The Fight to Preserve and Protect Our Retirement Benefits

(This article appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine)

Under the current administration, working people across the country have faced unprecedented assaults. In just the first six months, we have seen the weakening of collective bargaining rights and gutting of federal agencies, plus attacks on the environment, vulnerable communities, and the rule of law. While many of these unconstitutional actions are being challenged in court, APWU members are standing in solidarity with other unions and organizations to fight back.

Many harmful bills have been making their way through Congress, including H.R. 1, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. On July 4, the president signed this bill into law, which includes massive cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and green energy, all while expanding tax breaks for the rich and increasing defense spending. As you may recall, earlier versions of the bill in the House of Representatives and Senate contained many disastrous provisions aimed at postal and federal workers, including:

1. Increasing the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuity contribution rate for all active employees to 4.4%, resulting in a direct pay cut for any active employee hired before 2014.
2. Replacing the High-3 FERS annuity calculation with a High-5 calculation, resulting in a reduction in annuity payments.
3. Eliminating the FERS Social Security supplement, which allows workers who have earned their retirement the ability to retire before their Social Security benefits begin.

Why did Congress attempt to gut our hard-fought and well-deserved retirement benefits? Because MAGA-Republican leaders in Congress worked directly with the White House to pass $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, paid for by the working class.

These attacks on our earned FERS benefits passed out of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on April 30 by one vote. With less than a month before the full House of Representatives voted on H.R. 1, APWU members sprang into action, making over 5,800 phone calls to congressional offices in all 50 states to tell their House representative that these changes to FERS were simply unacceptable.

In addition to the phone calls, the APWU Legislative and Political Department had numerous meetings on Capitol Hill and coordinated several between APWU members and their representatives.

APWU Members Successfully Lobby Capitol Hill to Preserve Retirement Benefits

From Left to Right: APWU Legislative & Political Director Judy Beard, Youngstown Area Local President Dominic Corso, Congressman David Joyce (OH-14), William H. Burrus Cleveland Area Local, #72 President Nigel Saleem

From Left to Right: Senator Susan Collins (ME) and APWU Maine State President Selena Garside

From Left to Right: Long Island Area Local President Michelle Nadeau, Congressman Nick LaLota (NY-01), Western Nassau New York Area Local MVS Director Michael Fiorentino, Long Island Area Local Vice-President Michael Puterio

From Left to Right: APWU Legislative & Political Director Judy Beard, Youngstown Area Local President Dominic Corso, Congressman David Joyce (OH-14), William H. Burrus Cleveland Area Local, #72 President Nigel Saleem

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Thanks to the pressure that postal workers, labor unions, and other allies placed on members of Congress, two of the three harmful FERS changes were removed from H.R. 1 before the bill passed the House on May 22. The only remaining provision was the elimination of the FERS annuity supplement.

Our fight then moved to the Senate, since a bill must pass in both the House and Senate before the president can sign it into law. APWU President Mark Dimondstein and the APWU Legislative and Political Department attended over 20 meetings with senators and their staff, and APWU members once again made more than 1,500 phone calls to keep up our fight.

In the Senate, the elimination of the FERS annuity supplement was successfully removed from the bill before it was passed and signed into law. Although all three harmful provisions were stripped from this bill, we must remember that many people will still suffer from the drastic cuts to vital government programs that remained in the final version. An injury to one is an injury to all. There are other dangerous bills currently moving through Congress and the APWU will keep you informed on our future fights. ■