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FederalDaily - December 8, 2005

USPS Reports Good News

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reported this week that it concluded fiscal 2005 with a net income of $1.4 billion on record revenues of $70 billion and record volume of 212 billion pieces of mail. “Financially, we are in the best position we’ve been since the 1970s,” said Postmaster General John E. Potter at the December meeting of the Board of Governors. According to USPS, there have been three straight years of operating surpluses. The cash generated from the surpluses have been used to reduce the Postal Service’s once $11 billion in debt to zero. In 2005, mail volume increased 5.6 billion pieces to 212 billion. Standard Mail outpaced First-Class Mail for the first time in history with 101 billion pieces of Standard Mail compared to 98 billion in First-Class Mail. First-Class Mail grew slightly in 2005 after three years of decline.

OPM Notes Pay-for-Performance Successes

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) this week issued a report expressing confidence in the use of contemporary pay and personnel systems. The report, “ Alternative Personnel Systems in Practice and a Guide to the Future,” gives an overview of the federal government’s 25-year history with alternative pay and performance-based personnel systems, OPM said. “This experience helps make the case for retiring the 55-year-old General Schedule pay system,” said an OPM statement, “and adopting flexible, performance-based compensation systems.” Unions have been strongly opposing the idea of pay-for-performance government-wide. For more on this story, see the upcoming Dec. 12, 2005, issue of Federal Employees News Digest. To subscribe, click here.

OPM Recommends Pulling PBP from FEHPB

The Office of Personnel Management issued a notice of intent to withdraw approval of the Postmasters Benefit Plan (PBP) for participation in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), effective Jan. 1, 2006. The decision follows OPM’s determination that “the risk to participants covered by this carrier exceeds the standards established to protect the interests of federal employees and retirees.” The plan currently covers 1,245 active federal and postal employees and 6,950 retirees; the entire FEHBP has 4.4 million enrollees and covers about 8 million people, including dependents. OPM said individuals can continue to be in the PBP until a final determination is made about the plan. If OPM’s review leads to sustaining the determination to withdraw approval, PBP enrollees will be given an opportunity to select a new plan.

NTEU/IRS Agree on Performance Awards Program

The IRS and National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) negotiated a new mid-term labor agreement, to be implemented on Jan. 3, which will bring IRS employees under a “more robust performance awards program that recognizes outstanding service by employees,” according to the union. NTEU said a key component of the new agreement is a strengthening of what has become “the best and most far-reaching incentive award system in the federal government,” setting aside $50 million annually to reward those IRS employees who meet the negotiated criteria for excellent performance. The level of funding for the employee awards program is 1.6 percent of bargaining unit salaries. The agreement also links performance appraisals to the promotion process.

SBA Lost Employee to Hurricane Katrina

The Small Business Association (SBA) lost one of its employees, Helen White, 54, when she drowned in her house due to flooding from Hurricane Katrina, FederalNewsRadio has reported. White worked for the SBA in the New Orleans District Office as a disaster loan specialist. She is survived by her daughter and three grandchildren, and donations may be made to the family at the following address:

Ms. Kisa White
2916 North Monterey Court, Apt. D3
Terrytown , LA 70056