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You're Welcome, USPS. Now, About That Raise...

You’re Welcome, USPS. Now, About That Raise...
By Chuck Mulidore
NAPS Secretary/Treasurer

Fall has faded into winter and, as such, fall mailing season has passed into peak. It’s a time of joy in our hearts for the coming holidays, but also a time of long hours, no days off, unrealistic expectations and, finally, exhaustion.

Fall mailing and peak seasons are two of the most stressful times to be a supervisor, manager, postmaster or, really, any level EAS employee in the Postal Service. You perform heroic, often-times thankless work for long hours away from your families during the holiday season. It’s even more complicated by the fact we have been hearing for some time now a litany of bad news:

1. Mail volume for the Postal Service is down significantly; consequently, revenue is down.

2. Employee schedules in the plants often do not match mail arrival or workload.

3. There seems to be no legislative relief from Congress on the horizon.

4. The vehicle fleet is outdated.

5. Too many employees are “disengaged.”

Yet, are these problems unsolvable? Clearly there is work to do, but the Postal Service should not attempt to fix these problems on the backs of EAS employees. I believe that nothing says thank you like a raise in pay. I mean, it’s nice for senior leaders to thank you for your work and sacrifices. But it sure makes all the long hours and stress a whole lot easier to take when that same senior leadership ensures you get a raise that matches your commitment to the job.

EAS employees are the only Postal Service employees who are not guaranteed a raise. In spite of the litany of issues I listed above, craft employees get pay raises, step increases and cost-of-living adjustments. Senior executives get pay increases, yearly bonuses and deferred compensation payable at retirement and beyond. EAS employees get a pay-for-performance (PFP) system that provides neither pay nor performance.

PFP disincentivizes work, out-of-the-box thinking and breakthrough capabilities, as well as being too complex. PFP does not reward hard work; rather, it devalues your contributions to the Postal Service and has long outlived its usefulness as a compensation system. This is the basis of the lawsuit NAPS has brought against the Postal Service. Thus, the battle continues.

Terry Mark, a motivational speaker, said: “The strong always face the battle and fight until they conquer, while the weak keep trying to escape every battle until they are defeated.” NAPS is strong, unafraid and dedicated to fighting for all EAS employees. Remember this when you seek to sign new members.

NAPS is fighting for all EAS employees. NAPS is strong and financially capable of fighting this battle until, ultimately, we will prevail. That is our mission, our commitment to you. We will not stop until EAS employees have a fair and just compensation system.

Your sacrifices, however, do not go unnoticed. NAPS appreciates you and all you do for the Postal Service and for your family. So, in closing, please allow me to wish you a wonderful Christmas and holiday season, a joyous and happy New Year and many blessings to you and your family in the year ahead.