President Young makes a point during testimony before congressional panel.

NALC President William H. Young urged Congress July 9 to enact legislation to provide postal, federal and military retirees with millions of dollars in out-of-pocket savings by allowing them to pay health insurance premiums on a pretax basis like active postal and federal employees.

Testifying on behalf of postal labor at a hearing of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Reorganization, Young told subcommittee chair Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) that the NALC takes pride in having been a leader in establishing "premium conversion" within the federal community.

"Thanks to the collective bargaining process in place for postal employees, we were able to establish premium conversion for our active members nearly a decade before it became available to the rest of the federal workforce," Young said. "Over that time, this bargained-for contractual provision has saved active letter carriers throughout the country millions of dollars."

Young praised full committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) and Sen. John Warner (R-VA) for leading the effort to expand this benefit to retirees. Davis' bill, H.R. 1231, already has more than 280 cosponsors.

Opening the testimony, Congressman Davis said annuitants "are losing more and more of their monthly paychecks to healthcare premiums" adding that his bill "is important to establish parity between employees and retirees."

Young appeared on a panel with Charles L. Fallis, president, National Association of Retired Federal Employees, and Sue Schwartz, deputy director, Military Officers Association of America.

Under questioning by Chairwoman Davis, Young said premium conversion "is a basic issue of fairness" adding that "It's just not right. It's not fair." for postal retirees to be treated differently than active employees.

His comments were praised by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). "It's not fair. I'm ready to vote," Van Hollen said. Chairwoman Davis said at the conclusion of the hearing that the bill is scheduled for "markup" by the subcommittee July 16.

Young pointed out to the subcommittee that while letter carriers are generally a healthy group, a full career of walking the streets and battling the elements also presents postal retirees with some unique and physical challenges and some difficult financial decisions exasperated by the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset which deprive civil service retirees of earned benefits.

Using as an example a new NALC retiree with 30 years service under the Civil Service Retirement System and enrolled in the family-coverage NALC Health Benefit Plan, Young showed how H.R. 1231 would save such a retiree $345 yearly.

"That may not sound like a lot, but to people who must live on a modest fixed income in the face of escalating health care costs and rising premiums, such savings are not insignificant," Young added.

NALC has received several inquiries from members about the possibility of early outs for letter carriers in light of workers in other crafts receiving such offers from the Postal Service.

Letter carriers are not receiving such offers because the future for them is brighter than those in the other crafts. There is no need to downsize the letter carrier craft.

Furthermore, the attraction of these early out offers is not nearly as rosy as it seems, once you examine the proposal. Individuals accepting the early outs will see their annuities reduced by 2 percentage points a year for each year they are short of the normal required years for retirement eligibility. And there is no cash incentive for taking this reduction.

In short, it is not a good deal.

Secretary-Treasurer Jane E. Broendel has announced that Holiday Inn Airport #2 (also known as Holiday Inn West) has been added as an official NALC hotel site for the September 6-7 National Rap Session in Bloomington, MN, near the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The Radisson Hotel South & Towers, where the Rap Session will be held, has announced that no more rooms are available. NALC members are being redirected by the hotel to the Holiday Inn where the special $89 single/double plus tax NALC Rap Session rate per night also applies.

Those still needing room accommodations should call the Holiday Inn Airport #2 directly at (952) 831-8000 and mention you want the special NALC Rap Session rate. The hotel is located at 5401 Green Valley Drive in Bloomington.

Hotel shuttle bus service will be available from the airport to both hotels. Members should go to their respective hotel's courtesy phone near baggage claim to arrange for pickup. Transportation will also be available between the Holiday Inn and Radisson South.

A pre-event reception will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday evening, September 5 at the Radisson Hotel South. Formal Rap Session activity will encompass both Saturday and Sunday, September 6 and 7.

Four workshops on issues affecting letter carriers on the workroom floor and the future of the Postal Service will be offered all day Saturday, with each being conducted twice. The "Rap Session" with NALC's national officers will be held Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Discounted airfares are available through Northwest Airlines by calling Northwest World Meeting & Incentive Reservations at 1-800-328-1111, Monday through Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., Central Time, and mention the special code for the NALC Rap Session, WorldFile NY695.