More than one-third of local U.S. Postal Service workers eligible for a retirement incentive have said they might take the offer.
A total of 58 members of the local branch of the American Postal Workers Union have applied for the offer of up to $15,000 apiece to leave the agency, said David Van Allen, a USPS regional spokesman.
A total of 170 were eligible. The incentive was offered as the postal service seeks to reduce its work force to help cut operating costs. The agency lost $15.9 billion last year.
The local eligible employees work at the Akron mail processing and distribution center on Wolf Ledges Parkway and at post offices, stations and branches in the Akron area.
Nationally, about 115,000 employees were eligible.
Bloomberg News reported that about 26,000 workers nationally have said they will take the incentive, meaning about one fourth of those eligible have signed up.
The local branch of the American Postal Workers Union — Akron Local 120 — has about 360 members, said the local’s president, Mary Sitko.
The 58 members who have applied for the incentive represent about 16 percent of the total union membership.
To be eligible for the incentive, employees must have at least 20 years of service and be 50 years of age or must have 25 years of service at any age.
Sitko said she expects the number of local employees who actually take the incentive will be closer to 40. She said most employees have until Jan. 31 to revoke their applications.
“A lot of employees just applied to see what their [retirement] annuity would be” if they left postal service employment, Sitko said.
Sitko said she is not surprised at the number who applied. “The postal service is making changes very quickly, consolidating plants,” she said. “We’re waiting on Congress to come up with legislation” to bring back the agency to financial stability.
Sitko noted that the Akron mail processing center on Wolf Ledges, near Interstate 76/77, remains on a list of centers to be closed nationwide.
Last year, the postal service spared the 400-employee Akron center from the initial round of closings. The Akron center is slated to remain open at least through this year. The 400 workers are represented by the American Postal Service Workers Union and several other unions.
Plans call for the 200-employee center in Canton to shut down this year.
Meanwhile, on Jan. 27, it will cost a penny more to mail a first-class letter. The rate increase, approved last year, raises the price of a first-class domestic stamp to 46 cents.
“Forever Stamps” — which can be used regardless of when they were purchased — will cost 46 cents apiece.
The price of a postcard stamp will rise from 32 cents to 33 cents, and customers can use a new global “Forever Stamp” to mail letters anywhere in the world for a set price of $1.10.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.