COLA
|
| 1 2 |
|
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
(This post was updated on )
In reply to this post
by kmoeman
|
||||||||
|
In reply to this post
by Postaltexan
PT, you are correct - the new COLA will be based on the figure for Jan. which comes out Feb 20. IF the COLA was figured the way that the EMA is, we would be seeing a very large drop, but the contract says that "in no event will a decline in the Index below the Base Index result in a decrease in the pay scale provided in this Agreement." (Whatever that means). The Base Index is the CPI for May 2007 which was 606.643.
The last COLA increase we got was quite large and resulted from a CPI reading of 644.303 in July 2008. For reference, the CPI figure for Nov. 2008 was 617.472. I'm expecting a further drop in the Dec. figure (again coming out this Friday), and the reading which will determine the COLA will come out Feb. 20.   Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
|
|
The consumer price index for December came out this morning, and the series that the USPS uses to calculate our COLA dropped to 610.075 from the 617.472 reading in November. Again, our last jump in the COLA was triggered by the July 2008 reading of 644.303.
Our next COLA change will be triggered by the release of January's CPI next month. For us to get an increase, the number would have to be above that 644.303 reading. I don't believe there is any chance of that, which means there will be no COLA raise. As one previous poster suggested, it wouldn't be a big surprise to see the USPS push for a COLA rollback... As poster Bob1 pointed out further back in this thread, the NALC site has a COLA watch, which they update following the release of the CPI figure. I see that they too project that there will be a 0% increase after seeing today's figure. It'd be nice if OUR assN would do something like this, but I guess they're too busy. http://www.nalc.org/news/latest/index.html Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
bob1, I think you may have been at the same count meeting I was at. Our outgoing State Steward was pushing the PAC funds very hard, and the big COLA was mentioned. Barring a total miracle, we're NOT going to get any COLA with the next adjustment (after release of the Jan CPI in mid-Feb). In fact, the way things are going, I expect the USPS to plead poverty and try to get a rollback on the previous COLA.
Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
They don't call me man OH man for nothing... LOL Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
In reply to this post
by manOman
The Consumer Price Index for January came out this morning, and the index used to calculate our COLA was 612.719. That's up a bit from the 610.075 reading we got for December, but nowhere near the 644.303 reading in July which triggered our last big COLA increase. Bottom line, there won't be a COLA increase to our pay.
The NALC site has a writeup on the COLA: http://www.nalc.org/news/latest/index.html For some reason, the NALC link doesn't seem to be working, so here's their story: Fourth Contract COLA: -0- There will be no fourth cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for letter carriers this period, under the terms of the 2006-2011 National Agreement. That's because there was no increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) between July 2008 and January 2009, based on figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) February 20, The next COLA—the fifth under the contract—will be based on any increase in CPI from January to July 2009. The last COLA was $1,497 in September 2008. There are eight COLAs included in the 2006-2011 agreement. Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
In reply to this post
by manOman
|
||||||||
|
|
In reply to this post
by manOman
From the NRLCA site tonight:
In accordance with Article 9.1.F.2 of the 2006-2010 National Agreement, COLA is calculated in January and July. Based on figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on February 20, 2009, the consumer price index (CPI-W) for January 2009 was 612.719. The CPI-W for January was below the July 2008 CPI-W of 644.303. The January 2009 Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) did not increase over the July 2008 CPI-W. Therefore, there will be no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for January 2009. From MY post on FEBRUARY 20TH: The Consumer Price Index for January came out this morning, and the index used to calculate our COLA was 612.719. That's up a bit from the 610.075 reading we got for December, but nowhere near the 644.303 reading in July which triggered our last big COLA increase. Bottom line, there won't be a COLA increase to our pay. The NALC site has a writeup on the COLA: http://www.nalc.org/news/latest/index.html ===================================== So I guess the "What's New" part of the NRLCA site should be renamed "What WAS new 10 DAYS Ago" Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
|
NJRegular, I saw your question a few days ago, but elected to wait until today's release of the CPI data to answer. In short, you are correct - we would have to see a CPI reading above the 644.303 recorded in July 2008 to get a COLA increase - note too, that that reading would have to occur in one of the trigger months (Jan. or July). Since January 2009's figure was way short, our next shot at an increase will be with the July 2009 figures (to be released in mid-Aug.). My gut feeling is that we probably won't get an increase then either - though if you look at the January & February figures, you'll see that the numbers have started to increase again. February's # was 3 higher than January. At that rate, it would take 10 more months for the CPI to surpass the July 2008 #. But looking at the monthly figures, it's easy to see that there is really no way to anticipate the month-to-month variations. I'll try to remember to update this table on a monthly basis so everyone can see how things are going.
2008 Jan. 615.828 <trigger month> Feb. 617.345 Mar. 622.985 Apr. 627.606 May 633.830 June 641.082 July 644.303 <trigger month> Aug. 641.155 Sep. 640.226 Oct. 632.025 Nov. 617.472 Dec. 610.075 2009 Jan. 612.719 <trigger month> Feb. 615.719 Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
|
|
The CPI figures for March came out today, and the series that the USPS uses to calculate our COLA was up to 617.239 from the February reading of 615.719. The next chance for us to get a COLA adjustment will be following the release of the July 2009 figure.
2009 Jan. 612.719 <trigger month> Feb. 615.719 Mar 617.239 2008 Jan. 615.828 <trigger month> Feb. 617.345 Mar. 622.985 Apr. 627.606 May 633.830 June 641.082 July 644.303 <trigger month> Aug. 641.155 Sep. 640.226 Oct. 632.025 Nov. 617.472 Dec. 610.075 Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
|
|
619.344
The CPI figures for April came out today, and the series that the USPS uses to calculate our COLA was up to 619.344 from the March reading of 617.239. The next chance for us to get a COLA adjustment will be following the release of the July 2009 figure. 2009 Jan. 612.719 <trigger month> Feb. 615.719 Mar. 617.239 Apr. 619.344 2008 Jan. 615.828 <trigger month> Feb. 617.345 Mar. 622.985 Apr. 627.606 May 633.830 June 641.082 July 644.303 <trigger month> Aug. 641.155 Sep. 640.226 Oct. 632.025 Nov. 617.472 Dec. 610.075 Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
|
|
The CPI figures for May were released today, and the series that the USPS uses to calculate the COLA rose to 621.875 from the 619.344 reading in April. The next COLA adjustment will be after the release of the July figure (in Aug), and my guess continues to be that we won't be getting any increase then.
Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
|
|
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June came out today, and the figure that our COLA is based on came in at 628.422, which is up from the previous month's reading, but still below the July 2008 reading of 644.303 that triggered the last COLA increase we got. I'm guessing the number for this month (July) will also come in below that July 2008 figure, so it looks like we probably won't get a COLA increase this year. The NALC site
http://www.nalc.org/news/latest/index.html says "The next COLA will reflect the increase in the CPI between January and July 2009" which makes me wonder if there is an increase between Jan & July of 2009 (there should be) whether we WILL get an increase. Words can be tricky, and I don't know if this is likely. The NALC site DOES say that as of this month's release, there was "no projected accumulation toward" the next COLA. 2009 Jan. 612.719 <trigger month> Feb. 615.719 Mar. 617.239 Apr. 619.344 May 621.875 June 628.422 2008 Jan. 615.828 <trigger month> Feb. 617.345 Mar. 622.985 Apr. 627.606 May 633.830 June 641.082 July 644.303 <trigger month> Aug. 641.155 Sep. 640.226 Oct. 632.025 Nov. 617.472 Dec. 610.075 Button, button, who's got a button?? |
||||||||
| Free Embeddable Forum Powered by Nabble | Help |
