KATRINA VER INFORMATION - December 13, 2005

The Postal Service has received approval from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under its Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) to offer VER to career employees in the Louisiana and Mississippi Districts.  The purpose of this VER is to provide impacted employees an opportunity to retire early and to create reassignment opportunities for employees whose permanent assignments no longer exist. The VER effective dates for full-time employees for this VER offer will be January 31, 2006, February 28, 2006 or March 31, 2006. The VER effective date for part-time employees (PTF and PTR) for this VER offer will be March 31, 2006.

Second financial hardship withdrawals available for Katrina victims — Through December 31, 2005, victims of hurricane Katrina who have made a financial hardship withdrawal from the TSP within the past 6 months may make a second financial hardship withdrawal. For more information,

see Hurricane Relief

APWU Creates ‘Message Board’ For Katrina-Impacted Members

November 9, 2005 - The APWU has established a new communication feature for union members impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The APWU Katrina Forum is an electronic message board where Katrina employees can locate co-workers; tell friends where they are and how they are doing, and share news and comments about their post-hurricane work lives. The Web address is: www.apwukatrinaforum.org

Union, Management Create Form For Katrina-Related Disputes

 The APWU and USPS have agreed that disputes arising from Hurricane Katrina should be recorded using an Administrative Dispute Resolution form. [read more]

Business Travel Policy for Employees Providing Hurricane
Recovery and Relief Support -October 26, 2005- An increase in travel reimbursement for meals and incidentals (M&I) is authorized for Postal Service employees on regular travel providing hurricane recovery and relief support in the affected areas of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

USPS, APWU and Mail Handlers Reach Agreement On Workers Displaced by Katrina -September 28, 2005-The specific provisions in the union agreements differ, but the main intent of both MOU's is to minimize the effects of dislocation and inconvenience to employees while maintaining the efficiency of Postal Service operations in Katrina's aftermath - APWU MOU (PDF) | NPMHU MOU (PDF)

: APWU News Bulletin: Employees will retain seniority

- Displaced employees rebuilding their lives

    Other common general principles include the following:
    * Employees who are allowed to work where they have relocated will be
      treated as voluntary temporary reassignments.

    * Affected employees may be employed as needed at any location in order to
      provide employment and maintain work efficiency.

    * Affected employees will be given an opportunity to seek permanent
      voluntary transfer to other work locations.

    * A "liberal leave" policy is in effect for affected employees.

    The MOU's define affected employees as a "regular work force employee in a
craft represented by (the union) whose official duty station on September 2,
2005, was in an office that curtailed all operations due to Hurricane Katrina."
 

 USPS: Rita Recovery Continues

-September 27, 2005 The Postal Service is working to re-establish service throughout the areas Hurricane Rita hit hardest by reconnecting with our employees, assessing damage to facilities, deploying portable generators and identifying temporary or alternate retail locations for customers to conduct postal business.

- Postal Service Working to Re-Establish Service in Golden Triangle Area

- Katrina Took Homes, But the Mail Still Comes

NALC/USPS Work to Fill Vacancies with Displaced Gulf Coast Carriers -September 19, 2005 -(NALC News Bulletin) After a meeting with NALC President William H. Young September 15, the Postal Service agreed with the union to allow letter carriers displaced by Hurricane Katrina to temporarily work in the city where they now reside. While a formal Memorandum of Understanding on the situation is being developed, the NALC and USPS have agreed that any employee who wants to work where they are now situated should contact the local postmaster.

- APWU Donates $60,000 to Postal Employees Relief Fund

- Postal Service starts drive for hurricane victims
- Uniforms Donated to Postal Workers in Hurricane Area

- Postal Service opens offices in Mississippi
- Dallas District welcomes displaced employees

- NPMHU: Bush Administration Undercuts Wages, Benefits in Katrina Zone 

- U.S. Mail Service Getting Back on Track -PMG Jack Potter talks with host Michele Norris on NPR's All Things Considered

Postal Workers Asked to Report to Work

 September 14, 2005 - -As post offices across southeastern Louisiana continue to reopen, the Postal Service is asking all postal employees in the area to report back to work at their regular postal facility, if they are able to do so. Anthony Ruda, the lead executive for the Postal Service Recovery Team efforts for Louisiana, also emphasized that postal employees who have relocated outside their immediate area and have not yet returned should report to any postal facility to inquire about work that may be available to them.

Mississippi District Manager's Decision Angers Postal Workers
Employees told to work day after Katrina - Hattiesburg Postal workers are calling for a congressional investigation into the actions of District Manager James Daily, who was responsible for updating a phone message that advises workers whether they should report to work. The message on Aug. 29 told all workers in the 394 area, except Picayune, to report as normal. It had not been updated at 7:45 a.m. although Katrina had made landfall shortly after 6 a.m. as a Category 4 hurricane and winds were rapidly increasing in the Pine Belt, Bennett said.

APWU: Red Cross Shelters Serving Postal Katrina Victims

September 9, 2005) The APWU has acquired a list of Red Cross shelters (pdf) that are providing relief to Hurricane Katrina victims and that may be housing postal employees and their families – the information is by no means complete, and it is likely to change frequently. APWU members and local and state organizations eager to assist Katrina victims are encouraged to call or visit a site to volunteer or to learn of a shelter’s needs. We are also asking APWU representatives to visit the sites to help locate postal employees who are still unaccounted for. The representatives are asked to contact the Human Relations Department (202-842-4271) with an update of their site visits.

Potter to America: September 08, 2005

Mail services being restored where possible and safe to do so, displaced customers need to file change of address, displaced employees are asked to call in. "The Postmaster General and each District Manager sent a Newsbreak yesterday to each district asking employees if they know the whereabouts of any displaced employees temporarily sheltering in their districts to urge those employees to contact the Postal Service by calling 1-877-477-3273."

Service Reestablished at Many Louisiana Post Offices

USPS: Katrina Damage Could Surpass $100 Million (DMNews) September 08, 2005 -Thomas G. Day, senior vice president of government relations, told reporters yesterday that the damage extends to buildings, vehicles, processing equipment in the buildings, retail equipment and vending equipment. The $100 million figure is an estimate, he said. The agency is doing an assessment and will have a more solid number for the Office of Management and Budget by the end of September. Day said the OMB asked for the assessment. "We do not normally receive appropriations for something like this," he said. "The only time really in an emergency that we've reached out and sought an appropriation in response was the anthrax event

 2,000 Postal Workers Missing | Map of affected Post Offices

- NALC Donates $50,000 for Katrina Aid To Postal Employees' Relief Fund

-

    This option for employees to pick up their paychecks will be available for
affected postal employees ONLY beginning Thursday, September 8 and Friday,
September 9 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.  Affected employees unable to pickup their paychecks should call 225-763-3650 for additional information.

    Photo identification is required to receive your paycheck. The Baton Rouge Processing and Distribution Center is located at 8101 Bluebonnet Blvd. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70826-9998.  Employees can exit Interstate 10 at the Bluebonnet Blvd. exit and go south approximately 1.5 miles.  The facility is located on the left.

PMG: We need your help
Employees in Districts around the country asked to help find displaced employees
 

Hurricane update — helping customers reconnect (USPS News Link)

September 06, 2005

Reconnecting Employees
Like many businesses in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the Postal Service is reaching its employees through a toll-free number — 1-877-477-3273 — so employees can notify the Postal Service of their location. Employees who call are connected to a USPS Call Center agent, who will collect the employee’s information. To date, the Call Center has received more than 3,000 calls from displaced employees.

Reestablishing service
When and where it is safe to do so, the Postal Service is re-entering storm-damaged areas to reopen Post Offices to restore mail delivery and service, and establish mobile retail centers to serve customer needs in damaged areas. USPS now has a policy in place to make sure employees are safe when re-entering facilities damaged by the storm surge and flood waters. On-site assessments of damage to New Orleans postal facilities, including the New Orleans P&DC, continues

Finding employees, delivering the mail
2,800 employees tell us they’re safe; 36,000 displaced customers provide temporary addresses so we can get their mail to them
September 05, 2005

More than 2,800 employees in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area have contacted the Postal Service to let us know they are safe and to give us their contact information so we can make sure they get their paychecks and know how to reach them with work-related information.

The national media has helped us get the word out to employees by publicizing our toll-free number, 1-877-477-3273, as have employees with information about displaced employees. Many of our employees who lived in the storm’s path are now scattered across the country, living temporarily with relatives and friends or in hotels.

Each day a few more postal facilities are coming back online in the disaster area as our employees continue their efforts to safely restore vital mail service to the storm’s victims. map of affected Post Offices.