KENTUCKY LEAGUE OF POSTMASTERS
NEWS
Bluegrass News
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US Postal Service releases the guidelines and forms for requesting consideration for a Pay-for-Performance (PFP) Mitigating Factor.
Previous Bluegrass
May 26, 2009
Postmaster General Potter,
After we received your final letter regarding Convention Leave and my counterpart, Dale Goff,
was able to get hold of you by phone, I was quite disappointed by your unwillingness to do the
right and reasonable thing and allow Postmasters to use their Convention Leave, one of their
benefits to which they are entitled as agreed to through pay consultations, for FY 2009. While we
are not a union, we honor those things agreed to at pay consultations as though they were
contained in a written contract. We also believe that those benefits are protected under Title 39
of the U.S. Code. Be that as it may, Dale and I agreed that we would be willing not to pursue
Convention Leave for 2010 if we were able to preserve the benefit for the remainder of 2009.
You and I both know that that is a reasonable compromise. By now, most Postmasters know that
you have taken their earned benefit.
The response has, of course, been extremely negative. You may say that it doesn't matter, only
a small percentage use Convention Leave anyway. So who are these Postmasters that do use
their Convention Leave? Besides being the ones who use their own money to pay for lodging,
registration, and travel to state and National Conventions, they are the same ones who used their
Annual Leave and personal funds during the dead of winter to travel to Washington DC to go to
bat for you and the Postal Service. Sometimes they received grief from their districts for taking
time off from their Postmaster duties to attend the League's Legislative Forum and Napus'
Leadership Conference. Thanks in a great part to them, HR 22 has more than 300 cosponsors.
These are the same Postmasters who go above and beyond what should be expected from
managers. They work many hours more than what they should, they spend tremendous amounts
of time and energy putting together convention agendas that provide information and meaningful
training that the Postal Service is negligent in providing. They are the first to volunteer for details
and are always looking for opportunities to help to make the Postal Service successful. They are
the ones who use Annual Leave in lieu of Sick Leave when they are ill.
These Postmasters rightfully feel betrayed by you. These are the Postmasters that you will want
to help lead us out of the financial crisis we find ourselves in. Over the last year it is they who
have saved you billions of dollars in operating costs. Without their help, their commitment, their
discretionary efforts, the Postal Service is surely doomed to failure.
Much of the convention season has passed, however, there are many conventions that have yet
to happen. States and branches have committed large sums of money towards the success of
these conventions. Much of each convention centers around training received nowhere else,
certainly not through the efforts of the Postal Service. Many Postmasters are already canceling
their registrations because they can't afford to attend without their Convention Leave. Had this
been next year, it would have not been so much of a problem; states would have been able to
adjust their programs to perhaps run over the weekend. As it is, this year, contracts have been
signed, commitments have been made for a year in advance. The financial hit taken by state
branches will be significant. You have unilaterally stripped Postmasters of an benefit that they
have had the chance to use for over eighty years. Taking it in the middle of a convention season
is the wrong thing to do.
My board and I have been left scratching our heads asking ourselves, "Why?". The small amount
of money left to be saved by the Postal Service by cutting Convention Leave this year certainly
can't be the reason as it is relatively insignificant. It surely can't be as an effort to save any real
money as Postmasters see plenty of real waste to be captured in other areas.
I am canceling my convention trips this week to work on this issue. I hope to find the solution at
Postal Headquarters. I am asking you to reconsider your decision to take Convention Leave for
the remainder of this year and for FY 2010, and allow us to have Convention Leave for the
remainder of this year. I will be in my office at League Headquarters through 2 pm tomorrow. If
you wish to discuss allowing Convention Leave for the remainder of FY 2009, please feel free to
call me.
Respectfully,
Charley Mapa
President
National League of Postmasters
5904 Richmond Hwy Ste 500
Alexandria VA 22303
703.329.4550
May 22, 2009
POSTMASTERS
SUBJECT: Postmasters Convention Leave
This is to inform you that the Postal Service has decided to suspend postmasters' convention leave
for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2009 and all of FY2010, effective May 31, 2009. While administrative
leave will not be available for the purpose3 of attending the postmaster organizations' state and national
conventions, annual leave will be available for these purposes consistent with our existing regulations. We
recognize that some state conventions have already taken place, and that a numb er of postmasters have used
approved convention leave to attend these events. There will be no attempt to convert the approved and used
convention leave. However, any approved convention leave scheduled to be used after May 31, 2009 will need
to be converted to annual leave for the purpose of attending a state or national convention.
This uis not a decision that the Postal Service arrived at easily, but unfortunately, it is a necessary one. We are
experiencing an economic decline that could not have been predicted at the start of this fiscal year. At this
point, every cost-saving effort counts for the Postal Service. That is why, in addition to suspending convention
leave, we have also:
Reduced work hours to match declining mail volumes, resulting in a savings of 58 million hours in the first
half of FY2009.
Reduced excess capacity in mail processing and transportation;
Realigned carrier routes;
Halted construction of new facilities;
Frozen the salaries of Postal Service officers and executives at 2008 levels.
Continued organizational restructuring designed to align postal operations with the changing workload.
I know it is never easy to accept a decision that suspends a benefit. I hope, the above explanation will help you
understanmd the reason and necessity for making this decision.
Doug A Tulino
Congratulations to the Lowes Post Office for the Light Bulb Award
The Lowes Post Office, Postmaster Joann Bell and PMR Becky Goin were awarded the Light Bulb award for making it through the Ice Storm 19 days without power, internet or phone service. Presenting the award is Acting MPOO Chris Carroll.
KY's Bluegrass News won an award for special effects. Congratulations!
Steve Lenoir swears in new officers: VP John Olson, Exec VP Jack Jameson, President Charley Mapa, VP Kelly McCartney, VP Bob Bittner, VP Deb Egmo, Sec/Treas Shelly Souders and Retiree Pres Bill Brennen.
Ky Branch with Charley & Gwen Mapa at 2009 National Convention banquet
10/09/09
FERS Sick Leave in DoD Conference Agreement
Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike
Skelton (D-MO) announced that the House and Senate Armed Services
Committees have reached agreement on the conference report to H.R. 2647,
the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act.
The three provisions included:
• FERS Sick Leave: Allows Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)
employees’ unused, accumulated sick leave to be used in computing their
annuities upon retirement. This provision puts FERS employees on par with
those in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) (which includes
employees who joined the civil service prior to 1984).
• CSRS Part-Time Fix: Allows CSRS workers to phase-down to part-time
status at the end of their careers without reducing their final
annuities/pensions (currently, part-time service occurring during the final
years of CSRS service negatively impacts the high-three annuity calculation,
leading to earlier full-time service being calculated as part-time).
• FERS Redeposit: Allows returning FERS employees, who earlier left
federal service, to repay a deposit to the civil service trust fund, with
interest, in order to be able to combine their past and new federal service for
future annuity credit purposes.
Full impemtation will be phased in over a 4 years period.
Updates from National President Charley Mapa
2009-2010 National League Board
October 8, 2009
Remarks of Postmaster GeneralCeo John E. Potter At The National Press Club Washington, DC.....for more click below
October 1, 2009 HR 22 Passes ....for more
October 23, 2009
Bill passes on FERS sick leave...for more
December 11, 2009
November 11, 2009 Area Meeting in Henderson KY
December 22, 2009
FY 2010 December NPA Tip & Sox index changed click below for details
December 22, 2009
January 11, 2010
The 2010 Forum is just a few weeks away. The League has extended the early registration rate for the 2010 Legistative Forum through 01/14/2010, we have received an extension of the discounted hotel room rate until January 15, 2010. If you have not already made your plans to attend don’t miss this opportunity to join in with your fellow League members in all the activities of the 40th League Forum. You can submit your registration and reserve your room at the Crystal Gateway Marriott hotel on the League website.
January 25, 2010
Recourse for core scores see below
