No Quorum for USPS!
Issues to Watch Coming Out-of-the-Gate
Upon adjournment, the departing Congress left it to the next Congress to fill the 6 vacant Postal Board of Governor slots. Consequently, USPS governance, for the timing being, is being conducted by a temporary 3-member committee. Additionally, when the 114th Congress convenes on January 5, a number of pivotal issues will dominate first few months of the year that may target the postal and federal workforce. Finally, retirement benefits could be at risk.
… unlike previous years, Congress will likely use an expedited legislative process — Budget Reconciliation — to reduce the federal budget deficit by slashing “entitlement” spending, which includes federal retirement benefits.Under reconciliation rules, the Senate needs only a simple majority to change the law and force cuts. Ordinarily, legislation is subject to a filibuster, which requires 60 votes to invoke cloture. Moreover, to the extent that the Congressional Budget Office can project budget savings to postal legislation, it is quite conceivable that such legislation could seep into the budget reconciliation process.
To read about these important issues link to the last eNAPUS Legislative & Political Bulletin for 2014.
Let’s be for real. Why do Federal Employees and Retirees vote for Republicans when stuff like this happens every time they come into a majority?
Federal employees and retirees should vote to elect a Congress that supports our views. This is our real problem.
That’s a nice thought. But it will have no effect on retirement. OPM handles retirement.
If I were your President an this bill cross my desk from the GOP? I’d veto it with my Special KMA Seal.
Maybe hq mgmt. needs to shut down their private gym, and get rid of their two private chauffeurs to save money, eh ?
Bonzo correctly points out just one of the obvious but inexplicable facts that the USPS is very “top heavy” and a private entity would have returned those to Craft in lieu of PSE hirings. The other Elephant in the room of course is the prefunding debacle.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Read the USPS White Papers. They have been openly talking about this for years. The goal as stated in the White Papers is to rip up existing contracts, reduce wages in half, disband the union, kick all USPS off health coverage & switch over to Medicare, reduce the workforce by one third, and eventually have 80% part time help with no benefits. They’re already moving ahead with plant closures. Saturday delivery is next.
To any postal employee that voted Republican, now you will see how much you’ve been duped. To Republicans, the Constitution is for guns and keeping Terry Schiavo alive; NOT for protecting the constitutionally mandated Post Office. They hate unions and they hate government employees. Guess how this is going to end, (and it is going to happen quickly).
110,000 postal mismanagers (45 Vice Presidents) vs 350,000 workers=ratio of 1 to 3.5……the mismgt payroll and15 plus layers of deadwood are killing the place. name one Fortune 500 company that has 1 mgt for 3.5 workers? many po mismgt jobs just push around and around useless paper reports to keep them in a position. the pink elephant in the room that no one ever addresses. we need a private company to come in and assess ALL po mismgt positions and make recomendations on adjustments/right sizing. last 5 years over 100,000 union positions eliminated through attrition, but no reduction of po mismanagement-absurd.
the total failure to address the bloated management infrastructure especially EAS is beyond belief. the motto seems to be: We always have too many workers but not enough management. Half of EAS needs to be cut immediately.
Most likely they will try to pass the removal of the social security bridge for fers employees retiring before 62 and they will increase the retirement amount from .8% to 2 to 2.5% deducted from your paycheck. Items they have been working on for the last several years. That’s my guess.
The crooks gotta pay for the Wall St. bailout, and the military-industrial complexes adventures somehow, eh ?
I wouldn’t put anything past Congress, especially with a GOP controlled House and Senate. I also have little if any confidence that if such a bill reducing benefits got to Obama that he’d veto it, because he’s been just as mean to federal employees as Congress.
One would hope that reduction in benefits would be incremental with new hirees getting the first reductions as there are many thousands of career folk who have paid so much and deserve to be left alone. Again, anything is possible. I don’t really see this happening yet, as opposition will be ferocious, maybe except for the NALC, who seems to have lost their collective balls and were the one union to offer congratulations to Pat Donahoe upon his retirement announcement while the others, mainly the APWU, told the PM good riddance.
I just don’t know what the NALC is trying to accomplish here. Good relations are fine if both parties are responsible and reliable, but what did management do to deserve the ass kissing given by the NALC?