Volume XXIX, No. 12                                                                     June 18, 1999

$276.00 Banked Toward Next COLA

After the fourth month of the second cost-of-living adjustment period under the 1998-2000 Collective Bargaining Agreement, postal workers have accumulated a cost-of-living adjustment of 13 1/4 cents per hour, $10.60 per pay period or $276.00 annually. This results from an increase in the CPI-W to 484.9 in May.

CSRS and FERS

CSRS retiree COLA is based on the third quarter (July, August, September) average CPI-W index in 1999 over the 1998 third quarter average. After the first quarter of the adjustment period, the quarterly average has risen 0.7 percent.

The formula for FERS retirees is the same as for CSRS retirees, except that if the CPI-W average increases 3 percent or more, the adjustment will be the CPI-W increase minus 1 percent. If the average increases between 2 percent and 3 percent, then the adjustment will be 2 percent.

FECA COLA

Cost-of-living adjustments for FECA recipients are based on the percentage increase in the December index from year to year. After the fifth month of the adjustment period, the CPI-W index has increased 1.3 percent.

New Steps, Some Grade Slotting in Effect June 19, 1999
 Promotion Pay Issues Still Being Resolved

APWU and the USPS today partially resolved issues concerning the new salary schedule:

• Effective June 19, 1999, a new top step, AStep P,@ will be added to Grades 8, 9 and 10. All Step 0 employees in Grades 8, 9 and 10 will move to Step P on June 19, 1999. Any employees reaching Step 0 after June 19 will wait 30 weeks before moving to Step P.

Grade 8, Step P    $42,420
Grade 9, Step P    $43,692
Grade 10, Step P  $45,038

• All new hires in Grades 1 through 10 will come under the new pay schedules at a date to be determined.

• Slotting of employees in Steps AA through N is extremely complex. A timetable is being established for each group.

APWU expected the Postal Service to resolve all the salary schedule issues by today. The above items are being announced pending final agreement between the parties. APWU and USPS staff will meet next Monday and Tuesday, June 21 and 22, and the principals will meet again on Wednesday, June 23. Further information will be posted on the web site next week.

Anti-USPS Resolutions Pushed in States and US Congress
United Parcel Service Attacks the
US Postal Service

United Parcel Service (UPS) is waging an expensive smear campaign against the US Postal Service. The effort is aimed at attacking the USPS in the US Congress, as well as in state legislatures, by passing resolutions that would hinder the Postal Service.

UPS Delivers Poisonous Parcels

UPS delivered (via UPS of course) a box of anti-USPS rhetoric to every member of Congress. It contained a number of newspaper editorials from throughout the United States attacking the Postal Service, sample resolutions being considered in state legislatures nationwide, and a CD-ROM computer disc entitled "What the Postal Service doesn't want you to know--a message about postal reform."

The UPS campaign attacks the Postal Service as a giant $60 billion monopoly that goes beyond mail delivery to unfairly compete with the private sector--using profits raised by its letter-mail monopoly. The company states the Postal Service pays no taxes, doesn't register vehicles, doesn't pay parking tickets or collect sales taxes, and is exempt from zoning laws.

UPS claims that there is no adequate oversight of the Postal Service through the Postal Rate Commission (PRC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the White House or Congress.

United Parcel Service wants Congress to: grant the Postal Rate Commission subpoena power to obtain full information on Postal Service operations; give the PRC final authority over all rates--both domestic and international; grant the PRC authority over non-postal products and all international products; and charge the PRC with ensuring that the Postal Service does not compete unfairly with the private sector.

Action in State Legislatures

UPS is pushing resolutions in state legislatures to encourage congressional delegations to introduce federal legislation to increase the oversight power and authority of the Postal Rate Commission. In addition, states considering the UPS resolution are asked to have their departments of revenue analyze the lost fees and revenue not collected because the Postal Service has special status.

Following is a summary of the status of the UPS legislation in state legislatures.

Still pending: California SJR 16; Illinois SR 85; New Jersey AR 177 and SR 93; Ohio HCR 27 and SCR 17; and Pennsylvania HR 190.

Passed: Arizona SCM 1002; Colorado SJR 27; Delaware SCR 8; South Dakota HCR 1014; and Texas SR 1108.

Still pending at the time of adjournment of state legislatures: Florida HB 1483; Indiana HCR 47, HCR 107, HR 92 and HR 112; South Carolina HB 3860 and SB 790; and Texas HCR 128, HR 953 and HR 1003.

APWU Action Needed!

APWU members in the states where the UPS resolutions are still pending (California, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Indiana, South Carolina and Texas) should immediately contact their state legislators to oppose these UPS resolutions as identified above. Please notify the APWU Legislative Department as more information becomes available locally concerning these UPS resolutions.

Note: APWU cooperation with the USPS in defense against these attacks by United Parcel Service should not be confused as cooperation on HR 22, "The Postal Modernization Act of 1999." APWU strongly opposes HR 22, but Postmaster General Bill Henderson has endorsed it.

Teamsters Support Anti-USPS Effort

International Brotherhood of Teamsters President James P. Hoffa sent a letter to the US House Government Reform and Oversight Committee which supports an anti-Postal Service proposal being advanced by Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH).

Hoffa's letter discussed the need for additional oversight over the Postal Service by the Postal Rate Commission to "hold the USPS accountable for the proper use of excess revenues it receives from its first-class mail monopoly." The letter complains, "the Postal Service enjoys a multitude of exemptions from federal and state regulation such as taxes, licensing and zoning requirements."

Hoffa continued, "Every consumer dollar that the non-taxpaying Postal Service receives for delivery services that compete with private carriers equates to lost revenues that could be used to provide better roads, improved school facilities or more police on our streets."

The American Postal Workers Union is disappointed that a sister union would attack the livelihoods of fellow American union members.

Alabama Nets $3,447 for Political Action
Deaf/Hard of Hearing Conference
Gives $3,601 to COPA

Members attending the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Conference in Washington, DC reached deep into their pockets to contribute $3,601.75 to the APWU Committee On Political Action fund. Delegates to the Alabama State Convention came in a close second with a generous contribution of $3,447 for COPA; the Alabama "$100 COPA Club" topped the state convention list with $1,850.

APWU COPA appreciates all contributions and fundraising efforts. The following group contributions have been reported since the last News Service contributions list:

Acknowledgment for Group Contributions
Important: For correct handling and acknowledgment, send all group contributions to COPA, APWU Accounting Department, 1300 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005.

Individual contributions should be sent to APWU/COPA, PO Box 96542, Washington, DC 20090-6542.

Note: Contributions or gifts to COPA are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Federal law requires political committees to report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer for each individual whose contributions aggregate in excess of $200 in a calendar year.

July 25-28, 1999 in Manhattan, KS
Secretary-Treasurer Central Region Seminar

Secretary-Treasurer Robert L. Tunstall has announced that a Central Region Secretary-Treasurer training seminar will be held in Manhattan, KS in conjunction with the Great Plains Tri-State Postal Workers Union and the Kansas Postal Workers Union. The seminar begins at 4:00 pm on Sunday, July 25, and ends at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, July 28, 1999.

The seminar will take place at Kansas State University, Anderson Avenue, Manhattan, KS. The seminar will offer Basic and Advanced Secretary-Treasurer Accounting, and Computerized Accounting Systems.

Basic Secretary-Treasurer Accounting: Informs new secretary-treasurers, presidents, trustees and executive board officers of their responsibilities to the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.

Advanced Secretary-Treasurer Accounting: Focuses on detailed information to aid secretary-treasurers when filing reports. Prerequisite: Must have attended at least one Basic Secretary-Treasurer training workshop.

Computerized Accounting Systems: Focuses on automatic check writing, accounts receivable/payable, and cash management using the Quick Books computerized accounting program. Prerequisite: Locals must have an IBM-compatible computer, and participants must have previously attended either a Basic or Advanced Secretary-Treasurer workshop.

Hotel Information

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, 17th & Anderson Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502. The room rate is $65 plus tax for one to four people. To make reservations, contact the hotel directly at  800-962-0014 and identify yourself as a participant in the American Postal Workers Union seminar. Reservations should be made prior to  July 2, 1999 to guarantee the negotiated rate.

In addition, dormitory rooms will be available on the Kansas State University campus. The room rate is $22.50 per person for a single, and $15.50 per person for a double. Towels and bedding are furnished; bathrooms and showers are located on the wing of each floor. Indicate name of roommate on registration form.

Registration

The registration fee is $55, which includes all sessions and materials, a picnic, and refreshments. To register, mail the registration form, below; call the Non-Credit Programs Registration Office at  800-432-8222 or 785-532-5569 between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, with a MasterCard or Visa number; or fax your registration to 785-532-5637. The registration deadline is July 9, 1999. Confirmation will be sent to participants by mail.

For more information, contact Tom Mayse by phone, 785-776-1637, or by e-mail, mayse@flinthills.com, or call Judy Beard at 202-842-4215.

Order the APWU Survivors' Booklet

The "APWU Survivors' Booklet: Important Information for Your Loved Ones" is available to APWU members for purchase. This valuable booklet is produced by the APWU Retirees Department and is being sold at $3.00 each.

The Retirees Department discovered that one of the major problems among annuitants is the lack of important personal information available to them and their loved ones, particularly in the event of the annuitant's death. Without this critical information, the annuitant's survivors who must handle execution of the deceased's estate may experience difficulties. This survivors' booklet allows annuitants to record this information and provides survivors with a useful reference guide to make that process easier.

To order your "APWU Survivors' Booklet," complete the order form, below, and mail it, along with a check or money order, to APWU Order Department, 1300 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005. The item number is 109.

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