THE BULLETIN BOARD
July 2008
[July 11th]Postponing Early-Out Decisions
excerpted from the Burrus Update #10-08
In light of the announcement that the Postal Service has received approval to offer Voluntary Early Retirement to employees in the Clerk Craft and the Mail Handler Craft, as well as to some supervisory employees, many APWU members are beginning to wonder about their options.
As employees who meet the eligibility criteria (still to be determined) think about their choices, I ask that they forgo making a quick decision. There are compelling reasons for taking a wait-and-see attitude, including that the economy is in (or is approaching) a recession, and the opportunities for even part-time employment have diminished. In addition, energy and medical costs are escalating, which will make it extremely difficult to survive on a fixed income.
Meanwhile, economic stagnation has had a serious impact on mail volume: The union has been informed that the Postal Service expects a deficit of approximately $1.4 billion in the current fiscal year. We also can expect that if a sufficient number of employees do not accept the early-out offer, the Postal Service will still face a significant deficit, and will still be forced to find ways to reduce the workforce.
I ask that eligible employees delay making a final decision on early retirement until the union concludes discussions at the national level. If we are not successful, we will announce that we have reached an impasse, and individual decisions can then be made.
Read the entire commentary by APWU President Bill Burrus on the APWU website.
[July 9th]APWU Meets with USPS Over Early-Outs
excerpted from APWU Web News Article #65-08
APWU President William Burrus met with postal officials July 8 regarding USPS plans to offer early-retirement opportunities to 40,000 employees. "I conveyed our strongly-held belief that the Postal Service is required to bargain with the union over Voluntary Early Retirement opportunities," Burrus said.
"I also reiterated our request for all pertinent information," he said, "including the Postal Service's request to the Office of Personnel Management requesting authority to offer early-outs, and OPM's response." Under the law, federal agencies, including the Postal Service, must receive approval from OPM to offer Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) opportunities to their employees.
Postal officials indicated that OPM has approved the request, and agreed to provide the union with the requested information.
"We do not oppose Voluntary Early Retirements," he explained, "but we do object to any plan to offer them selectively and exclude some employees from eligibility," he said. "We also believe that for this VER, which is not the result of contract negotiations, severance pay must accompany an offer of early retirement."
Past Issues of the Bulletin Board
[June 2008]
[May 2008] [April 2008]
Use our Search function to look up further back-issues of the Bulletin Board.
