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2006 Seven Pack Conference

6920 Pueblo  Wichita KS  

 945-9430

Christine Pruitt 

President

 E-MAIL

Seven-State Postal Workers Conference

Meet in Wichita February 17-19

  More than two hundred American Postal Workers Union members from seven states met in Wichita February 17-19.

On Thursday, national President William Burrus addressed the group focusing on the upcoming national negotiations with the USPS. Also speaking to the conference were Vice President Cliff Guffey and Secretary-Treasurer Terry Stapelton.

Take a look at photos from the coference.

Senate Approves Postal Reform Measure

Conferees Will Decide Fate of Key Provisions

APWU News Bulletin #02-2006, Feb. 9, 2006

The Senate approved a postal reform bill by “unanimous consent” Feb. 9, taking reorganization of the USPS one step closer to reality. Before the legislation can be sent to President Bush, however, a conference committee must be formed to resolve differences between the Senate bill (S. 662) and a similar measure (H.R. 22) approved by the House of Representatives last summer.

Because they would make the federal budget deficit appear larger under federal accounting rules, the White House opposes two key features of the House and Senate bills. The president has threatened to veto legislation that includes them.

The future of the provisions, which are among the few that were embraced by all the major stakeholders in the postal reform debate, is uncertain. Supporters include postal unions, major business mailers, and the USPS.

One provision would release from escrow approximately $3 billion the USPS saved by ending overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System; the other would return military retirement-benefit obligations to the U.S. Treasury. No other federal agency is required to pay these costs.
 

The conference committee members will decide the fate of these and other contentious issues, perhaps behind closed doors.

“Our struggle now moves to a new stage,” said APWU President William Burrus. “A lot of mischief can be made in conference committees. We must be extremely vigilant.”

Published reports indicate that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is willing to consider changes to accommodate concerns about the effect on the federal budget.

“Without these provisions, the bills are worthless,” Burrus said. “They are the saving grace of the proposed legislation.”

In a Jan. 25 update to local and state leaders, Burrus reiterated the union’s long-standing opposition to other stipulations that would “give excessive authority to a Postal Regulatory Board and that would reduce Workers’ Compensation benefits.”

Once the conference committee reconciles the House and Senate versions, the bill will be returned to both chambers for another vote.

Senators who will serve on the joint committee are Collins and fellow Republicans Ted Stevens (AK), George Voinovich (OH), Norm Coleman (MN), and Bob Bennett (UT), and Democrats Joe Lieberman (CT), Tom Carper (DE), and Dan Akaka (HI).

The House conferees have not yet been named and no date has been set for the first meeting of the House-Senate committee.

Bush Budget Proposal Addresses Postal Reform

APWU Web News Article #09-06, Feb. 10, 2006

President Bush’s budget, sent to Congress on Feb. 6, reiterated the White House position on postal “reform,” as well as other issues important to federal employees and working families. The Senate approved a postal reform bill Feb. 9; the House of Representatives approved a similar bill on July 26, 2005.

The $2.77 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2007 says the administration “supports enactment of comprehensive postal reform legislation that is fair to taxpayers, ratepayers, and Postal Service employees,” and “does not have an adverse impact on the federal budget.” [emphasis added]

The administration’s opposition to legislation that would have an impact on the budget is significant because key provisions in both the House and Senate bills would appear to increase the deficit. One provision would release from escrow approximately $3 billion the USPS saved by ending overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System. The other provision opposed by the White House would return military retirement-benefit obligations to the U.S. Treasury. No other federal agency is required to pay these costs.

The two proposals the administration opposes are among the few that were embraced by all the major stakeholders in the postal reform debate. They are supported by labor unions, large business mailers, and the Postal Service.

Workers’ Comp Cuts

The White House budget proposal also confirms that the administration will again propose legislation that would reduce Workers’ Compensation benefits for retirement-age beneficiaries and impose an up-front waiting period for benefits for federal and postal employees. The administration made similar recommendations in its 2005 and 2006 budget proposals.

The White House proposal is similar to language contained in the Senate’s postal reform bill (S. 662), which would shift a significant portion of the cost of on-the-job injuries from the USPS to postal workers. (The House version of the bill, H.R. 22, does not contain this provision.)

If the language in the Senate version of the bill is enacted, Workers’ Compensation benefits for postal workers would be eliminated when injured employees reach retirement age, as defined by the Social Security Act. As a result, affected workers essentially will be forced to retire at a lower annuity rate.

Under current Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA) rules, there is no waiting period before benefits begin. Unlike most state-run plans, FECA allows employees who suffer job-related injuries to continue to receive their regular pay for 45 days after an injury, with a three-day waiting period at the end of the continuation-of-pay period.

Both the president’s budget proposal and S. 662 would move the waiting period from the end of the continuation-of-pay period, to the beginning. The move would require employees to use annual leave, sick leave, or leave-without-pay for the first three days of on-the-job injuries. The postal reform bill would permit employees to be reimbursed for leave taken if the absence from work is “no less than 15 days.”

The APWU will continue our efforts to strip this mean-spirited measure from the postal reform legislation, and we will oppose it during the budget process, which is expected to last for several months.

Other Items

Even the USPS Doesn’t Blame This One on Us

(01/10/06) Effective Jan. 8, 2006, postage rates were increased 5.4 percent, changing the first-class rate from 37 cents to 39 cents for a single, one-ounce letter. This means it will now cost the average American citizen 2 cents more to pay their gas bills, send birthday cards, and make mortgage payments. Unlike previous rate increases, this price hike is not related to increases in USPS operational costs: It is not the result of increased energy costs for the largest vehicle fleet in the country, or increased costs for health benefits, or improved employee wages.

 Unlike previous rate increases, this price hike is not related to increases in USPS operational costs: It is not the result of increased energy costs for the largest vehicle fleet in the country, or increased costs for health benefits, or improved employee wages. Even the Postal Service doesn’t blame this rate increase on the workers!

This rate increase is the direct result of the actions — or inaction — of Congress and President Bush.

In 2002, a review by the Treasury Department revealed that the Postal Service was overpaying into the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), and that if the payments continued, the USPS would over-fund the government pension program by more than $70 billion.

However, instead of permitting the Postal Service to reduce payments to the fund, Congress required the USPS, beginning this year, to place the annual $3.1 billion payment in an escrow account that would be unavailable to pay general operating expenses.

Postal Reform legislation is pending that would release this $3.1 escrow payment and permit the Postal Service to use the funds to pay for increased operational costs, but legislative activity has stalled because the president has indicated that he will veto any legislation that returns control of this money to the Postal Service.

This rate increase is solely for the purpose of replacing the $3.1 billion currently held hostage and unavailable to be used to cover increased postal costs.

William Burrus
President