July 28, 2010 All,
As promised I am following up with you regarding H.R. 5746. The
Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of
Columbia successfully marked up the legislation today and it will now be
reported to the full Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Chairman
Lynch (D-MA) offered a substitute amendment which simply clarified a few
areas of the bill that were not clear. Including a section that now clearly
states that this legislation will have no impact on any individual's
benefit. This change was made to satisfy the concerns of the other federal
employee organizations. The bill was marked up by a voice vote and was
passed 8-1 on a roll call vote:
Chairman Lynch (D-MA) - Aye
Del. Holmes Norton (D-DC) - Aye
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) - Aye
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) - Aye
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) - Aye
Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO) - Aye
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) - Aye
Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) - Aye
Ranking Member Jason Chaffettz (R-UT) - No
Rep. Ahn "Joseph" Cao (R-LA) - Not present
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) - Not present
Now is the time for us to act quickly and gather our co-sponsors for the
bill. We want to get as many as we can before it goes to full committee,
possible as early as next week. When asking your Member of Congress to
cosponsor the legislation please make sure to include the major points
below:
H.R. 5746 will:
* Fairly recalculate the USPS surplus in the Civil Service Retirement System
(CSRS) using a methodology that uses fairness and equity by using an
employee's high three salary when computing the annuity.
* Would return assets paid for by RATEPAYER and EMPLOYEE contributions (not
TAXPAYER funds) to the Postal Service's sub-account in the CSRS.
* Once the accurate "postal surplus" is determined by the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM), the agency would then have 90 days to write
regulations with directions for how and when these funds will be transferred
to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund (PSRHBF).
* This legislation does NOT repeal or in any way address the legally
mandated pre-funding payments into the PSRHBF, it simply fixes the massive
over-funding to the Postal CSRS account and transfers it to the PSRHBF.
Additional legislation would be necessary to repeal the scheduled
pre-funding payments to the PSRHBF in the future.
* The date of transfer for the overpayment is less important than the
acknowledgment by Congress and the OPM that the USPS has sufficient assets
to cover all their retirement obligations; the Postal Service already has
$37 billion in its PSRHBF and can access that until which time they would
need the transfer to occur.
Please keep you comments focused on these talking points and let me know if
you have any further questions. We will be sending out an e-Activist at the
end of the week asking for grassroots efforts to gain co-sponsors, but we
wanted you all to make the first contact with your Congressional offices.
Thanks and good luck!
Jennifer Warburton
Director of Legislative & Political Affairs
National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO)
(p) 202-662-2801
(f) 202-756-7400
Warburton@nalc.org ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** What is the truth about Healthcare Reform? Hey,
I just checked out some facts about President Obama's plan for health reform.
If you currently have health insurance through your employer, under the President's plan you can keep your doctor and your plan if you like it. You'll also be protected from insurance company abuses, and you'll likely see your premiums go down.
You can learn more about how health reform helps people with insurance through their employers:
http://my.barackobama.com/reformtruth1 If you have health insurance through your employer and you like your plan, you can keep it. Ed, It is worse, We need to be expanding our services to more customers. If they can not buy our stamps, how can they use our services. I know there are many outlets for stamps (i.e. grocery stores). But when the customer comes in to the Post Office, he/she expects a full service treatment. Why do we disappoint them? Juan V. Ramirez. Hey Juan, I was disappointed to learn all the vending machines in Columbia were removed. UPS Stores sell USPS's Stamps for approximately a 10 cents profit. I was told by one postmaster that servicing the vending machines cost more than what they were worth. I learned recently that we may be losing our account with Blockbuster to UPS. I have no idea as to why we may be losing that account. However, I know that I still represent city carriers for allegedly failing to deliver Express Mail on time! I know of one Blockbuster in the state of South Carolina whereas the carrier was not picking up the packages because Blockbuster was closed in the morning when the carrier came through. Blockbuster was at the beginning of the carrier's route, I guess he or she felt that they are not required to go back and get the pick-up. As Carriers we must change the way we think also, if we are going to survive in this competive industry. Ed ***************************************************************************************************************************************** $2.4 Billion Quarterly Loss for Postal Service Updated 12:56 p.m. ET The U.S. Postal Service lost $2.4 billion during its third quarter and forecasts a $7 billion year-end loss, according to figures released Wednesday. Mail volume has dropped 12.6 percent so far this year, adding to a sharp decline in volume thanks to the economic recession that began in 2007 and Americans' wider use of the Internet. On average, the Postal Service now delivers 4.1 pieces of mail to each address, down from 5.9 pieces in 2000. That decline has contributed to losses in 11 of the last 12 fiscal quarters, according to the new figures released by the service. Though much of the debate regarding the Postal Service's future focuses on cutting mail service to five days per week, the removal of underused mailboxes and the potential closure of hundreds of Post Offices, the USPS' financial woes can be tied in large measure to roughly $7 billion in payments it must make each year to fund current and future retiree health benefits. Congress mandated the pre-payments in 2006 when it passed a Postal reform bill. "We simply cannot afford these costs," Postmaster General John Potter said during a news conference announcing the financial results. The payments will contribute to a $700 million cash shortfall at the end of its fiscal year in late September, Potter said, unless Congress quickly changes the payment rules. "If we were part of the federal government and treated as an agency, we would not be paying pre-funding to a retirement benefit trust," Potter said. "On the other hand, if we were in the private sector, we would not be pre-funding these retirement payments. So therein lies a bit of a dilemma." Competing House and Senate measures to address the problem have cleared committees and are nearing full votes, but the bills would only provide temporary relief. A broader, long-term discussion regarding the future of American mail delivery is necessary, Potter said. "The Postal Service does not want to do anything that would disrupt this economy. Over a trillion dollars moves through the mail in any given year and we are a hub of an industry that employs some 8 million Americans. We have no intention of doing anything that would disrupt the flow of mail," he said. The Postal Service has taken several steps to reduce costs in recent years, including salary and hiring freezes and cuts to its workforce and mail routes. USPS now employs 630,000 career employees, down from a peak of 802,000 in 1999. More than 12,000 city carrier routes have been cut and consolidated with others since 2000. And it recently renegotiated more than 300 service contracts, saving $200 million. The troubling numbers follow the Postal Service's classification as a "high risk" government agency, and come just days after it released a list of almost 700 Post Offices it will consider closing. Postal officials will testify Thursday at a Senate hearing on the mail service's future. What would you do to save the USPS more money? send your comments to the Editor. *********************************************************************************************************************************************************************** To: All Letter Carriers of South Carolina NALC Branch 233 Dear Brothers and Sisters, having served as the NALC laison officer for the Second Congressional District on our behalf many years ago, it is indeed a pleasure at the young age of 77 to once again accept the challenge that is now facing us. We have an enemy in the U.S. Senate by the name of Jim Demint. In a House-Senate Conference Committee meeting Jim Demint objected to the FERS provision. Under Senate Rules any amendments have to be agreed to unanimously. It appears that when it comes to Letter Carriers, the elderly and physically handicapped Mr. Demint is demented; Not only did his (demented) action block FERS; it blocked HR1604, Help America Vote Act, HR2510, HR2393, and HR1256! I truly need your help. Therefore, I strongly urge each of you to rise up and fight the dastardly deeds Senator Demint has perpetrated against all letter carriers active and retired. Thanks for your help! Carl Kaney, Retired-City Letter Carrier Loyal NALC Union Member ****************************************************************************************************************************'***************************************************************************** Letter of Appreciation From: Antionette B. Davoll Crawley Upper Marlboro, MD 20xxx To: United States Postal Service attn: Supervisor 1601 Assembly Street Columbia, S.C. June 19, 2009 Dear Supervisor, There is never a monetary amount that you can put on a person's life. But if I were capable of giving your City Carrier Herbert Garvin Jr. a million dollars, I would. I am the Grand-Niece of Cecilia Trottie who lives on Mr. Garvin's mail route. In December 2008, Mr. Garvin noticed that she was not picking up her mail. He notified a neighbor, who notified my family, and the authorities were called to check her well-being. My 90 year old Aunt was found on the floor where she had fallen and lain for 3 days. She suffered a heart attack and was suffering from pneumonia. The authorities say that she would not have made it another night on the cold hard floor. Without Mr. Garvin and his diligence to follow through, she would not be here today. I know...I know....that the postmen/women are trained to be cognizance of potential circumstances, but we are all witnesses to employees, in all professions, who don't take their job responsibilities seriously and slack on the job. In this instance, Mr. Garvin has proven himself to be worthy of accolades and words that are too numerous to express. He is my hero and thanks to him, I was able to spend another Christmas Holiday season with my loving Aunt who has proven to be a wonderful mentor and inspiration to me and the members of my family. I've been traveling back and forth from Maryland to South Carolina, helping her to get situated and many times I wanted to stop by your office to express my gratitude in person. But there is never enough time and already too much time has passed and I've already been way too negligent on sending my appreciation. I just didn't want another day to go by without me thanking Mr. Garvin properly for his wonderful service and charitable deed. Just recently in May, my Aunt celebrated her 91st birthday. She is slowly,but surely, recovering in the Brian Center Nursing Home. I am appreciative. I am grateful. I am thankful. I thank God for placing such a spiritual, attentive, and responsible person in my Aunt's path. With all the bad going on in this crazy world we live in, it is nice to know that persons of strong moral character who take pride in their work ethic still exist and "Love Thy Neighbor" rings true on a daily basis. Mr. Garvin is to be highly commended on his exceptional customer service and has proven to be a valuable asset and a wonderful representation of all that is right with the United States Postal Service! Thank you Mr. Herbert Garvin Jr.! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Eternally Grateful, Antionette B. Davoll Crawley Grand-Niece of Cecilia R. Trottie **************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Question: How should Committee Members be compensated? The attached report shows the inequities of how the committee members were paid. I know some of us frowned upon the board wanting to change how committee members are compensated. It was in the interest of the board that committee members (whom are delegates) be paid fairly for their time serving on a committee. The year 2008 totals were almost three times this year's totals. It would be easier to prepare a budget with more accurate figures or sums allotted. Since we have training the day before the convention, committee members are here the day before anyway. No one is inconvenienced by attending the committee meetings. The Credentials Committee has the most work to do and reports to maintain yet this committee gets the same compensation as the other two committees. The Audit and Bylaws Committee meet once while the credentials committee is required to be present the night before registration and both days of the convention. Hence the reason for the proposed changes. You need to know that all committee members were selected after their registration was paid and/or their hotel reservations were made. I am trying to use one delegate from each branch on the committees with the exception of the audit committee. I feel that a treasurer of a branch should do the audit since they are already familiar with the requirements of the job. I also am trying to select delegates that have never served before so we don't use the same people over and over again. Review the following figures and share your opinion. Credentials Committee Mr. Frazier $109.40 mileage Mrs. Melton $319.34 Mr. Lewis $90.45 no mileage requested By-Laws Committee Mr. Smith $353.90 Mr. Rector $0 no voucher submitted Mrs. O'Connor $0 no voucher submitted Audit Committee Mr. Freeman $187.00 Mrs. Dees $379.08 Mr. Huggins $186.41 Submitted by, Emily Lane, President SCSALC (all views are the sole opinion of the author and does not necessarily express the views of the state association or it's members) ***************************************************************************************************************************** (send your comments, thoughts, or opinions to EdMartin422580@Bellsouth.net) |