From Reuters:::
Posted 2009/03/20 at 2:13 pm EDT...Mar. 20, 2009 (Reuters) — "The U.S. Postal Service said on Friday it is closing six of its 80 district offices. In addition, administrative staff positions at district level nationwide are being reduced by 15 percent and nearly 150,000 employees nationwide being given opportunity to take an early retirement."
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150,000 facing EARLY retirement ?????? An "Opportunity"??? Or Pink Slip ? This story has barely gotten mentioned in the news, and yet it impacts so many thousands. I am wondering have ALL options been examined to help this situation ? Reduced hours ? Different schedules ? Merging Offices.
AND YET The Bonus Question Once again Rears it's ugly head......Postal General is still giving Bonuses even in these Economically struggling times.... In this February 19th article we learn that even though the Post Service has lost over 2 Billion dollars the Management rewarded themselves with Bonuses....even though there is No Performance that deserves Rewarding ? Read the snippet below...
"As the U.S. Postal Service considers cutting delivery service in the face of dwindling mail volume and rising costs, the postmaster general received a big pay raise and a performance bonus last year, all authorized by Congress.Postmaster General John Potter's base salary climbed to $265,000 last year from $186,000 in 2007. He also received a performance bonus of $135,000. In all his total compensation -- salary, bonuses, retirement benefits and other perks -- topped $850,000, a spokesman with the U.S. Postal Service told FOXNews.com on Wednesday.
At the same time, the Postal Service, an independent federal agency, is crumbling alongside the economy and as online communications increase competition. The Postal Service lost $2.8 billion last year when total mail volume recorded 202 billion pieces of mail, its largest single drop in history -- down more than 9 billion pieces from a year earlier."
6 comments:
If they are taking early retirement it won't be bad... that's what dad did and they get like 80% of their retirement and full benefits... then when they get age 65 I think it is they go to 100%... so it's not all that bad... and they are well paid trust me... even dad was getting quite a bit and he retired 20 years ago.
well...that is some good news Annette- I hope that is the way of it....
enigma: Whoa, whoa, girl! You make it sound so outrageous. Didn't everyone get a 42.4% raise in 2007 PLUS a 72.5% BONUS?? What the hell are you trying to do here -- foment a Revolution??!!
(Whoops, sorry, getting drowsy again. I'll just reset my snooze alarm for another 12 years, 6 mos, and 37 days.)
(what happens in 2020, Dada? some kind of planet-killing asteroid, the mayan idea of a new cycle ... will a snooze alarm work without electricity ... I have questions)
I have lots of beefs about the post office, but not about their existence. That big a cut-back better result in my receiving less junk mail. Maybe the laid off postal workers will have a leg up on all those landfill recylcing jobs. But seriously, the only postal workers I personally know really do work long hard hours at a repetitive and mostly thankless job ... for the job security and benefits. Take that away & the quality of the whole postal system will deteriorate even faster ... but my mail box will still be full of printed ads just in case I missed the TV ads, radio ads, billboard ads, and email bursts.
Somewhat on topic-- I never understood when the PO rolled out their *Nature Series* stamps, half of the sticky spaces on the sheet were throw aways, not stamps- they came on a piece of cardboard backing, the sheet of stamps, covered in cellophane???
Had they really strayed away from the original *nature theme* to begin with?
All that excess packaging seems wasteful- as in it costs extra money AND environmentally. The irony of the Nature Series.
I'd be pissed if I put in a lifetime of work & only got 80% of my retirement pay ~ I guess the tradeoff is retiring earlier.
Fran:::
I am not sure what they are going to get...or be offered...But one of them lives in my hood- I am sure I will get the update..( he come and sees me at the store....I know he was bummed...) But I did link in the Article about HOW Bonuses are handed out there too....hmmm...
DK:::
I am just confused how they could be in such a rut...I think that it is about mismanagement...and mistakes...
and yeah....hmmm what is Dada talking about??? I am curious...very..
Dada:::
hmmm, okay so what happens in 2020...and yeah. I am curious...okay...so about the bonuses...yeah- I guess everyone needed one huh ? the PO ?? and hmmm, would a revolution solve any of this ? I am sick of the repugs trying to stop any kind of change or regulation...and their efforts to continuing to enrich the rich....
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