Where I grew up in western Kentucky, there were two jobs that you could count on for life: a job at the state prison and a job at the post office. Unionized postal workers, as you may or may not know, are protected for life from layoffs once they serve six years.
The prison business seems to be as robust as ever. But for the first time ever, the U.S. Postal Service is considering layoffs.
FederalTimes.com reports:
According to American Postal Workers Union president William Burrus, Postmaster General John Potter told union leaders that as many as 16,000 employees who lack the six years of continuous service necessary to insulate them from layoffs are at risk of losing their jobs.
Technology makes post offices less necessary these days.
The American Postal Workers Union says:
Postmaster General John E. Potter informed the unions and the Postal Regulatory Commission this month that the Postal Service has experienced a 12 percent reduction in mail volume and that in Fiscal Year 2008 (ending Sept. 30), expenses will exceed revenue by approximately $2.3 billion.
Burrus says the union's contract will dictate who, if anyone, gets laid off:
Let me be clear: The possibility that the Postal Service may exercise its authority to layoff career employees is real, but it would affect very few APWU-represented employees. The 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement guarantees that each employee who is employed in the regular work force as of Nov. 20, 2006, "shall be protected henceforth against any involuntary layoff or force reduction during the term of this Agreement."
The agreement also provides that “upon completion of six years of continuous service in their regular workforce” APWU-represented employees are protected against any involuntary layoff or force reduction "during any period of employment in the regular work force with the United States Postal Service or successor organization in his or her lifetime." To receive credit for the year, an employee must have worked at least one hour (or received a call-in guarantee in lieu of work) in at least 20 of the 26 pay periods during that anniversary year.
