The Postal Service’s announcement that there are no immediate plans to offer incentives or VERA to EAS employees will be received by some as a mixed message. We are aware that some EAS employees have been waiting for some time to take advantage of an incentive. On the other hand, there are other EAS employees who need to have a job, a job where they now work, close to their homes and families.
NAPS has been a leader the in the fight to keep processing facilities and post offices open to serve the American public. In this fight, we have been successful. As a result there will not be massive job losses in our ranks. NAPS believes that what we have accomplished is good for our members and good for our country.
Now that the Postal Service has determined there is no need to keep “landing spots” for impacted EAS employees, NAPS will emphasize the immediate need to fill vacant positions that exist throughout the country. We can no longer function with the number of vacancies we have in operations and these positions need to be filled now.
While we will be working to get vacant positions filled, and our members point to the postmasters who can take advantage of incentives and VERA’s, all must be mindful that there are large numbers of postmasters that may not be able to take advantage of the incentives and will have to make the hard decisions on where they will be able to work after their restructuring.
Had the Postal Service implemented their plans to close half of the processing facilities in the country, there would have been hundreds if not thousands of EAS employees faced with the decision of moving great distances to keep a job. If the Postal Service’s plans were initiated, our veterans would have been RIF’d because of the current rules on closure of competitive areas.
NAPS will continue our efforts to minimize the impact of the Postal Service’s consolidation plans on our members now and in the future. We will continue to do everything in our power to protect the interests of our members.
May 17, 2012
Contact: James F. Killackey, III
naps.jk@naps.org
1727 King St, Suite 400
Alexandria, VA 22314
If they want to save money they should offer a VERA to EAS and make the 204-B’s EAS supervisors.