Postal Worker Union Wary About Early Retirement Offer In Newark Area

NEWARK, NJ — Some U.S. Post Office employees in the Newark area are being offered the chance to retire early – but their union is cautioning them to think it over before signing on the dotted line.

The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) released a statement about the situation earlier this week, calling the targeted voluntary early retirement offer a “surprise announcement.”

“It is not the place of the national APWU to give advice on whether to retire or not,” the union stated. “That is a personal decision. However, it is a decision with implications that members should know and consider.”

The union says the offer comes with no monetary incentive, unlike other offers made in 2009 and 2012. It is also limited to employees in particular crafts and jobs.

“The union is deeply disturbed that this announcement was made with virtually no advance notification to the APWU, either at the national level or with the local union leaders in the impacted facilities,” said its president, Mark Dimondstein.

“This lack of communication, lack of opportunity for the union to negotiate over these changes and the scope of this voluntary early retirement [offer], what crafts are eligible and whether there should be monetary incentives is outrageous,” Dimondstein said. “Their disrespect for the union and postal workers, and their refusal to bargain, has been met with immediate demands for bargaining, information requests, unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board and will be followed up with appropriate grievances.”

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