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Friday Message – April 30, 2021

Pay Consultations – Last week we received the pay talk proposals from Postal Service Headquarters and early this week we submitted the proposals that the pay talk committee had put together to the USPS.    We have our first meeting to open discussion on the issues next Tuesday.   As I have stated previously, our goal and the goal of the representatives from the Postal Service is that we can have the pay talk process concluded by the end of July.     As I have stated previously, we will not be able to share information until the process is completed and we have received the final pay package from the USPS.  At that time, I will share as much information as possible.

Chapter Conventions – Our Chapter Convention season continues to move forward.    So far at the five conventions I have had the honor of attending the attendance has been great and we have had a total of thirty-four first timers that have joined us.   If your chapter’s convention has not yet taken place, I would encourage you to make plans to take advantage of the opportunity to hear from leaders of UPMA, as well as leaders from the Postal Service and have your questions answered on the issues that are of concern at this time.

Restructuring – There continue to be many questions in the field regarding what the plans are going forward regarding the District restructuring.    For those of you that are affected and are not certain what your future holds and what position you will have, I do not have any new information.   I know that the plans are being finalized at the Headquarters level and it is my understanding that there will be an announcement, or a series of announcements, early in May regarding what the future district structure will look like.    As I have stated previously, the leadership at Headquarters continues to put together a plan that will assist everyone in finding a position within the Postal Service if you are not in a position that you want to retire at this time.    With that said, the position you have going forward may not be the position you are currently in, or the one that you necessarily want to retire from; however, there should be a landing spot for you to go into and then be able to watch for future opportunities to find the position of your dreams.

Postal Reform Legislation – We continue to be optimistic that there will actually be a Postal Reform Bill put forward in the House in the next few weeks.    The Government Relations Team and I continue to work with various members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee to do our best to build bipartisan support when a bill is finally introduced.    While the bill that is introduced may not be the comprehensive bill we were once hoping for, this bill (if it comes out with some of the provisions, we know they are looking at) will be a good step forward and will accomplish a number of the changes that are needed to assist the Postal Service in moving forward.

Emergency Federal Employee Leave (EFEL) – As of now, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), has not issued the guidelines on this leave and how it will affect us as Postal employees.    We have posted the latest letter from Chief Human Resources Officer, Doug Tulino, on our website if you need more information on how to handle requests for this type of leave at this time.     The latest memorandum extends the interim process that Mr. Tulino had previously put in place until May 7, 2021.    Please see the letter on the website for more information.

As always, stay safe, stay healthy and practice the CDC recommended guidelines.

Have a good week!

Dan Heins
UPMA National President