Posting #65607 is now open for bids by clerks at the Lehigh Valley P&DC. 

The posting closes on June 14, 3013.

NOTE:  Unencumbered FTR clerks excessed from Reading must use a Form 1717a (yellow) manual bid card to bid on the posted jobs.  This is due to the fact that the change from Reading P&DC to Lehigh Valley P&DC has not been fully processed.  Completed bid cards must be placed in the green bid box before the closing of the posting.  The bid box is located by the timeclocks, outside the supervisors office. 

The use of manual bid cards only applies to UFTR clerks excessed from Reading.  Currrent LV clerks must bid online or by phone.  Clerks detailed from Reading do not have bidding rights at the LV P&DC and cannot bid for these jobs.

Click the links (right) to view the jobs, or go to liteblue to bid

The 2013 Local Hershey Park Picnic will be held on Sunday, July 7, 2013.  Order forms for tickets can be found in the May edition of the Lehigh Valley Visions newsletter which will be arriving soon.  Order forms can also be downloaded HERE.  The deadline for ordering tickets is June 24^th.

There are a limited number of rooms available at the Holiday Inn (Grantville, PA) for people wishing to stay overnight.  The normal room rate is $219 per night, but the Local has negotiated a reduced rate of $129 per night for July 6^th, 7^th and 8^th.  The deadline to reserve a room at the reduced rate is June 22, 2013.  Any reservations made after that date will be charged the regular rate.  For more info about overnight accomodations click HERE.

The APWU is asking union members and supporters to sign an online petition urging the White House to Save the Postal Service and Save American Jobs by supporting the Postal Service Protection Act (H.R. 630 in the House and S. 316 in the Senate). The We the People petition must garner 100,000 signers by May 24 to generate a response from the White House.

We still need more than 75,000 additional signatures!

“So sign the petition!” said Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid. To sign, click here.  (To sign , you will need to establish a We the People account, which is a quick and easy process.)  “Please post a link to the petition on your Facebook page and share it on any social media you participate in,” Reid said.

House Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Ca) convened a hearing in light of the USPS Board of Governors recommendation to postpone the move to 5-day delivery.  Although the BOG decision clearly indicated that the Continuing Resolution passed by Congress prohibited the USPS from making the change it has not stopped Issa from pointing the finger elsewhere.

Issa suggests it was a USPS decision to scrap the 5-day delivery plan, failing to accept any culpability, on behalf of Congress, for passing the Continuing Resolution.  While questioning the USPS BOG Chaimrman about the decision to postpone 5-day delivery, Rep. Issa insinuated that the unions, and its members, were trying to shirk their responsibility, "“The unions wanted to keep six day, and they didn’t mind not paying their just debts pursuant to the law."  Clearly, this is an attempt to demonize the unions, and postal workers, in the court of public opinion.

President Obama's proposed 2013 Budget includes several significant changes for the Postal Service.  If passed by Congress the Budget Plan would affect:

FRHB prefunding:  Change the Future Retiree Health Care prefunding mandate from a fixed amount to a calculated amount.  Expand the timeframe for 100% from 10 years to 40 years which would result in lower yearly payments.  Reduce 2013 and 2014 payments by a total of $10.6 billion.

Postage Rates:  Obama's proposal would grant the USPS Board of Governors the right to make a "modest, one time" rate increase for first class and standard mail.

5-Day Delivery:  The USPS would be allowed to proceed with plans to eliminate Saturday delivery.

FERS Overfunding:  The plan would instruct OPM to re-calculate future USPS FERS contributions while returning the acknowledged FERS surplus.  This surplus is estimated at anywhere from $2.6 billion to $11.5 billion.

The USPS Board of Governors met on Tuesday, April 09, 2013 to discuss the Continuing Resolution for government funding passed by the Congress in March.  The meeting was to discuss whether the Continuing Resolution would prohibit the USPS from transitioning to 5-day delivery or allow it.

In a press release, the Board said that it had instructed the USPS to "delay implementation of its new delivery scheduled until legislation is passed."  The Board also stated that it was "disappointed with this Congressional action" which "has prohibited implementation of a new delivery schedule for mail and packages."

The Board also directed the USPS to seek a reopening of negotiations with the unions...to lower total workforce costs, and to take administrative actions necessary to reduce costs.  (What that means is anybody's guess!)

     {editors note:  The unions should agree to changes to lower workforce costs?  The APWU contract was designed to save the USPS $3.75 billion over the life of the agreement.  If the USPS sqaundered those opportunities...}