From the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC)

President Young told delegates at the NALC Convention in Boston last week that “very little has been decided” about the possibility the Postal Service will extend to city letter carriers its pending “Voluntary Early Retirement” program for clerks, mail handlers and their supervisors. Young, who is in close contact with USPS on the issue, emphasized that if there is an “early out” offer to city letter carriers, it would be limited and not likely to occur before 2009. Even with the advent of flat sorting equipment and the decline in volume, he reminded the delegates there are still 145 million delivery points that need service by carriers. If any substantial information becomes available, members will be notified promptly, President Young said