Federal Daily - November 6, 2009

Don’t Retire Until You Read This!

There is something you should know if you are planning to retire at the end of the year—or if you could retire but the economy has made you unsure, says Judy Welles on her Federal Computer Week blog.

That something is contained in the National Defense Authorization Act just signed into law by President Obama—the new ability for federal retirees to return to government work through limited, part-time appointments without reducing their annuities.

Why retire and then go to back work? Welles says there may be a reason beyond just putting extra cash in your pocket: It’s good for you.

Welles cites a national study published by the American Psychological Association that shows that retirees who transition from full-time work into temporary or part-time jobs have fewer major diseases and mental health problems. And such “bridge employment” between a full-time career and full retirement can help you perform better on a day-to-day basis. See more details at: http://fcw.com/Blogs/GetaLife/2009/11/judy-welles-federal-workforce-bridge-retirement.aspx.

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VA Finds It on Craigslist

The Department of Veterans Affairs has done what many people do when looking for just the right product or service—it went to Craigslist. Or rather, to the man who created it. VA announced this week that Craigslist founder Craig Newmark has agreed to serve on a blue-ribbon panel charged with reviewing ways to reduce VA disability claims processing times and cut backlogs.

“I am very encouraged by the fact that VA is embracing new ways to look at old problems,” said Newmark, a supporter of veteran’s causes—and a vocal proponent of using technology to support government innovation.

The panel, chaired by Patrick W. Dunne, VA under secretary for benefits, will evaluate ideas submitted by VA employees and members of veterans service organizations. VA officials from each of the 57 regional offices across the country have submitted ideas, VA said, and the agency has received and reviewed over 3,000 suggestions since Sept. 8.

The panel will review the top 17 submissions and chose five projects that will receive full funding at the regional VA office that submitted the idea. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1808.

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APWU Says to USPS—‘We’ll Do it Cheaper’

American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus this week prodded the Postal Service to respond to the union’s offer to sort—at a cheaper rate—letters that are now processed through outside worksharing discount arrangements.

At issue is an offer Burrus made last month to sort all letters at 10.4 cents a piece—and to do parcel processing for free. That rate is a tenth of a cent less than the 10.5-cent discount that major mailers get under worksharing arrangements in which mailers add bar codes and pre-sort mail in exchange for a lower postal rate. Burris challenged the Postal Service either to accept the union’s rate, or to cut the discount it provides to commercial mailers to a rate less than APWU’s 10.4-cent offer.

Burrus said he made the offer to show the inequities in the current arrangements.

“We will take the raw mail, as it arrives in collection boxes, and sort it all the way to 11 digits, at a lower cost than the discount ‘worksharers’ receive now for five-digit,” Burrus said.

Burrus also said he believes the pre-sorting done by major mailers is incomplete and largely useless. “The work performed by the mailer that allegedly justifies the discount does not complete the preparation of mail for delivery and serves little purpose,” Burrus said in a Nov. 4 statement. “The postal system would do just fine if the mailers performed no mail-processing activity and paid the uniform rate.”

Claims that USPS would need to add huge numbers of employees if the Postal Service accepted the offer are false, Burrus said, adding that the union would pay for any additional employees USPS hired to handle the increased mail volume. To see more, go to: www.apwu.org/news/burrus/2009/update18-2009-0911104.htm.

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