The no layoff clause is seriously hurting the ability of the USPS to trim the workforce. But here is what I don’t understand;
The USPS just signed a new contract with the APWU in May. We were all expecting the no layoff clause to go, and modest pay cuts. Instead, the no layoff clause was EXPANDED to cover all current employees. In the previous contract, layoffs were prohibited only for career employees with six years of service.
In addition, our pay was not cut, but frozen until 2013. (We haven’t had a raise since 2009, and that was 1.2%).
One problem not discussed in this article is AGE. Our workers are old! I work in a package sorting facility, and the average age of workers is somewhere between 55 and 57 years old. We desperately need an injection of a little youth into the workforce.
How about no layoffs, just outright firing?