The Postal Employees Relief Fund (PERF) is a humanitarian effort administered jointly by the Postal Service and each of the unions and management associations, supported financially by Postal Service employees primarily through the payroll deduction program of the Combined Federal Campaign. The fund was started in 1990 in response to the many employees in the Southeast U.S. and Caribbean who had their homes and property damaged by Hurricane Hugo. Since then, more than 3 thousand employees affected by subsequent natural disasters including floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and fires have been the recipients of grants totaling over $5 million. PERF will continue to serve an instrumental role in the recovery for employees who live and work in the parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida that were declared disaster areas as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

H. SAFETY

In 2005 the Postal Service continued to experience significant improvement in its safety program. Accident reduction plans targeted the most serious and prevalent accident causes. The Postal Service issued guidance and direction to employees on a wide variety of safety and health issues. Through mandatory safety talks, videos, and publications, employees were apprised of how to avoid injuries and illnesses. The award winning Safety Depends on Me video campaign, part of the Postal Service's overall employee safety and health communication program, provides employees with safety and health information.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 2005 injury and illness frequency rate for the Postal Service was 5.74 per 100 employees. This is down 13 percent from last year and equates to 5,748 fewer OSHA injuries and illnesses. In the past four years the Postal Service has reduced the total number of OSHA injuries and illnesses by 29,110, a 41 percent reduction. The Postal Service motor vehicle accident frequency rate was 10.3 per million miles, down 1.26 percent from last year. In the past 4 years the Postal Service has reduced its total number of motor vehicle accidents by 2,559, a 9.9 percent reduction.

The Postal Service continued involvement with emergency preparedness improvements, as well as with safety requirements mandated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

I. VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PROGRAMS

The Postal Service continues to partner with OSHA to implement its prestigious Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) in Postal Service facilities. VPP was created to recognize and encourage excellence in occupational safety and health protection. Participation requires comprehensive management systems with employees actively involved in anticipating, evaluating, and controlling the potential safety and health hazards. OSHA recognizes only those facilities that have implemented the best safety and health programs in industry.

To date the Postal Service has 49 worksites approved in VPP, 13 onsite evaluations scheduled, and 20 applications in review.

VPP is being implemented through the national, area, and local Joint Labor-Management Safety Committees. The decision to enter into the VPP process is a joint decision made between the unions and the Postal Service at the local level. A key benefit is improved employee relations that result from the cooperative involvement of management, OSHA, and the unions working together in its implementation.

J. ERGONOMIC RISK REDUCTION PROCESS

The Ergonomic Risk Reduction Process (ERRP) is designed to reduce both the number and severity of musculoskeletal disorders, build labor/management teams with ergonomic skill, and cultivate partnerships to identify and control ergonomic risk, among the Postal Service, OSHA, the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). As of September 2005, 67,587 postal employees at 93 facilities have received training in ERRP since inception in 2003. In 2005 the ERRP teams analyzed 4,665 tasks, resolved 3,276 tasks, and implemented 2,161 fixes locally. ERRP is scheduled to be implemented in 27 sites in 2006, 32 in 2007, and 31 in 2008.

Customer Service employees have also requested an ergonomic process to assist in the identification and reduction of musculoskeletal disorders. The organization of ERRP for Customer Service differs from the plants since CS ERRP is not confined to a single building. A model for CS ERRP was developed and successfully tested in 2005.

K. INJURY COMPENSATION

In 2005 the Postal Service had a decrease in workers' compensation chargeback from Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) of approximately $12.0 million below 2004. This reduced the total cash payout to $885.4 million. This total includes all Postal Service, Post Office Department, and administrative costs for the chargeback year.

The Postal Service continues to work closely with the OWCP to place injured employees who cannot be accommodated within the Postal Service into private sector assignments. In 2005 the program resulted in the outplacement, retirement, or reduction in compensation payments for 217 employees. Since inception of the Outplacement Rehabilitation Process, the Postal Service has reduced the annual compensation cost by over $11.5 million.

In continuing efforts to reduce workers' compensation medical costs, two new initiatives have been identified for implementation. Currently under development is the Pharmacy Card Program, which is designed for employees with work-related injuries to receive pharmacy discounts.