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Postal Service employees will receive pay raise in December
U.S. Postal Service employees will see a wage boost when Dec. 11 pay checks are distributed, as the latest in a series of raises took effect on Nov. 21.
The increase is part of a 2006 agreement with unions, which also includes cost-of-living adjustments subject to economic conditions. Employees represented by the American Postal Workers and National Postal Mail Handlers unions will receive a 1.2 percent pay raise. Members of the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association and the National Association of Letter Carriers will see 1.5 percent and 1.9 percent raises, respectively. Due to the recession, there will be no COLAs.
This is the final increase under the APWU and NRLCA contracts, which are set to expire Nov. 20, 2010. NALC and NPMHU members, whose agreements extend to Nov. 20, 2011, will receive their last pay raise in November 2010.
"At a time when the Postal Service is experiencing severe financial difficulties, the contractual commitment must be honored, and the required 1.2 percent pay increase must be paid," said APWU President William Burrus in a statement.
The Postal Service early last week reported a $3.8 billion loss for fiscal 2009 despite several cost-cutting measures. Most notably, the agency reduced work hours by 115 million, the equivalent of 65,000 full-time employees, and cut $4 billion in retiree health benefit payments. Officials in 2010 expect a net loss of $7.8 billion and plan to cut an additional 93 million work hours, equal to 53,000 full-time employees, through attrition and reassignment of personnel.
The Postal Service during the next year also will consider reducing delivery days and changing retiree health benefits' pre-funding requirements, said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Corbett. Going to five-day delivery is "not enough in and of itself to right the ship," he said. "We need at least two changes in order to get back on track."
According to Postal Service officials, the pay raise was reflected in the budgeting process and will have no additional bearing on the agency's financial situation.
USPS on Nov. 20 announced that 241 stations and branches remain under consideration for consolidation or closure, though no final decisions have been made.
COMMENTS
- The problem is not the post office or the employees. Who controls our lives? Congress and the President. There the ones that are taxing us to death and we fight each other while congress laughs and get fatter. They give away trillions each year to other counties. best start fighting congress! wayne Posted January 8, 2010 3:07 PM
- First off all let me begin by saying I have work in many parts of the post office. As an employee of the post office I can tell you that the raise may seem like alot to some of you but have you ever carried mail in the heat of San antonio or phoenix? Most of you probably have to run to your vehicle to get out of the blazing sun. Yeah that's right walking around in 100+ degree temperatures with sometimes a 40lb bag on your shoulder for 8 hours or more. Now we could talk about the cold up north too but I think you get my point. And try going to FedX or UPS with a single letter and see how much they want to charge you to deliver it from one corner of the country to the other. Wow 44 cents for a service, where else can you pay 44 cents and get service across the country. But hey something keeps people coming back because we have been here for 200 years. And by the way all you who want to talk bad about the post of remember this, when is the last time you didn't get any mail. Because no matter rain, sleet, snow, dark of night, traffic conditions, dogs, rundown neighborhoods, Christmas mail volume it doesn't matter we deliver to EVERY HOUSE EVERY DAY!!!! Jerry Posted December 17, 2009 12:39 PM
- Postal workers do NOT deserve a raise. In fact they should take a pay cut with the invent of e-mail. They process less mail and deliver less mail then 1yr ago. I feel that they are just a bunch of lazy slobs with their hand out. Really what do they do. Sell stamps. Please. Carry a bag of paper, oh you poor things. All I hear is winning from the postal worker or one of them shooting someone. Go out and get a real job and feel better about yourself. Lazy POS. Quite 1 Posted December 17, 2009 10:27 AM
