The U.S. Postal Service will offer retirement incentives if it is allowed to make cost-cutting moves like eliminating Saturday delivery, its CEO told a Congressional panel today.
Rep. Dennis Ross, chairman of the House subcommittee overseeing postal legislation, stated that USPS needs to lose nearly 150,000 employees via attrition "to rightsize the expenditure side of the Postal Service." He asked Postmaster General Pat Donahoe whether he would offer employees retirement incentives to make that happen.
"We do plan on issuing some incentives based on the fact that we make some changes in our operation," Donahoe responded during a hearing. "As we shrink the network, as we move from six- to five-day delivery, we would put in some incentive money to move people along."
He did not specify what sort of incentives would be offered or how they would be funded. Nor did he state whether retirement incentives would be offered if Congress blocks some of his cost-cutting proposals.
"We think that by the year 2015 we need to be at about 400,000 career employees," Donahoe said. USPS has about 545,000 career employees today. About 155,000 are eligible to retire now, and another 100,000 are scheduled to become eligible within the next five years, he said.
"It's critical for us to move the headcount down but at the same time we've got a lot of non-career people on our rolls who are less expensive to work with but they are also younger people. If we had to take them off the workforce they would end up unemployed, and I don't want to do that," the PMG added.
The hearing, Can a USPS-run Health Plan Solve Its Financial Crisis?, was called to focus on the Postal Service's proposal that it be allowed to offer its own healthcare plan for employees and retirees.
But Donahoe presented that proposal within the context of the various efforts to reduce USPS's costs in light of declining mail volumes. (See USPS Seeks 'Soft Landing' For Downsized Employees, Donahoe Says for more about his prepared testimony.) If Congress takes no action on the various proposals, USPS will run out of cash in October 2013, Donahoe predicted.
"This is much more of an issue of a crisis of confidence about the postal industry than it is just our cash flow," he said, to which Ross replied, "I agree."
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57 comments:
Now the PMG is holding the Postal sub-committee hostage. PMG,is basically saying, I can't give you any figures on buy-outs unless you approve 5 day delivery; but you come to the panel with a plan of devising your own health propgram. Rep Ross' reply should have been to the PMG, is that we have an offer to you, an involuntray retirement now!
been out 6 months. waited 1 yr before that for something to happen. 6 months of my life was well worth every min. not going to 8 hrs. of nothing but negativity. stay and be miserable or leave and use those 8 hrs a day for what you want, not what they want.
Maybe Mr. Donahoe should just " move along" . He will be the ruination of the USPS .
Woe!! Back the Heck up!!! Did the PMG actually say that, "If we take them (the non-career) off the workforce, they would end up unemployed, and I don't want that."
Are you kidding?? Non-career employees take these positions knowing they have no guarantees--no set hours-- no nothing. Why are we worried about them? My fellow Postmasters and I are from small offices, and why doesn't HE care if we are unemployed? Why doesn't HE care of the mess he is making by taking away our offices in these little towns? There is no way for someone who works in a big office to know the service that we provide to small communities. What a slap in the face..when HE is more worried about the non-career than people who have given their lives to their small offices and their communities. Where is the logic here?
what happened to the incentives to retire when we close all those post offices and plants in may and june?? what will we do with all the extra people , who were displced??
Donahoe needs to go!!! Donahoe needs to retire!! He does not care about the career employees better yet the USPS. Donaho NEEDS TO GO!!!!!
@wpcurve....sounds just like an overpaid, milking the system, self entitlement postmaster to me. Yes RCA's take a non-career job with the hopes of becoming full-time one day. But with the lack of people not retiring its a 8-12 year wait. You need to look at the service in a bigger aspect than what you are. With the problems the post office is facing, why would they not want to get rid of higher paid individuals and use lower wage. That would SAVE MONEY. They should not have to pay someone to retire. 20 years and done!
Why is the vsip amount 25,000? That code is very old and needs to be updated with todays cost of living.When it was written it may have been something,but not now.
Incentives? If the republicans in congress get their way, the only incentives we retirement eligible employees will see are spelled out in their house bill: high-three will become the high-five; facilities will be closed; employees will be excess-ed fifty or more miles away from their former offices. That's right! Just push us right out the door. NOOOO! Donahoe and your co-conspirators, Ross, Issa and the rest of their cohorts! WE NO NEED YOUR STINKING KIND OF INCENTIVES!!!!!
Just give us back the monies you took from the USPS with The P.A.E.A. law that you guys passed in the lame duck session of congress, back in 2006. Then offer us a respectable incentive like the the [hope to be amended] bipartisan bill being proposed in the sen[sible]ate.
Good trade off. Money to leave in exchange for 5 day delivery. Employees will take it. The only ones against this will be the unions because their coffers will be depleted with less lemmings paying dues. But...who cares? It's every man for himself!
One cannot believe or rely on anything Donahoe say in a haring or any other manner of conversation! Its clear with all proposals indications tht he does not care anything about continued timely mail delivery service to customers or the plight of thousands of postal workers that rely on it as their livlihoods! Donahoe needs to be the first ne displaced and removed! Congress the country is watching and waiting for you to make postive and timely decisions concerning keeping the postal service solvent!
63 and ready to go money plus more years idiots
is it just me, or does donahoe claim the usps will go broke every year? as that year approaches, donahoe moves it back a year. now the "new" date is oct of 2013. i believe donahoe claimed sept 2011, then sept/oct 2012, now, we are are "definitely" going broke in oct 2013!...lol donahoe is a fool. he lies and exagerates the gloom and doom trying to get his way. no one takes him serious because of the
lies/distortions he has said in the past. donahoe needs to go. he has become a distraction and a "joke."
25,000 in nothing! We want years added to the Vera!
25,000 is nothing! Give us 5 years to Fers and Donahoe will see people moving!
JUST GIVE ME 5 YEARS AND $20,000.00 AND I WILL GO RIGHT NOW.
when my son-in-law hit the 20 year mark in the air force, they told him what day he would retire. like it or not. buy buy
the post office should do the same.
also wpcurve sounds as though he/she has already been with the post office two long.
They told your son-in-law to retire because he wasnt making rank. He was dead weight.
The younger people need to go. They are why we are in this mess. They pay there bills on line, they talk on line, they text message everyone. The older people are the ones who are keeping the USPS going.
bye bye anonymous!
show me the money
Offer 50K for FER to VER
What a crock of bull!! Donahoe should go is true. But another one just like him will take his place. This whole thing stinks to high heaven! VERA incentives for 5 day delivery? The American public is not going to want to trade getting their mail 6 days a week for early retirement. Cut those 38 executives pay in half! I mean, we are in a time of crisis, right? If everyone has to do their part then Donahoe should lead by example.
the younger people need to go? is that a serious statement? I am 28 years old myself but have a family memeber who works in the postal service as well as myself. I started the old fashion way on my 18th birthday became a casual and plugged away at it untill i made regular. Let me say this i have an older crowd in my office. A few over the age of 60 and while i thank you for your services to our country lets be serious its time for these elderly workers to hang it up. If you are over 60 and have 30 years in lets be serious your time is up the only reason your not retiring is because you know your not going to get the kind of money your getting now to do your "bid" with that being said we are in a new Postal Service the days of have one set bid are over. although old timers will sit and complain about being pulled of there bid due to "needs of the service" In my opinion they had there time in todays Postal Service they are one trick pony with not much use at this point. Thank you for your service, retire go home and enjoy your life. You have these regulars soaking up OT while NTFT'S are stck trying to raise a family on 30 hours. It's time for the people who could have retired 2 years ago to call and quits and get a hobby.
Hey show me the money
I hope you never get older
To the young guy who is saying the older ones need to go. You Will get old one day so good luck when you do. You are a self serving smart ass who doesn't realize the old timers put up with all kinds of crap for a great many year. Everyone knows it is mismanagement that put them in the positon they are it. That and greed from the powers that be. Leave the old timers alone. They may want to leave but because of health needs of family members they stay for the health insurance not for the love anymore. You cannot conceive what it is like to give your life and loyalty to one company. Those days are over.
The way to offer incentives and get the biggest bang for the buck is: Add 5 years of age!!! This is where you would save money. 5 years x 50,000 = 250,000.00 per employee excluding benefits. The post office would not have pony up any cash.
old guys vs. young guys: in our office its the 55 -60 year olds and older,who show up every day ,who only bang in when they are sick, and clean up after all the whining 20 somethings can't do they job. most of my o.t. is when the young ones can't do the simplest jobs. go to any mall or store and just look and see what the young workers have become. that is not to say all of them, but the lack of a good work ethic and a sense of entitlement is embarasing.
I am not going anywhere unless they give me something that is REAL good........After all the years putting up with crap i can do it for a few more .....MAX out Civil Service
So it must be nice to be a 28 year old know it all (SHOW ME THE MONEY).It may surprise you that we older folk took a bath in the recent downturn just as young people did. Actually it's worse because many are working to help other family members who may not have faired as well. Also their is less time to try and get assets in order when your an old loser, time is not on our side.
The current 60+ generation that continues on, for whatever reason, should be thanked rather than cursed.
Long story short....most aren't just hangin' out at work because they want to.Belive it or not?!
just for the record... us "older" folks don't owe you anything... we've done our time, but some of us are still too young to retire.. 55, 56, 57, BUT if they will come to us with a good faith offer, something that will really make a difference in our futures (which is what we are working for, afterall) they will see a mass exodus! a lot of us still have 10 years or more in us and we can make it... so you "young" guys TAKE A BREATH.. we will leave when we get good and .... ready... when it is in OUR best interest... we have worked many years (for me 33, but only 56)and tried to build something and we are not leaving until we are ready
I hope all the OLD carriers retire soon! Anymore it takes them 10 hours to do a 3 hour riding route. While they holdout for a buyout, meanwhile their thrift savings plan, pension, IRA, 401K, and social security isn't enough for them. The baby boomers are nothing but $ hunger babies
Donahoe is obviously a sick individual. He should be publicly drawn an quartered. I'd pay to watch.
That's what Congress should've done from the start.. Put that union hater and jobs destroyer FAT FUCK under oath.... Now that Postal service will be broke sometime in 2013.. Didn't Donut- hole say we'd be broke this summer???? He keeps changing his story!!!! Why isn't he fired for lying and creating such a panic???? Close post offices to save a few million dollars but we'll be losing billions when customers go elsewhere... Don't you just love postal math...
A attractive plan solutions especially who are retired from work.
If the USPS needs to lose 150,000 people, institute a MANDATORY drug test like we should have. You would have more than 150k leaving!!
Besides the Republican Reductionist agenda, they'd like to steel all the retirement funds too. I am that $9.00 an hour non career Post Master Relief and Donahue is making more than the Secretary of Defense. I'm not staying in this position for Wal Mart wages. Kiss Middle class goodbye here. Oh, I have to laugh they are hiring janitors for more money than PMR's.
I carried mail for 20 plus years. Carriers earn every nickle they make. I now work in a plant. I was shocked to see people leave for hours on the clock on a daily basis, people sleeping most of the night on the clock and some employees only report to work a few months out of the year. This in my opinion, is where the cut backs need to start. Get rid of the dead weight!!!
Did i just read the article right? It is an issue to Donohoe that there are non career people working who they do not want to put out of work. You have got to be kidding me. What about the people who have given their lives to the service and with the plans they have will end up out of work. People who are still young, thank you very much. As for people who can retire. One does tire watching them limp in (some not all) and hold up positions others could occupy but I do not blame them for hanging on given the way the USPS is treating everyone. Why not at this point. I do hope there is a resonably good incentive for these people. They deserve it but at the same time they will play into managements hands and hang in there causing someone elese to be offered TImbucktoo and then go in another year or two. Then the PO will be rid of both, an older employee and the younger career person who needed the job for another 10-15 years. What a mess!
My P. O. HIRING LOTS OF PSE'S thought they were broke! Give me money, money, money, and I will leave got time and age show me something to make me go if not I will be like a slug taking my time, now is that so hard for them to understand damn.
to Mr. downahole, if you want to save and earn money for next year,give $25K + 5 years to 50-59FERS. otherwise wait and see you file chapter 11. lol......
I agree with you wholeheartedly. These "youngsters" need to show us so-called old timers some respect! We have watched the Postal Service go from a once proud place to work, to an embarrassment.
when GM got their bailout,one of the congressional requirements was that the CEO Rick Wagner(I believe), was required to resign. When Congress approves a bill to restructure the P.O., I hope the same rule applies to Donahue and all his postal cronies!
I'm one of those older guys who's banging one of the younger 22 year old female carrier. The job keeps her firm and tight. Seems the younger crowd of males in the office are either gay, stoned or wouldn't know what to do with her if she reported naked to work. So, I can't retire and leave her with that crowd so I'm staying. Besides...I still have plenty of Viagra!
Hey I am over 62 And don't nothing piss me off more than some 20 Something telling me I should leave, 15 Years on Lsm 15 Manual, I will leave when I get ready young punks.
28+ years as an LSM, FSM, AFSM, SPBS, Reg room, Express mail, manual flat & letters...There is no FUN at the post office. I am dedicated, I do my job. My Plant Mgr (15 over the last 10 yrs.) Supervisors, other Managers, get paid for violating postal policies/rules, and general stupidity every damn day, mostly my supervisors spend their day booking their next cruises on the postal computers, while on the postal clock, then they have the nerve to tell their boss that "THEY" got the mail our, really? WE got the mail out in spite of their laziness, and lack of knowledge about what it is we do everyday, and they make the BIG money, not US. give me 5 years and I'm gone I'm tired of being used so someone else can get a better job with more money and less work
You know, you are right about the supervisors and postmaster. We do the work; they get the credit and the unions don't do a dam thing about it. So, who is worse?
anonymous said...The PMG keeps saying we will run out of money soon.How come they keep hiring more PSE'S.Sounds like he wants to ruin the organization.
How can the USPS keep hiring people when the PMG claims we are running out of money. Go figure.
I've seen many changes over the past 34 years. Many of the younger generation hired has no work ethics. They also can't even make standards, while the older ones are making there times and helping the young ones who can't seem to get done. I also read that btween 1995 and 2006 the post office downsized appox. 150,000 employes, but management went up about 1200. Shouldn't management go down the same percentage as the clerks and carrier crafts.
When MGMT decides to give money incentives to the workers instead of lame MGMT for GOOD IDEAS, Then
the Sevice might make there way back into the BLACK... But it will never HAPPEN....
hey quit blaming the Republicans. The Democrats have done nothing and were in complete charge of Congress and the Presidency. Obama bailed his union thugs in Detroit who make way more than we do and get paid %90 to stay home for a year. Why don't we have a lawsuit against the U.S. Government fot stealing that prepaid money? Has Obama done anything on our behalf. Heck our unions are weaker than ever. Management just runs over the employee and they just sit on their ass. What a waste.
boots,
not true! in our office we are lucky enough to have young workers who have a good work ethic! they usually pick up the slack for a few slackers who are not older employees!These are employees who know how to work the system!We are in a new day and age and need to adapt to help this business succeed! if it doesn't .....we don't!I feel bad for our unhappy employees! My wife was in the P.O. years ago and left with the thought that she had never worked in a place that was soooo negative! negativity breeds negative results! Don't worry...Be happy and chill on the older workers! signed 53 yr old looking for a vera to save a youngins job!!!
With 25 yrs as a city carrier and very close to 50 yrs old, I'm begging for opportunity to get out. I've had enough, all the cut throat, backdoor deals that go on in my office has done me in. With 17 city routes, it's a guessing game every morning. Few carriers are granted immunity to less, far less than others, while others are given impossible work loads. The union is no help, they just help the deadbeats get away with doing less. The TE's do the most work and will be the 1st ones gone. But our fine regulars don't have a problem burying them with all their work. It used to be a great place to work (when everyone did their own job), now it's a great place "not" to work.
10 carriers have over 30 years and 4 with over 40 in my office that wont retire and waiting for whatt ?? $25,000 what a joke if you have that much time in and need $25,000 $17,500 after taxes you got problems and you`ll retire when your dead !!!!!
Just offer the 5/20 plan and people will fly out of the post office.
A good incentive would really help so that adults will have the chance to enjoy their stay in a community like ny retirement community. All the amenities and long term care would be really needed as we grow older.
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