A Time for Action: Letter Carrier Political Fund (LCPF)
As I make my office visits, I’ve been giving service talks to the members informing them of the attacks we are facing from Congress and this Administration. I’m saying this to make everyone aware of what is going on and that we must work together to protect our jobs and benefits. Some carriers don’t believe it will happen, and some respond that the Union only supports Democrats. That is absolutely NOT CORRECT. We support both Republicans and Democrats that support our issues. Recently three other Full Time Officers and I went to Washington to speak to the Congressional Representatives of Long Island. We asked them for their support on resolutions that protect our interests and benefits.
Currently there are several House Resolutions that we need to get out of committee and vote on the floor. To name a few they are as follows:
HR 70 To Oppose Privatization of the USPS. This speaks for itself, we oppose privatization of the USPS.
HR 1522 1522 Federal Retirement Fairness Act this would enable Temporary Employee’s and CCA’s the ability to buy back their time as non-career employees to have that time count towards their retirement. When this Bill passes 132,000 letter carriers that worked as a CCA or TE would benefit from this.
HR 1065 Protect Our Letter Carriers Act. This would require harsher sentencing for robbing and assaulting a letter carrier. As it stands now the laws throughout the country are not the same. In one state a carrier was robbed at gun point and the criminal was only sentenced to 30 days.
HR 491 Equal Cola Act. FERS employees when they retire do not get the full COLA as CSRS carriers. This legislation would eliminate the disparity and ensure fair treatment for all federal employees.
HR 20 Protect the Right to Organize. The PRO Act would strengthen protections under the National Labor Relations Act, ensuring the right to organize and collective bargaining. We do not want to go back to collective begging.
The White House recently sent their proposed Budget for next year and there are several items in the budget that will impact our benefits. The budget calls for the following changes:
Change the retirement annuity from the high 3 to the high 5.
Raise the FERS contribution for current employees to 4.4%.
Change the FERS contribution to 9.4% and allow a new reduced FERS annuity for new hires in 2029.
These proposed changes will be quite costly during our careers and our retirement. It is projected that by changing from the high 3 to high 5 our retirement benefit will be reduced by $25,000.00. Raising the contribution rate to 4.4% would increase the amount letter carriers will pay towards their retirement, thus reducing our take-home pay. This would mean carriers would have to contribute a higher percentage of their pay to maintain civil service protections, resulting in lower take-home pay. It also means potential for a new reduced FERS annuity towards our retirement. Thus, we will be paying more for our retirement system and receiving a smaller benefit.
As you can see now it is A TIME FOR ACTION and to contribute to the LETTER CARRIER POLITICAL FUND (LCPF). For those that have been working for many years this is the new version of the Committee on Letter Carier Political Education (COLCPE).
So, let me ask you, is it worth $5.00 a paycheck to protect all the benefits I have listed above that are in jeopardy? I know there may be a few people thinking COLCPE/LCPF have been around a long time and do not believe they are successful. That cannot be further from the truth. The NALC chief of staff is on the ball and has been crucial in the defense to preserve our benefits. Recently a big win for the CSRS Retirees was the signing of the elimination of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). The WEP reduced Social Security benefits for CSRS carriers that receive both a pension and qualify for Social Security was reduced 40% of their social security pension. The GPO reduced Social Security spousal and survivor benefits for individuals also receiving a government pension based on work that wasn’t covered by Social Security. ASK those retirees who have contributed to LCPF if it was worth investing in LCPF.
It is now easier than ever to contribute to LCPF, there are several methods to do it:
Carriers can use Payroll deduction to Contribute Automatically, use Postal Ease to set up an allotment deduction from your USPS paycheck, use Direct Bank Withdrawal and finally you can authorize the fund to withdraw a monthly electronic contribution directly from your personal checking account. And finally, Retirees can deduct from their Annuity to give monthly via an automatic deduction from your monthly annuity. Choose which method works best for you. Go online to contribute or download the LCPF Form and mail it to NALC Headquarters: The Letter Carrier Political Fund, 100 Indiana Ave., NW Washington, DC 20001. You can call PostalEASE toll-free at 1-877-4PS-EASE (1-877-477-3273).
On this upcoming Memorial Day when you are BBQing remember our fallen military service men and women who paid the ultimate price to defend our Democracy. I also want to wish all the fathers out there to have a Happy Father’s Day.
