Federal Retirement Fairness Act Reintroduced!

On Feb. 24, 2025, the Federal Retirement Fairness Act, or H.R. 1522, was reintroduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA-11) and Rep. David Valadao (R-CA-22). This bipartisan bill would allow temporary postal and federal employees who are promoted to career positions the option of “buying back” the time that they had worked as a non-career employee to use toward their retirement.

Temporary postal employees are non-career employees, such as postal support employees (PSEs), transitional employees, and casuals, who are unable to make contributions to their retirement benefits until they become USPS career employees.

Prior to 1989, postal workers were allowed to make retroactive “catch up” contributions to their retirement benefits, after they made career status, for all the time they worked as a temporary employee. Unfortunately, the authority to make retroactive payments expired on Jan. 1, 1989.

Under the proposed “buy back,” eligible postal workers and federal employees have the voluntary option to make a deposit equal to the amount that would have been contributed to their retirement benefits had they been career employees since their employment began. The calculation of the amount is determined by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). This legislation would help postal and federal employees retire earlier by counting the time they worked as a non-career employee toward their retirement. It would affect more than 100,000 APWU members who have converted from temporary to career positions.

As of March 3, 2025, the Federal Retirement Fairness Act has 25 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. Please keep an eye on apwu.org for future information on a Call to Action Day for the Federal Retirement Fairness Act. Remember, an injury to one is an injury to all. We are much stronger together in solidarity, so please help your fellow union members in this collective fight for full, on-time retirement benefits!

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APWU 133 Clerk Craft Director Kayla Reynolds attends the Washington DC Rally with her leadership class in opposition of President Trumps potential change to the Postal Service. 

Postmaster General (PMG) Louis DeJoy has informed the Postal Board of Governors that he will soon depart the Postal Service. The Board of Governors, who by law is solely responsible for hiring the PMG, will begin the process of identifying DeJoy’s successor and DeJoy has committed to working with the Board to ensure a smooth transition once the Board has chosen the next PMG.

The APWU calls on the Board to appoint a Postmaster General who values the important role the public Postal Service plays in communities across the country. At this critical moment for the Postal Service, we need a PMG who is committed to making the USPS a world-class delivery and service provider, able to meet the changing demands of our digital age with an unmatched physical and human network.

To do this, the next Postmaster General must recognize and respect the postal workers who make the USPS run, our health and safety, our union rights, and our commitment to serving the public.

Postal workers are proud to reach 167 million addresses six days a week, “binding the Nation together” as the law requires us to do. The Postal Service, enshrined in the Constitution, is older than the country itself. And as we saw during the pandemic, or following natural disasters, postal workers never stop working to serve our communities and provide the essential services they need.

Now, in a moment when public servants are under severe attack, postal workers and the people we serve in every state and every Congressional district, are prepared to defend our critical public service and ensure the continued success of a vibrant, public Postal Service for generations to come.

Postal workers are deeply dedicated to the long-term success of the Postal Service and our union calls on the Board to select a Postmaster General who shares our goals of improving and expanding service and investing in the public servants who make the Postal Service a true national treasure.