CONTENTS Goodman, Sidney, president, National Postal Union, accompanied by David Silvergleid, secretary... Griner, John, president, American Federation of Government Em- Hallbeck, E. C., president, United Federation of Postal Clerks, accom- Keating, Jerome J., president, National Association of Letter Carriers, accompanied by J. Stanly Lewis, secretary-treasurer, and J. Don Kerlin, legislative consultant.. McAvoy, Harold, president, National Association of Post Office and Postal Transportation Service, Mail Handlers, Watchmen, and McCart, John, operations director, Government Employes' Council, Messer, Ross, legislative representative, National Association of Post Office and General Services Maintenance Employees.. Murphy, Hon. Richard J., Assistant Postmaster General, Bureau of Personnel, accompanied by John D. Swygert, Director, Installations Management Division, Bureau of Operations, and Alfred J. Dumas, Employment and Placement Division, Bureau of Personnel. Parrish, Chester, secretary-treasurer, representing Everett G. Gibson, president, National Federation of Post Office Motor Vehicle Smith, Ashby G., president, National Alliance of Postal Employees-- Smith, Robert L., assistant to the president, representing Nathan T. Wolkomir, president, National Federation of Federal Employees--- Snyder, John P., executive director, National Association of Post- masters of the United States. - - Warfel, George L., president, National Association of Special Delivery EXEMPTION OF POSTAL FIELD SERVICE FROM THE WHITTEN AMENDMENT TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 1965 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON POSTAL OPERATIONS OF THE Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in room 215, Cannon Building, Hon. Thaddeus J. Dulski (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. DULSKI. The meeting will come to order. The Subcommittee on Postal Operations is meeting this morning to begin the consideration of legislation to exempt the postal field service from the employee ceiling limitations of the Whitten amend ment. Mr. Morrison, vice chairman of the committee, introduced H.R. 6299, and I introduced H.R. 6249. These are identical bills. (H.R. 6249 follows:) [H.R. 6249, 89th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To make the provisions of Public Law 82-253, as amended, inapplicable to the Post Office Department. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 1310(a) of Public Law 82-253, as amended (65 Stat. 757), which fixes a ceiling on permanent employees in the Federal Government is amended by changing the first proviso to read: "This limitation shall not apply to the postal field service of the Post Office Department:". Mr. DULSKI. The Whitten amendment, enacted November 1, 1951, as an amendment to an appropriation act, is contained in section 1310, Public Law 82-253. Section 1310 prohibits any Government agency from making an initial career appointment, or from making a conversion to career employment, which would increase the total number of permanent employees of the Federal Government in excess of 10 percent above the total number of permanent employees on September 1, 1950. The limitation applies until termination of the national emergency proclaimed by the President on September 16, 1950. In 1962, 10 percent of the permanent employees of the postal field service were excluded from the limitation by an amendment to section 1310 contained in section 717(b) of the Federal Salary Reform Act of 1962, Public Law 87-793. The bills now before the subcommittee are intended to exempt all permanent appointments in the postal field service from the limitation. Also I propose to introduce a new bill-H.R. 6622-to make it clear that the exemption is intended to apply only to the postal field service. (The new bill follows:) [H.R. 6622, 89th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To exempt the postal field service from section 1310 of the Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1952 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 1310(a) of the Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1952, as amended (5 U.S.C. 43, note), is amended by striking out "That increases in the number of permanent personnel in the Postal Field Service not exceeding 10 per centum above the total number of its permanent employees on September 1, 1950, shall not be chargeable to this limitation: And provided further,' (b) Section 1310 of such Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 43, note), is amended by adding at the end thereof the following subsection: "(f) This section shall not apply to the postal field service of the Post Office Department.". Mr. DULSKI. We are very happy to have as our first witness the Honorable Richard J. Murphy, Assistant Postmaster General, Bureau of Personnel. He has with him a very dear friend of ours, Mr. John Swygert. Director, Installations Management Division, Bureau of Operations. STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD J. MURPHY, ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL, BUREAU OF PERSONNEL; ACCOMPANIED BY JOHN D. SWYGERT, DIRECTOR, INSTALLATIONS MANAGEMENT DIVISION, BUREAU OF OPERATIONS, AND ALFRED J. DUMAS, EMPLOYMENT AND PLACEMENT DIVISION, BUREAU OF PERSONNEL Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Chairman, I also have with me Mr. Alfred J. Dumas from the Employment and Placement Division, Bureau of Personnel. Mr. DULSKI. We are very happy to have you with us. Mr. MURPHY. First of all, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you on behalf of the Postmaster General for the opportunity of appearing here this morning and to strongly commend both you and Mr. Morrison on behalf of the Postmaster General for introducing this particular bill which we in the Post Office Department feel is very much needed indeed. Because of the constant growth in mail volume, it has been necessary each year to increase the employment in the postal field service. The end result has been that while the rest of the executive branch has sustained only a very moderate increase in the number of permanent employees since September 1, 1950, the increases in the postal field service have served to bring the executive branch, as a whole, perilously close to the authorized ceiling. At the time the Whitten amendment was adopted, its sponsors indicated clearly that there was no intention to restrict the postal postal field service in its normal and inevitable growth. Although this was not reflected in the language of the original act, it did not constitute an immediate problem. However, with the steadily continuing growth in the postal service, Congress did recognize the plight of the Department, and by Public Law 87-793 of October 11, 1962, provided: That the increase in the number of permanent personnel in the postal field service not exceeding 10 percent above the total number of its permanent employees on September 1, 1950, shall not be chargeable to this limitation. Despite this temporary relief, the needs of the Service continue to expand and now the postal field service is over our pro rata share of the Whitten ceiling. In fact, we have made substantial inroads into the pro rata share of the ceiling applicable to the balance of the executive branch. Since the increased mail volume has demanded more employees than allowed under our permanent work force, our only alternative has been to employ largely noncareer temporary personnel. These are known as "temporary substitutes." Persons in this category lack career status and are unsure of their continued employment. They are subject to displacement when career appointments arise. Many of the best qualified eligible candidates on civil service registers will not accept less than career-permanent employment and await such openings. As a result, our employment problems are increased. For example, turnover among the temporary group is high, causing extra expense to the Government for processing, recruiting, and training. In addition, there are personal and public aspects of the problem. For example, most employee organizations have objected to employing temporary substitutes, and I think quite rightly so; employees themselves dislike such status; postmasters are unsure of the full nature of their permanent work force; and operating costs are increased due to problems of seniority, assignments, retraining, and turnover. Why is relief needed? factors: The postal increase results from these 1. There is a constant increase in population in the Nation, with more than a proportionate increase in mail volume each year; additional personnel are required to handle the workload. The percentage of personnel added to process the increased volume of mail is not as high as the increase in mail volume. Roughly, we add 2 percent more man-hours to handle a 3-percent increase in mail volume. Sometimes less than that. Through training, better supervision, patron cooperation, improved work methods, and some mechanical assistance, we are constantly seeking to hold down the total number of employees and man-hours and improve the productivity factor. However, it has not been possible to prevent some rise in the number of employees in the face of an ever-mounting mail volume. There are now approximately 57,000 postal employees who are nonpermanent. They have been needed to augment the permanent work force, primarily in peak periods, but many of them have worked 10 or 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. day, 6 days a week. We have found that a large number of assignments filled by temporary employees can and should be regularized and established as full-time, 8-hour-a-day assignments to be filled on a permanent career basis. In recent years the Department has taken certain actions to level out the workflow and to provide for the establishment of more regular full-time positions while reducing temporary substitute employment. This is important to the stability, morale, and efficiency of the work force. It has the enthusiastic support of the employee |