The Senate will resume debate on postal reform Tuesday, considering several amendments to its bill that would affect workers’ pay and benefits.
Measures that would
prohibit collective bargaining at the U.S. Postal Service,
require retirement-eligible employees to retire, and
increase the amount workers contribute to their health benefits and life insurance are among the
39 amendments the Senate plans to vote on as part of the 21st Century Postal Service Act (
S. 1789). Other amendments would limit executive pay at USPS, remove language
scaling back workers’ compensation benefits, and curtail the amount agencies can spend on government conferences.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is shepherding a few amendments to S. 1789, including one that would force the
Postal Service to dismiss workers who are eligible for retirement to reduce expenses. The legislation in its current form allows USPS to offer buyouts to eligible employees to reduce personnel costs, but Coburn believes
requiring eligible workers to retire is a smarter and more cost-effective downsizing strategy. “S. 1789 would provide buyouts -- essentially cash bonuses or years of service credits -- to encourage postal employees to decide to retire,” said a summary of the amendment from Coburn’s office. “But there is a real risk that these buyouts will go to workers who would already be planning to retire anyway. That is, these buyouts may essentially be retirement gifts to already retiring workers.”
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