The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors discussed the pay-for-performance program it offers postal executives and other financial issues in a closed meeting this week.
The meeting was organized at the last minute, said a spokeswoman for the secretary of the Board of Governors, “because there is a lot to discuss right now, and the board is taking it very seriously and making sure they are up to date on the constantly changing environment.”
The USPS would not comment on any details discussed at the meeting.
Perhaps the hottest financial issue at the USPS right now is the pay-for-performance program.
Earlier this summer, the USPS announced that it may give its senior managers additional pay incentives of up to 25 percent later this year, even though the agency is expected to lose $1 billion or more this year and seek a substantial rate increase in October.
In a letter to about 900 top postal executives earlier this month, postmaster general Jack Potter said that if the USPS continues to increase productivity this year, managers' bonuses could amount to a quarter of their salaries.
The bonus program, known as the Economic Value Added Variable Pay Program, is based on total factor productivity, among other factors.
Potter said the USPS has “reduced work hours … and achieved additional total factor productivity gains of 2 percent,” he said. The agency “has made great progress this year in a very difficult business environment with challenging goals,” he said.
Postal critics say the agency's EVA program could allow postal managers to become eligible for substantial bonuses even if the agency falls short of the productivity gains needed for the agency to be financially sound.
