HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP WANTS TO CUT YOUR RETIREMENT BENEFITS!

 House GOP Leaders John Boehner - OH and Minority Whip Eric Cantor - VA have presented President Obama with a budget proposal that would see $375 billion in cuts over five years.  Several of the cuts involve federal employees and would negatively impact their retirement benefits.  Among the changes proposed by Boehner and Cantor are:

• Changing the High-3 formula used to calculate CSRS annuities to High-5.  This would lower CSRS retirement annuities by $1.2 billion over five years.

• Raise the minimum retirement age of certain federal employees from the current age of 56 years.

• Change CSRS and FERS annuity system to ensure that no federal employee receives any retirement benefits until reaching the age of 62. This would save approx $1.3 billion by taking six year of retirement benefits out of your pocket!

          This is what the Republican Leadership in the House of Representatives thinks of you!  

If they had a majority, or the White House is this the type of legislation we could expect to see?  

Thankfully, proposals such as these have been rejected in the past, in a bipartisan fashion.  It is unlikely that President Obama or the rest of Congress will support these proposals.

USPS CONSIDERS CLOSING STATIONS & BRANCHES - A Message from the President
In response to substantial decreases in window transactions at retail units, the Postal Service is considering consolidating operations in larger stations and branches. It is possible that operations will be discontinued in branches and stations in Level 24 and above post offices. Factors being considered are the impact on employees, service standards, cost savings, customer access, environmental impact, real estate values, and the needs of the service.  In Pennsylvania, we are aware of reviews in...more
 

"As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party"  -  Senator Arlen Specter

MEET PENNSYLVANIA'S NEWEST DEMOCRATIC SENATOR - ARLEN SPECTER
29-year Senator Arlen Specter announced today that he will be running as a Democrat in the upcoming 2009 Senatorial Election. Specter has recently come under intense scrutiny from the Republican party for supporting President Obama's Stimulus Package. Since that vote Senator Specter has been called a traitor by the Republican National Committee, vilified by the people at Fox News, and was threatened with sanctions if he didn't get in line with the Republican agenda. The GOP, seeking to oust Senator Specter from his seat, have put their support behind challenger Pat Toomey in the Republican Primary race. It is extremely rare for a political party to campaign for a challenger when the incumbent Senator is also from that same party. Apparently, Senator Specter the GOP has slapped Arlen Specter in the face one time too many. It appears he has had enough of the GOP threats and intimidation and has decided to change affiliation.

Earlier this year, Senator Specter was a vocal supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and pledged his support for working men and women. After the Stimulus vote, Specter was called on the carpet by the GOP Leadership. After the meeting, Specter publicly denounced the EFCA and said he would do everything in his power to kill the legislation, including a Senate filibuster if necessary. With the GOP no longer controlling his future, perhaps Sen. Specter will return to his former position and support the much needed worker reforms.

Specter has a long history of being a moderate Senator who has a respectable voting record with labor. Senator Specter, you will recall, played an important role in the shaping and passage of the Postal Accountability Act. Senator Spector voted on the side of labor on many key aspects of the bill. He has brought many billions of dollars home to the state of Pennsylvania and is considered one of the Senate's most respected and effective legislators. This change, along with the seating of Al Franken (MN) leaves the Democratic party only one vote shy of a filibuster proof majority.
 

AMP STUDY TO CONSIDER CONSOLIDATION OF NEW CASTLE P&DF

On April 10, 2009, the USPS notified the union that they intend to conduct an Area Mail Processing (AMP) study of the New Castle P&DF.  The AMP Study will determine the feasibility of consolidating some mail processing operations currently performed at the New Castle P&DF into the Pittsburgh P&DC.  The USPS points to the declining mail volume as the basis for this study.  Similar studies have already been conducted in the Greensburg P&DF and the Wilkes-Barre Plant.  Greensburg was consolidated with Pittsburgh last year and the USPS has announced plans to close Wilkes-Barre, sending the work to Scranton.

PUBLIC OPPOSITION TO CLOSING WILKES-BARRE PLANT INCREASES

Owners of small businesses, workers, and other concerned citizens continue to speak out at protests and at public meetings staged by the Postal Service to “share initial results” of Area Mail Processing studies.  At one of the noisier of such gatherings, several business owners and public officials in Wilkes-Barre disagreed sharply with the USPS conclusion that moving mail processing operations 25 miles away to Scranton would leave the economy of Luzerne County unharmed.  The Wilkes-Barre City Council unanimously approved a resolution that opposes “any and all efforts” to close the USPS facility. “We have employers that really rely on getting their mail out,” Mayor Thomas Leighton said at the meeting. “That’s why it’s important for the future of the city, more...

NEW ROUND OF VERA OFFERS FORTHCOMING

The USPS has requested and received approval to offer Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) to 150,000 employees nationwide.  The application deadlines, effective dates and the categories of eligible employees will be announced as soon as the information becomes available.

USPS ANNOUNCES DISTRICT CONSOLIDATIONS AND EAS REDUCTIONS

On Friday, March 20, 2009, the USPS announced cost cutting measures that would result in the elimination of six District offices, a 15% reduction in administrative staffing at remaining District offices and the proposed elimination of 1,400 mail processing management positions in plants nationwide.  The District offices which have been identified for elimination include:  Massachusetts, New Hampshire/Vermont, Erie (PA), Central Florida, Spokane (WA), and Central New Jersey.  The functions of those offices will be taken on by:  Connecticut, Northern New England, Pittsburgh, Suncoast (FL), Seattle (WA), and South Jersey, respectively.  The District office closings will impact 521 EAS employees of which 411 are eligible for retirement.  The remaining 74 District offices will reduce administrative staffing by 15%.

Additionally, the USPS plans to eliminate 1,400 mail processing supervisor positions in plants throughout the country.  This is due to the imbalance in the supervisor-to-employee ratio.  Over the years, hundreds of thousands of craft positions have been eliminated.  However, there was no corresponding reduction in supervisory hours.  The USPS has recalculated the ratio and will be looking to eliminate supervisor positions to bring the ratio back into balance.

Each of the impacted employees will be given a period of time (4 or 5 months) to find another position within the USPS.  If they are unable to find another position the impacted employee will be given a Reduction In Force (RIF) notice informing them that their service with the USPS will be coming to an end.

Editor's note:  It is never a cause for celebration when anyone loses their job.  However, after years and years of craft job eliminations it appears it is time for EAS employees to endure some reductions.  Witnessing the uncertainty and worry that these impacted employees will go through must make us thankful for the APWU and the no-layoff clause the APWU negotiated.  Were it not for the Union we would find ourselves in this very same situation.

Local Presidents:  You are encouraged to share this information with your members.  The Dept. of Labor and Industry will provide free "tip cards" for distribution in your local.  To order cards contact Tara Roebuck at 717-787-7530 or via e-mail at dlipress@state.pa.us.
 

NEW CONTACT NUMBERS
After months of struggling with misdirected phone calls and wrong numbers the PPWU has narrowed down the possible causes and determined that the culprit is a finicky phone system.  Some members have had difficulty reaching the party they want due top these problems with the phones.  For instance, a member attempting to call the officer at extension #11 would often wind up talking to Fran Friel at extension #1.  We have made changes to the phone system and assigned new extension numbers to some of the officers.  Hopefully, this will eliminate the problem.

Check the list of officers to see if any of your contacts have had their numbers changed.  Please, update your speed dial and phone logs accordingly.