Perspective on Postal Reform from the Mail Handlers Union
Prospects for postal reform took a nose dive this week, when the White House and many major mailers jointly proposed amendments to the pending bills that could cut employee wages and benefits and gut the collective bargaining process. President Hegarty was responding to reports that, at a meeting earlier this week, the White House told Congressional sponsors of H.R. 22 and S. 662 that the Bush Administration will not budge on its demands to gut collective bargaining, cripple compensation for on-the-job injuries, and divert postal jobs and mail to private companies.

Furthermore, the White House wants the USPS (actually, its employees) to suffer the consequences of any unusual cost increases, such as the recent spike in fuel costs, incurred by the Postal Service. The added cost, the mailers suggest, should come out of the hide of employees. Interestingly, some of these same mailer CEO’s protect their bloated salaries by routinely adding price surcharges or product increases for a variety of reasons, including fuel costs. The mailers sent this letter at the same time that they ostensibly were working with employee groups to find a mutually acceptable and equitable solution to such "exigency" situations. Those negotiations have crumbled.

"It is sad that major mailers, who rely on our members to process and deliver their product, have decided to take this path," stated President Hegarty. "In their greed, they seek to make their own profits and salaries immune from cost increases, but at the same time want to cut our members wages. We will not stand by idly if that is the path they have chosen."

—NMPHU



Pay-for-Performance Program
Postmasters, executives, supervisors and administrative workers in many cases are seeing higher annual raises and bonuses under the U.S. Postal Service’s nearly 3-year-old pay-for-performance system than they did under the previous system. Increases are averaging 5 percent under the new system, compared with 4 percent previously. As evidence that the new system is working to the benefit of the Postal Service, Anthony Vegliante pointed to productivity increases—the agency’s own formula for what it calls "total factor productivity"—that saw increases of 1 percent in 2002; 1.8 percent in 2003; 2.4 percent in 2004, the first year of the new pay system; and 1.1 percent in 2005.

—Federal Times