Voluntary Early Retirement

USPS ‘Clarifies’ Some
Early-Retirement Deadlines
(04/23/09) The Postal Service has informed the APWU that the deadline for eligible employees who wish to apply for Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) effective June 30 or July 31 is June 19. The USPS has also designated June 19 as the “irrevocable” date, by which employees who have applied for retirement but wish to withdraw their applications must do so. [read more]

USPS ‘Officially’ Notifies Union About VERA
(03/30/09) The Postal Service on March 30 provided official notice to the union about Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) information that had appeared days earlier on its employee Web site, LiteBlue. The APWU had criticized the Postal Service for failing to provide notice to the union of the new VER timeline and which categories of employees would be excluded from the offer. [read more]

USPS Releases VERA Info, Fails to Notify Union
(03/27/09) Although the Postal Service has failed to provide official notice to the union as of March 27, management has posted information about Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) on its employee Web site, LiteBlue. According to the posting, VER will be offered to all eligible employees except Electronic Technicians (ET), Maintenance Mechanics, Mail Processing Equipment (MPE) Mechanics, and Part-Time Postmasters. [read more]

USPS Announces New VER,
Management Staff Reductions
(03/20/09) In response to significant deficits caused by a substantial reduction in mail volume, the Postal Service has requested and received approval to offer Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) to 150,000 employees nationwide, APWU President William Burrus reports in an update for union members. The application deadlines, effective dates, and the categories of affected employees will be announced in the near future."Retirement is a personal matter, and the union defers to the decisions of employees who meet the qualifications," Burrus said. "However, the APWU continues to challenge the Postal Service’s authority to offer VER without including severance pay." [read more]

Voluntary Early Retirement Incentives
(10/21/08— Question submitted to "Ask the President")
You have written about union demands that the Postal Service offer incentives to employees who are offered early-outs. Do you expect to accomplish this within the one-year time frame (ending June 2009) that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has given the Postal Service for Voluntary Early Retirements (VERs)?
[President Burrus’ Response]

Tour 2, Early-Outs, Four-Day Workweeks
(10/15/08) The national union has received information from local presidents — but not from postal management — of USPS plans to eliminate Tour 2 at mail processing facilities across the country, APWU President William Burrus said in a recent Update for union members. The lack of consultation violates the employer/union relationship, he said, and the union will “respond appropriately” to the threat to Tour 2 and to other management initiatives.
[read more]

Early-Retirement Info Wrong, Burrus Tells USPS
(09/10/08) APWU President William Burrus has notified the Postal Service of significant errors in information the USPS provided to employees eligible for Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) and has requested management’s “immediate attention to these matters” so that employees do not suffer irrevocable harm as a result. [read more]

Burrus Says: ‘DON’T GO!’
VER Expanded to Maintenance, MVS
(09/04/08) With news that the Postal Service will offer Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) to Motor Vehicle Services and Maintenance Craft employees – except Electronic Technicians – APWU President William Burrus is reiterating his advice to union members: DON’T GO!
[read more]

VER Eligible? ‘Make USPS Pay’
(08/19/08) The Postal Service offer of Voluntary Early Retirements is a response to the significant decline in mail volume and the resultant cash-flow emergency, President Burrus told delegates. The opportunity to retire early may be tempting, he added, but it is not being offered for the employee’s benefit. [read more]

Burrus to VER-Eligible Employees: ‘DON’T GO’
(07/15/08) With news that eligible employees will soon be receiving notice from the Postal Service about an offer of Voluntary Early Retirement (VER), APWU President William Burrus is advising union members to delay making a decision as long as possible. “The decision about when to retire is a personal one that is influenced by family obligations and lifestyle,” Burrus said. “But the attractiveness of ending a career early should be weighed with consideration of factors that may not be readily apparent.” [read more]

Who Will Be Eligible
For the ‘Early-Out’ Offer?
(07/15/08) The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approves requests by federal agencies and the USPS to offer Voluntary Early Retirement. According to OPM, to be eligible, employees must be at least 50 years old and have at least 20 years of creditable service, OR must be of any age and have at least 25 years of creditable service.
[read more]

Burrus: Employees Would Be
Best Served by Postponing Early-Out Decisions
(07/11/08) Postal workers who are considering early retirement should take a “wait-and-see” attitude before making a decision, APWU President William Burrus said in a recent Update for union members. Compelling reasons include pending discussions regarding eligibility and incentives, an uncertain economy, low mail volume, and the Postal Service’s need to reduce the workforce, he said. [read more]

APWU Meets with USPS,
Seeks Bargaining Over Early-Outs
(07/09/08) APWU President William Burrus met with postal officials July 8 regarding USPS plans to offer early-retirement opportunities to 40,000 employees. “I conveyed our strongly-held belief that the Postal Service is required to bargain with the union over Voluntary Early Retirement opportunities,” Burrus said.

“I also reiterated our request for all pertinent information,” he said, “including the Postal Service’s request to the Office of Personnel Management requesting authority to offer early-outs, and OPM’s response.” Under the law, federal agencies, including the Postal Service, must receive approval from OPM to offer Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) opportunities to their employees. [read more]

APWU, USPS to Meet July 8 Over Possible 'Early Out' Offer
(07/07/08) APWU President William Burrus will meet with USPS officials on Tuesday, July 8, to address the union’s demand for bargaining over possible management plans to offer Voluntary Early Retirement to APWU-represented employees. The union learned unofficially on July 3 that the Postal Service had requested authority from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to offer early retirement to 40,000 postal employees.

No specifics of any early-retirement plan are available. “As information is provided, we will share it with our members,” Burrus said. [read more]

APWU to Meet With USPS Over Possible 'Early Out' Offer
(07/03/08) The union has learned unofficially that the Postal Service has requested from OPM the authority to offer early retirement to 40,000 postal employees. In response to an inquiry from his office, APWU President William Burrus writes in an Update to union members, a meeting with Postal Service headquarters has been scheduled for Monday, July 7, regarding these reports. [read more]

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