grant Voluntary Early Retirement opportunities to their employees without approval from the Offices of Personnel Management. In recent years, OPM has sometimes granted Voluntary Early Retirement authority to help agencies restructure or "downsize" their workforce. 1/12/03

source: NPMHU Local 308 Wilkes-Barre Plant - January 1, 2003

We expect the USPS to release its new Mail Processing Network Study soon. Concurrent with that release we also expect targeted employee reductions via incentives. We've been questioned, villified and rediculed for the information we released in November, but the fire storm that resulted causes us to realize we hit a nerve. We still stand by what we released then. We then and now believe it is factual. The problem is, we stepped on many, many toes. Everyone who has access to the information we released signed a confidentiality statement. That means someone violated their own promise and HQ would dearly love to know who. Even we are not sure where the chain was broken, but we are protecting our source.

The former Area Mail Processing page has been removed, this starts a new one. We will update things as we have in the past, using relevent information for the Wilkes-Barre Plant. If we get solid information about other plants we will post it, but our primary concern is Wilkes-Barre. The old information is not gone. We will bring it back after the USPS releases their package. Then we'll laugh at how wrong we were, or cry that we were right. Until we know for sure what's going to happen the best advice we can give is; Live as if things will remain as they are, but plan to be prepared for the changes that may be (we think are) coming

Many people have e-mailed me wondering if there are updates to the news of consolidation of postal facilities. If I learn of any such information --I will post it on this page. LuNewsViews 12/29

No longer a rumor: American Postal Workers Union and the Postal Service will soon announce a 6-month moratorium on arbitrations

The Postal Crisis: Fact or Fiction? (pdf) NALC Presentation covering the impact on the USPS of recession, declining volume, anthrax attacks and expanding overhead; the USPS Transformation Plan

The Postal Future - (pdf) NALC Presentation covering the current state of the USPS and delivery service, outlook for future, what other countries are doing, and what NALC can do

Commission Is Expected to Overhaul Postal Service-The Bush administration plans to announce a commission on Wednesday to make recommendations for overhauling the nation's troubled postal system, officials said. The bipartisan commission is to be led by two business executives, James A. Johnson, the vice chairman of Perseus, a financial services company, and Harry J. Pearce, the chairman of the Hughes Electronics Corporation, who will serve as co-chairmen, the officials said. The nine-member commission will be charged with identifying the problems and proposing solutions for the Postal Service, which at the end of the last fiscal year reported $11 billion in losses and outstanding loans. President Bush has requested a report by July 31. The panel's findings are expected to clear the ground for the first major reorganization of the postal service since 1971.--new york times

source: NPMHU Local 308 Wilkes-Barre Plant

11/23/02

While we've been worried about the Wilkes-Barre Plant, things have been moving right along for the USPS. According to my source, and he is in a position to know, several things are going to be announced right after the Holidays. Hang on to your hats -------

1. The USPS is going to close/consolidate over 100 plants and facilities. They want the number to get down to around 350 from the 500 or so now. They may close two plants and build another, but that's a net of one down.

2. They want to cut 100K jobs over the next two years, and they will offer an early out to all targeted CSRS employees including CRAFT). -- Targeted means those involved in the closings/consodations -- details are fuzzy yet, but if your plant is subject to closing, you have no job and no offer, you & your co-workers will get the offer. They are talking about RIFfing craft employees - something they've never done before.

3. The early out will offer $40K as a kicker and be offered to everyone with 50 years of age and 25 years of service. All they'll lose is the 2% per year for they're age. It's called a VERe (I think) Voluntary Early REtirement.

4. One part of the ultimate plan of the transformation will be to bring us back to a pre-Runyon structure of one chain of command not the goofy Cust. Ser./ Mail Proc. we have now.

As I get and verify more details I will post them here....
Oh by the way Wilkes-Barre is on the list -- just no details yet.
While my source is a personl friend at the Area Level in NY and was giving me a heads up, as with everything in the USPS
"it ain't real 'til it's in writing".

source: NPMHU Local 308 Wilkes-Barre Plant

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Excerpt from National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees Nov. Newsletter "The postal service has just about completed their country-wide survey on the utilization of Bulk Mail centers and Processing and Delivery plants. Once all the information is assembled, they will have a picture of where the Bulk Mail facilities can be merged with the processing and delivery plants. I have reported to you before on the plan to abolish the window clerks or retail sales clerks, as they are now called and man the windows with PTF clerks. The unassigned regulars produced by this move will, for the most part, be assigned to tour one. The plan will produce a lot of involuntary retirements because most of these people will be very senior employees."

excerpts from article Published: October 28, 2002, Federal Times

USPS Plans To Overhaul Operations

The U.S. Postal Service is planning to announce in February a sweeping redesign of its operations. The plan is expected to call for consolidating or eliminating many transportation routes that can be made more efficient. The postal network of shipping points, processing centers, post offices and other facilities was developed haphazardly over the years, with new classes of mail or cities tacked on to the existing network, Vogel said. “The end result is that our network is not optimized,” Vogel said. “So we now want to create one uniform, standardized network. We expect some nice efficiencies.” The Postal Service aims to consolidate some mail processing plants, redefine the functions of others, standardize mail preparation, reduce costs for itself and mailers, and trim its staffing needs. The cost reduction in operations should be significant, Vogel said. This is not the first time the Postal Service has made an effort to streamline. About two years ago, it came up with a list of processing plants that it wanted to close or consolidate and post offices from which it would remove processing operations, the Postal Service’s Vogel said.

But it never acted on the proposed closings, thanks to pressure from clerks and supervisors, said Palladino.

It turns out to have been a good thing it did not. Since then it was determined “that the list had no merit” and some of those slated for closing will probably be around after the realignment, Vogel said.

Published: October 21, 2002 Federal Times-USPS To Eliminate Accounting Jobs, Consolidate Centers The Postal Service is looking at a “whole range” of potential consolidations, Kreienkamp said, but he would not elaborate where other mergers of activities might occur

excerpt from the APWU Rank & File Bargaining Committee

The union estimates there will be a considerable impact on our members due to plant consolidations. The moratorium on excessing is a mechanism to prepare for the possibility for employee reassignment. The Postal Service will begin to withhold all residual vacancies immediately. The agreement requires the Postal Service to provide the union with the plan to consolidate installations in December 2002. The moratorium limits the Postal Service to excessing only within the local commuting area (50 miles). Further, the agreement requires that a joint task force be appointed, effective with the signing of the agreement, to develop a procedure to uniformly apply the provisions of Article 12 in excessing situations. This task force is required to report on its deliberations no later than Jan. 31, 2003.

excerpt from Mailing & Fulfillment Service Association news bulletin dated November 25, 2002

USPS and APWU Announce Contract Extension

The Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) have announced a tentative two year extension to the current contract which would have expired on November 20, 2003. The terms would include continuation of the cost-of-living allowance and 1.3% wage increases on November 15, 2003 and November 27, 2004. If ratified by the union members, the contact affects more than 300,000 employees represented by the APWU. The contract will expire on November 20, 2005.

USPS Vice President for Labor Relations Tony Vegliante said, "The tentative two-year contract extension is fair to both parties. It will assist us in our continuing effort to find joint solutions to future challenges.

The economic provisions of the extension should also help provide a measure of financial stability to the Postal Service." In addition to the economic terms of the tentative agreement, it also creates a joint task force to discuss repositioning employees with a limited, temporary moratorium on "excessing" APWU employees during the discussions. The moratorium does not cover employee moves within a 50-mile radius of the employee’s current work location. APWU President William Burrus said, "This is a tremendous opportunity for APWU members. The tentative agreement secures wage and cost-of-living increases. We believe it provides needed stability for our members. This agreement must be compared to the uncertainty of negotiating — and perhaps arbitrating — a contract under less favorable conditions."

The extension of the APWU contract provides wage stability for the Postal Service for a few years allowing USPS more time to focus on the Transformation Plan and appropriate cost-cutting and revenue growing efforts. The three other key unions have contract agreements that extend out for a few years also. The National Association of Letter Carriers’ contract extends through November 2006; The National Postal Mail Handlers Union’s contract expires in November 2004 as well as the National Rural Letter Carriers Association.

This means that the next time USPS will need to begin negotiating a labor contract will be the Summer of 2004.

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excerpt from statement by APWU President William Burrus

APWU, USPS Announce Tentative Agreement On Contract Extension

Job Security

No later than Feb. 1, 2003, the USPS will petition the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), requesting voluntary early retirement opportunities for all eligible employees represented by the APWU, which, if approved, would allow employees to retire before they reach 55 years of age and/or 30 years of service;

There will be a temporary moratorium on excessing and the reassignment of employees through May 15, 2003. The moratorium will not apply to current or future excessings and reassignments where the reassignments are within the local commuting area of the installation (a 50-mile radius);

The parties will establish a joint task force to explore methods of repositioning the workforce, with the goals of minimizing employee dislocation, maximizing customer service, and maintaining efficient operations. The task force will also compile existing contractual provisions, arbitration awards, Step 4 agreements and mutually agreed to national-level interpretations regarding excessing into a single document to avoid disputes at the local level regarding the procedures to be followed when excessing occurs;

A comprehensive developmental training program will be created to provide career APWU bargaining unit employees opportunities to qualify for placement in skilled positions in the Maintenance and Motor Vehicle crafts. Interested employees will be provided extensive on-the-clock training for highly-skilled positions;

The agreement extends no-layoff protection to all career employees who were on the rolls as of Nov. 20, 2000, for an additional two years.