from NAPS
May 21, 2012

The Postal Service’s announcement last Thursday regarding its modified, two-phase plan to consolidate its mail processing network, coupled with its May 9 POStPlan to keep rural post offices open (but with limited operating hours), is likely to move the House of Representatives closer to bringing postal legislation to the floor some time in June. Until now, House Republican leaders have been unable to find enough votes within their own party to assure passage of the controversial Issa-Ross postal legislation, H.R. 2309.

Closures of post offices and mail processing plants are radioactive issues for Washington lawmakers in an election year, with thousands of jobs and significant local interests in jeopardy. But the Postal Service’s recent announcements, significantly downsizing its original plans, have softened the breadth and negative political impact of closures. Far less facilities will be immediately closed than the Postal Service originally announced. Many lawmakers, particularly Republicans with rural districts, are breathing a sigh of relief that their post offices will remain open, albeit with reduced operating hours. Significant numbers of House Members and Senators are similarly relieved that mail processing plants in their districts and states are not among the 40 mail processing plants that will be closed between now and early next year, or the additional 89 to come next year, after the November election.

These events are likely to give Republican House leaders enough confidence to bring a modified version of the Issa-Ross postal legislation, H.R. 2309, to the floor next month. How much the Issa-Ross measure will be modified still remains uncertain. If the House acts and approves a postal measure next month, House and Senate negotiators potentially could iron out the differences between their bills over the summer, opening the way for Congressional approval of a final postal reform measure by early October, before the start of the election recess. A lot of very troubling questions yet remain, however.

The Issa-Ross bill and the Senate-approved measure are dramatically different in their fundamental views of the Postal Service itself and what is necessary to put the troubled enterprise back on its feet. Finding compromise could be especially difficult for House and Senate conferees, especially in the ramp-up to the November elections, when a failing government institution like the Postal Service could become a popular target for many Republicans.

In the meantime, the clock toward financial armageddon for the Postal Service continues to tick. Without Congressional intervention, the Postal Service will be unable to make the twin $5.5 billion retiree health prefunding payments for 2011 and 2012 that are due in early August and late September. Even worse, the Postal Service may run out of cash and find itself unable to meet its payroll by later this fall.

It is critical that the House of Representatives act immediately and pass sensible postal reform legislation. NAPS supports the Senate-approved bill and is urging its members to contact their House lawmakers to ask them to support the Senate bill. SEND THAT MESSAGE TO YOUR HOUSE LAWMAKER TODAY BY CLICKING HERE.

The possibility that the House of Representatives could consider H.R. 2309 towards the end of June or beginning of July has generated renewed interest in the bill, and, how the House Leadership will deal with the controversy relating to a number of its provisions. The week’s eNAPUS Legislative and Political Bulletin seeks to put into context the process and calculations that will be made in scheduling the bill for possible floor votes. In addition, this Bulletin will review the past week’s Senate budget discussions, in light of last week’s House passage of a Budget Reconciliation bill. Finally, the Bulletin takes a quick look at Senate electoral politics.

Click on May 18 edition of eNAPUS Legislative and Political Bulletin (PDF)

May 18, 2012

This morning, Postal Service headquarters released a list of Post Offices that will be upgraded under the new Post Office Structure Plan (POStPlan.) More than 4,600 lower level offices will be upgraded to EAS 18 offices. The list also includes Level 51 -53 offices that will be upgraded to career 6 hour offices. Incumbent Postmasters in the upgraded offices will receive a letter notifying them of their upgraded status. These Postmasters will receive a 2% salary increase or slotted into the minimum salary range of the new level, as a result of the upgrade

Click here for a list of upgraded offices Post Office Upgrades

Charlie Moser
May 18, 2012

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

In a meeting today at USPS headquarters, an agreement was reached between NAPUS, the League of Postmasters and Postal Service representatives that POStPlan related questions from Postmasters will be forwarded to postal headquarters. A response to each question will be posted on the NAPUS website and on the USPS HR page on LiteBlue.

All senders of email questions pertaining to POStPlan, will receive an acknowledgement that their email was received at the NAPUS national office, and they will be told where to look for the response. This process should provide NAPUS members with timely and consistent answers to their questions.

NAPUS members are encouraged to visit the NAPUS POStPlan page on the website to view currently posted FAQs and other POStlplan information prior to submitting questions.

Charlie Moser
May 16, 2012

In order to better address the many phone and email inquiries that members have about the Post Office Structure Plan and VER related issues, the NAPUS website will add a dedicated link for the POStPlan program. The link will include postings of questions and answers, updates on POStPlan, and detailed information on VERs, incentives and RIF procedures. The page will go live tomorrow afternoon (Friday, May 11, 2012.) Active Postmasters are encouraged to visit the site for updates and information on POStPlan. You may see an answer to your question on the new link, visit http://www.napus.org/.

Charlie Moser
May 10, 2012

May 09, 2012
Nat. League of Postmasters

PMG Announces POStPlan at Media Briefing

As you are aware, this morning, Postmaster General Pat Donahoe and Chief Operating Officer Megan Brennan held a press conference regarding the Postal Service’s plan to keep rural post offices open while addressing the declining mail volumes and declining revenue. This new program is called the POStPlan which stands for Post Office Structure Plan.

This plan will impact over 13,000 offices. Currently, 9,500 of these offices are served by an incumbent Postmaster. Congress is considering over 25 bills to protect rural post offices but, unfortunately none protect Postmasters.

The POStPlan matches SOV/CSV earned hours to hours of operation. In a nutshell those offices that do not earn full-time staffing will be reduced to part-time offices. All level 16 and below offices will be evaluated on FY/11 SOV/CSV data and levels modified according to earned hours based on revenue and workload.

Some offices will receive upgrades with over 4,500 to be upgraded to level 18 offices while others will be downgraded according to the earned hours. There are some exceptions to the earned hours based on geographic locations.

Those that are downgraded will be called Remote Manage Post Offices (RMPOs) and will report to another Administrative Post Office (APO) under this new plan.

Offices earning 1.99 hours or less on SOV will be reclassified as a 2-hour office staffed with a PMR.

Offices earning 2-3.99 hours will be classified as a 4-hour office and staffed by a PMR.

Offices earning 4-5.74 will be a 6-hour offices staffed by a part-time career Postmaster much like the EPM 6 in the past.

Offices earning 5.75 or more will be level 18 offices.

We have an SOV eLearning training video to assist with this computation on our website. How to compute POStPlan earned hours SOV-CSV eLearning training

It is important to note that no office with an incumbent Postmaster will be impacted for two full years. Hours of operation as well as salary and level will not change during that time.

The Postal Service will be offering an incentive for eligible EAS Postmasters and Vera eligible EAS Postmasters in the very near future. The third option available for impacted Postmasters will be two rounds of limited competition posting and awarding of jobs. This means that only Postmasters will be able to apply for vacant positions at this time and more to be made available through the early out incentives.

This is a very tough time for Postmasters and there will be many questions that come out of this program. The LEAGUE is continuing to work with Postal Headquarters to minimize the impact, answer the questions that arise from the process and work to get impacted Postmasters that have no choice placed in a position. The Postmaster General has stated he will do everything possible to take care of incumbent Postmasters.

There were over 17,728 Postmaster positions at stake and both LEAGUE and NAPUS have done everything possible to keep these jobs within the Postmaster ranks. Although it may seem hollow now, we have done everything possible to keep a post office in every rural community that chooses to keep its post office and to protect universal service regardless of where you consider home in America.

Your National Board, State Presidents as well as Area Coordinators have all been given a more detailed explanation of the POStPlan. They too are available to answer your questions.

Today, the Postal Service announced a final Postmaster Pay Package for FY- 2011-2015. After spending more time consulting on the extended pay talks than was spent on the original consultation process, improvements to the previously announced package were achieved. While the original pay package offered no assurances for PFP rating applications to salaries, the new package provides assurances for PFP rating applications to salaries in Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015. PFP rating applications to salaries in FY 2013 will be subject to the Postal Service’s review of compensation practices throughout the United States economy.

The revised pay package provides for a 9% increase in contributions towards the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHP) plan over a 3 year period, as opposed to a 9% increase over a two year period in the original package. Details on the pay package can be found here PMPayPackage2011_2015

An important nationwide announcement will be made to all Postmasters this evening, with details to be provided tomorrow. Please check Breaking News on the NAPUS website for information as it becomes available tomorrow. Please check the NAPUS website on the Breaking News link.

Charlie Moser
May 8, 2011

NAPUS Executive Director Charlie Moser and Government Relations Director Bob Levi attended the USPS Board of Governors (BOG) meeting today in Washington, D.C.

Postal officials reported that service performance scores reached record high levels in some categories and all Customer Experience Measurement indicators reflected improvement. First Class and Standard mail volume was down, but there was good news as parcel post volume increased at a better rate than those at UPS and FedEx.

Board Chairman, Thurgood Marshall said that in coming weeks, the Postal Service will provide detailed plans describing the steps it intends to take regarding rural Post Offices. He said “We are committed to pursuing cost reduction strategies in a thoughtful way, and we believe these announcements will lay to rest many of the concerns about our path going forward.” Chairman Marshall further stated “The Board of Governors is committed to serving rural America and to preserving the role of the Postal Service in every American community.”

Postmaster General, Pat Donahoe said that the Postal Service will inform customers and employees of what the Postal Service’s plans are and allow them time to prepare, by proceeding in a methodical and measured manner. He also said that he would ensure that employees were provided with the information they need so they can make informed decisions about their options within the Postal Service.

NAPUS President Bob Rapoza will be meeting with high level postal officials at USPS headquarters next week. Postmasters are urged to check the NAPUS website on a daily basis, concerning detailed plans regarding rural Post Offices.

Charlie Moser
May 4, 2012

Last week, the Senate overwhelmingly passed bipartisan postal relief legislation (S. 1789). Now, the Senate-passed bill moves across Capitol Hill to the House of Representatives, where it is already receiving an icy-cold reception from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrel Issa, who is promoting his own bill (H.R. 2309). Issa’s legislation faces numerous challenges, including the absence of bipartisan support and deep concern among rural district House members. Also, the House poses stiff obstacles for any postal legislation, due to its overly rigid budgetary PAYGO rules. Nevertheless, today, the authors of the bipartisan Senate bill sent to House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi a letter urging prompt House consideration of postal relief legislation. Click here to view the press release and letter.

Also, NAPUS posted its most recent issue of the eNAPUS Legislative and Political Bulletin. The issue discusses Senate consideration of S. 1789. House Committee-approved postal and federal employee benefits cuts. Click here to view latest edition of the eNAPUS Bulletin.