Director of Retirees

Emily Lane

January 2025

Happy New Year Everyone!

I am looking forward to seeing what the New Year brings. There were a lot of changes during the last couple of years. The passage of the end of the WEP and GOP will make a huge difference in retirement earnings. It has been a long time coming and one that I never thought I’d see. When I was President of the State Association, we fought hard to get this bill passed to no avail. All we ever heard was that it scored too high. Finally, a blessing for the Civil Service Retirees.

I started my career with the Postal Service as a substitute rural carrier in 1977 (non career). I became the first female PTF carrier in Spartanburg in August of 1979, joined the Union then. In February of 1980, I was sent to Greer due to a shortage of carriers. I joined the Union at Greer and paid dues to both Spartanburg and Greer for almost a year. We finally got double dues stopped. My service in Greer lasted for 35 years. I can’t believe that I have been retired for 13 years. I know some of the old timers have been retired a lot longer. I had a break in service because I got mad at the members of my branch but after a year, they asked me to get back involved and represent the branch again. I do regret what happened but should have handled it differently. Once a Union member at heart, always a Union member, no matter what capacity you are in. Always look out for the best interest of the branch and the membership.

I have been married this month for 56 years. My husband has been to the conventions and supported me thru it all. I have met some fantastic people through out the US. I have had some scary experiences during my career and some true blessings. Some funny things have happened also. Kids putting a cat in the mail box, birds flying across the vehicle , a snake dropping out of a tree that I had to go under but the best was probably having a customer call the cops because the supervisor was following me during street observation. One of the worst was a child falling off the back of the vehicle, he had climbed up while I was serving the box. I have made a lot of friends and some who hate my guts. Cherish all of the experiences that you have and never forget that God has a plan for each of us.

Emily Lane

Director of Retirees