OPEN SEASON FOR PSHB ENDS FRIDAY:                                                     posted  12/12/24

Maybe you are still procrastinating. Maybe you have been trying and lines too long. Maybe you made a decision, made the switch, but just can’t make yourself assured it is the right decision. Whatever, or wherever you are in your choice of health insurance starting January 1, 2025. it is NOT too late to change your mind and do it all over again. That is, IF you do it before 11:59PM EST on Friday the thirteenth (December 13, 2024). Just relax, you still got time!

SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS UPDATE: Dave Cook, UPMAR Legislative Chairman                                       12/12/24

After growing pressure over the last several weeks, efforts to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset have gained more traction in the Senate. During a rally Wednesday morning, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer committed to a floor vote on the Social Security Fairness Act, bringing the long-time legislation yet another step closer to its final passage.

SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS ACT PASSED IN THE HOUSE:                                       11/12/2024

from Bill Tierney, UPMAR Legislative Committee, and others

In a historic vote, the House of Representatives has voted to repeal WEP/GPO and restore fairness to Social Security. H.R. 82, known as the Social Security Fairness Act, repeals the unjust federal laws referred to as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). The bill passed the House with two-thirds majority vote.  The next stop for this bill is the Senate, so there is still much work to be done.   Both GPO and WEP unfairly reduce, or in some cases eliminate Social Security benefits to postal employees and other federal employees. Thank you to everyone who contacted their representatives in support of this legislation. More information to follow.

OPEN SEASON VFAIR SEMINARS: 

Did you miss any virtual health fair webinars? To access the webinars, click the link below to log in, then go to “On Demand Webinars”. https://2024uspsopenseasonbenefits.vfairs.com

Live events (where you can attend live webinars and chat with benefits and health care specialists) will be held on:

Sunday, November 3, 2024: 1:00 PM EST (Open Season Overview by Benefits Team)

Tuesday, November 5, 2024: 11:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST

Saturday, November 16, 2024: 1:00 PM EST (Open Season Overview by Benefits Team)

Thursday, November 21, 2024: 3:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST

Wednesday, December 4, 2024: 8:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST 

Monday, December 9, 2024: 12:00 PM EST to 5:00 PM EST (Q & A Session with Benefits SME)

If you experience technical issues while accessing the fair, please email: 2024uspsopenseasonsbenefits@getvfairs.io

PFP consultations- 

                                                                                                            11/2/2024

   to: Mr. Edmund A. Carley National President   United Postmasters and Managers of America

Dear Edmund: This is concerning the Postal Service’s September 2024 proposal to revise the Pay-forPerformance (PFP) matrices for fiscal year (FY) 2024 and the recommendation that you provided to that proposal. Your recommendation was for the Postal Service to continue with the same PFP matrices that were modified for the prior fiscal year.  The Postal Service has reviewed your recommendations and has decided not to adopt it. 

    The Postal Service increased the percentage payouts for FY2023 in response to record inflation in 2022 that continued into 2023. Inflation forecasts have shown a decline throughout 2024.  Private sector employers have reacted to these reductions and are planning for average pay raises to be less than last year.  The Postal Service’s proposed matrices are an increase to the established pay matrices for FY2022 and are consistent with the private sector. Additionally, the federal sector average pay raises for 2025 are planned at only 2.0%.  

Bruce A. Nicholson Director Labor Relations Policies and Programs

PFP communications                                                                                              11/2/2024

Regarding your correspondence dated October 15th, 2024, announcing the Pay for performance (PFP) matrices for FY 2024, as you note, we had many discussions from this office and yours, along with final talks with the Deputy Postmaster General. UPMA consistently pointed out during those discussions that the Service should use the FY 2023 matrices for 2024. We reasoned that as recently as February, they more accurately represented the wage progression needed to continue to have a reasonable differential between EAS employees and those they supervise. Therefore, UPMA disagrees with the decision on the FY 24 Pay for Performance matrix.

In fact, at all levels of the Postal Service, the FY23 matrices were shown as payouts for FY24, up to and including all USPS-sponsored end-of-year meetings and our National Convention in August. Our members are asking what has changed. UPMA has strived to work with the Postal Service on all things. We are concerned that the perception may now be that we misled our members. While we both know that is not the case, UPMA should note this on the record.

The UPMA/USPS 2021 pay consultation expired in May of 2023. Absent an interim agreement, UPMA agrees that that document should be a starting point for discussions on pay raises for 2024. We strongly feel that if we had pay talks in 2023, any agreement would have a much higher matrix. As we both know, the NALC will (eventually) settle a contract with Cost of living and base pay increases that will be significant and retroactive to the end of their contract, also in May of 2023.

Even though, as EAS employees, we do not have the option to appeal this decision without litigation, which the UPMA National Executive Board is currently considering, we respectfully ask that the Postal Service note that once we enter pay talks, any increases that this payout policy misses because of the unfortunate timing of our ability to open pay talks is open for such discussion. In other words, we believe that the totality of EAS pay, pay scales, PFP payouts, and EAS levels should all be able to be modified going forward so EAS employees can enjoy the same kind of consideration as the employees we supervise.

Yours sincerely

Edmund A Carley

National President

NEXT PSHB SEMINAR IS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16:                                                                              11/1/2024

The USPS Benefits and Wellness team will hold lunch and learn seminars about the PSHB Program every other Thursday through early December. The seminars will take place at noon Eastern Standard Time, via Zoom and using passcode 314858, and at 4 p.m. Eastern, via Zoom and using passcode 366159. Just click on the blue “via Zoom” link above. After you click, if you do not want to install the free Zoom App, drop down to the next line and click on the “join from your browser” link, and it will take you there. The next seminar is Thursday, October 16. 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: from Dave Cook, UPMAR Legislative Chairman                                                      10/3/24

H.R. 82 Social Security Fairness Act-

Despite having more than 320 co-signers, House leadership has not brought H.R.82 up for a vote. The bill’s sponsors, Garret Graves and Abigail Spanberger, filed a resolution, H.Res.1410, to force a vote on the WEP/GPO repeal bill. The resolution got the required 218 signers and was automatically closed. There are now seven working days before the Speaker of the House is required to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. Because Congress is about to go on an election recess, there are not enough working days for a vote to happen before Congress is adjourned for the recess. Congress resumes work a week after the November election.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: from Dave Cook