Will the USPS be issuing IOUS for payroll in October??

[Postaltexan]

I came across a story today that said the unions had asked the White House to intervene on behalf of the USPS and its deteriorating financial status..  

This is a direct quote from that letter:

Its top executives are now saying that the USPS will default on a $5.4 billion payment to prefund future retiree health benefits on September 30, 2009. And its government affairs representatives are now telling Congressional staff that the Postal Service may not be able to make payroll in October and will be forced to issue IOUs instead.

That letter has since disappeared from the original news source(APWU website) but Federal Times is following up on it..  This is the original link that turns up page cannot be found.
http://apwu.org/news/webart/2009/09-079-whitehouseltr-090716.htm

Keep in mind, this letter is signed by the NRLCA President Don Cantriel, along with all the other union heads..  and now it has disappeared.

The USPS is denying this of course, but why would all of the union heads sign this letter and send it to the President if it were not true??

Anyway, stay tuned, because this could be interesting..  

See all the info at the link below:

http://www.federaltimes.com/federal-times-blog/2009/07/16/the-disappearing-usps-union-letter/

[Retiring Soon]

P.T... Without looking up all the details didn't H.R. 22 free up tons of money when it passed on July 10? We keep hearing the same things from our PM that payroll looks bleak. Bet they get paid first.

[Clark]

Heard on the news today that HR 22 only accounts for about a third of the expected loss the Post Office will have this year.  Also heard that the Senate was not happy with something about HR 22 so they did not pass it, sent it back to be reworked, and it is not expected to be back to them before the bills are due Oct 1st.

[Snotick]

Wouldnt this be a breach of contract.   I dont recall any provision in the current contract that allowed for IOU's    

Does the PO allow advances on paychecks?  

[Hudson Valley Rural]

  I realize this is all rumor mill stuff, but one of our supervisiors actually announced that if the PO was to start issueing IOUs that any employee who did not show up for work would be terinated.

[Snotick]

thats all fine and well, but it still remains that the contract clearly states rural carriers cannot strike.  Yet an IOU would be a breach of contract.

Much like in sports an CBA's  Sometimes the players go on strike and refuse to play.  

Other times the owners lock out the players in an effort to retain more of the revenue.

You cant have protection against strikes and then expect your work force to accept an IOU.  

[ctrr03]

Actually, they can't force you to work for no pay.  What they can do though, is to place everyone on furlough.  i've seen states do this very thing.  Doubt very much the DOL would allow it, since they would have to give us all unemployment.  The best way for the USPS to get money is to (1) STOP ALL discounts to mailers.....hell, we can't afford to pay employees, we sure can't afford to give discounts.  (2) get rid of 95% of the postal overhead - there are way too many in management, making the co too top heavy.  (3) concessions from upper manage. - sorry, if WE all have to take pay cuts, so should EVERYONE.   Those are the things at the top of my head, but I know there are way more.  Sorry, but why is it rurals and clerks are the only ones that seem to be giving?   Clerks because their hours have been cut, and rurals because of the massacres we've received in these so-called counts.

[Postaltexan]

The money hasnt been freed up yet..  It has only passed the House Committee, so it still needs to be voted on in the house and there is no companion bill in the Senate yet that I know of..  They are expecting it to be voted on in the House before they recess in August... and they do expect it to pass the House..  

[Snotick]

If the rumors hold true,  they will have the september count and drop routes even more, and then when you are trying to figure out how to make ends meet with the new cut, your paycheck envelope has an IOU in it.

But, please make sure you show up to work every day or you will be terminated.     Sounds like you already have been.

[Postaltexan]

I dont know how it would work if they did end up issuing IOUS..  I expect that it may work like some of the states are doing..  They are issuing IOUS to certain banks that cash the employees paychecks..   which would not leave the employee without pay...  but they would end up owing the banks sooner or later on the IOUS..    Like I said, I do not know if this is what they are talking about, but I cannot imagine the federal government leaving this many employees without pay...  But, I guess we shall see..


I am very interested as to why the letter disappeared..  Something smells in this thing, just not sure what...

[Retiring Soon]

P.T. Here is another link that has the story.

http://www.postalworkersonline.com/index.htm

[vax]

    WE were told the other day what huge saveings dps alone has brought to the PO 5 billion a year, now FSS in almost full swing in N> va, what the hell have they done with all the saveings over the years, could it all have gone to incentive money for the big boys, or havent they saved a dime on all their expensive machines that need lots of upkeep and replacement,  millions for one FSS machine we have 4 at Dulles in Va>

[RogerR]

I can't imagine the USPS has the legal authority to issue IOU's for anything.  And HQ has already clarified that if there is a cash flow crunch, paychecks will get a priority over transfer payments to the govt, such as prefunding retiree health care.

So I wouldn't worry about paychecks this year. The form and suvival of the USPS in the near future is a more realistic concern.

[Postaltexan]

I might agree with you if this wasnt in a letter to the President signed by all heads of the postal unions...  If it was just a rumor floating..  ok, I
might agree we have nothing to worry about..  But it is VERY troublesome that this letter was posted yesterday, and then removed from the website.

I still say something stinks...  and I dont hold much value in anything coming from Postal HDQTS these days....

On Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 7:39 PM, RogerR (via Nabble) - No Reply <[hidden email]> wrote:

I can't imagine the USPS has the legal authority to issue IOU's for anything.  And HQ has already clarified that if there is a cash flow crunch, paychecks will get a priority over transfer payments to the govt, such as prefunding retiree health care.

So I wouldn't worry about paychecks this year. The form and suvival of the USPS in the near future is a more realistic concern.

[Retiring Soon]

P.T.  I'm wondering if thats the reason why it was removed. Your right. It is very troublesome. Not that moral is that great now but what would it be if everyone from clerks to janitors knew they might not get a paycheck in Oct. The attitudes would really hit bottom. The customer would suffer in the long run which would only hurt more.

[Postaltexan]

Yea, I am thinking that when this was released the USPS went ballistic and demanded the APWU remove it..  because they knew
the firestorm it would start..  Still doesnt take away that it was in there in a letter to the President and signed by every major postal union, which
tells me there is something to this...  And, it could just be something that the USPS told the unions to get them to cooperate or whatever, but
there is something up with the way it was pulled down so quickly...

On Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 11:00 PM, Retiring Soon (via Nabble) - No Reply <[hidden email]> wrote:

P.T.  I'm wondering if thats the reason why it was removed. Your right. It is very troublesome. Not that moral is that great now but what would it be if everyone from clerks to janitors knew they might not get a paycheck in Oct. The attitudes would really hit bottom. The customer would suffer in the long run which would only hurt more.

[surprise]

I would be very, very surprised if USPS actually did issue IOU's instead of paychecks in October, or ever. I think  this story is a bunch of drama, nothing more.

[gjtrisa]

Not to mention, the signal to the world that the US cannot pay its own federal workforce.  Ouch!


-----Original Message-----
From: P.T. (via Nabble) <[hidden email]>
Sent: Fri, Jul 17, 2009 2:43 pm
Subject: Re: Will the USPS be issuing IOUS for payroll in October??

I dont know how it would work if they did end up issuing IOUS..  I expect that it may work like some of the states are doing..  They are issuing IOUS to certain banks that cash the employees paychecks..   which would not leave the employee without pay...  but they would end up owing the banks sooner or later on the IOUS..    Like I said, I do not know if this is what they are talking about, but I cannot imagine the federal government leaving this many employees without pay...  But, I guess we shall see..


I am very interested as to why the letter disappeared..  Something smells in this thing, just not sure what...

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[RogerR]

PT says:

and I dont hold much value in anything coming from Postal HDQTS these days....

But the entire hubub is based on what "Postal HDQTS" supposedly said.  Read the letter.  We can either discount what they say, in which case we don't have much of a story.  Or we can take it at face value, and admit that this has already been clarified.

The USPS is in dire financial straits, but they can't issue IOU's, and they've already said payroll will come before transfer payments to the govt.  There is plenty of things to worry about for Postal employees, but this little episode isn't one of them.  

[gjtrisa]

Part of the problem I see here is that the USPS has cried wolf so many times that the long term employees wouldn't believe them if the facts were engraved in stone and the managers mother's lives were at stake.  Everytime we go into negotiations they cry we are broke and cannot make payroll, plus they raise the price of stamps to get the public irate.  Perhaps their tactics are coming back on them.


-----Original Message-----
From: RogerR (via Nabble) - No Reply <[hidden email]>
Sent: Sat, Jul 18, 2009 4:31 am
Subject: Re: Will the USPS be issuing IOUS for payroll in October??

PT says:

and I dont hold much value in anything coming from Postal HDQTS these days....

But the entire hubub is based on what "Postal HDQTS" supposedly said.  Read the letter.  We can either discount what they say, in which case we don't have much of a story.  Or we can take it at face value, and admit that this has already been clarified.

The USPS is in dire financial straits, but they can't issue IOU's, and they've already said payroll will come before transfer payments to the govt.  There is plenty of things to worry about for Postal employees, but this little episode isn't one of them.  

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