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USPS ‘Officially’ Notifies Union About VERA
APWU Web News Article #033-09, March 30, 2009
The Postal Service on March 30 provided official notice [PDF] 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.
The Postal Service’s failure to give official notice of this information to the APWU is a violation of management’s obligation under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, APWU President William Burrus said March 27. “In this era of financial uncertainty, with USPS leaders asking employees for cooperation and understanding, management must set an example. Unfortunately, it failed to do so.”
The VER will be offered to all eligible employees except Electronic Technicians (ET), Maintenance Mechanics, Mail Processing Equipment (MPE) Mechanics, and Part-Time Postmasters. To be eligible, employees must be 50 years of age with 20 years of creditable federal service or any age with 25 years of creditable federal service. Eligibility requirements must be met by the effective retirement date of the VER, July 31.
Click here for A VER timeline.
“Retirement is a personal matter,” the APWU president noted, “and the union defers to the decisions of eligible employees. However, the APWU continues to challenge the Postal Service’s authority to offer VER without including severance pay.”
