Postal Workers Set to Receive Wage Increases and Improved Working Conditions
The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) has reached a tentative deal with U.S. Postal Services in a Collective Bargaining Agreement that includes increased wages and improved working hours and conditions.
The new contract was agreed to on Friday and must now be ratified by the union’s 200,000 mail carriers.
The new contract, agreed to on Friday, must now be ratified by the union’s 200,000 mail carriers.
The NALC started negotiations with the U.S. Postal Service in June. ‘Since then, we have met frequently to exchange proposals and make progress toward the new contract postal workers deserve,’ states the NALC.
The U.S. Postal Service says the agreement supports its 10-year “Delivering for America” mission to adapt to changing customer needs and modernize operations.
As part of the deal, city carriers will receive three annual wage increases of 1.3% each by 2025. Some workers will be paid retroactively from November 2023 and receive retroactive and future cost-of-living wage adjustments. It has also been agreed to reduce the time it takes for workers to reach top pay scales.
Air-Conditioned Trucks Form Part of the Deal
Another undertaking agreed to by the U.S. Postal Service is to provide carriers with air-conditioned mail trucks.
A few electric delivery trucks fitted with air-conditioning were introduced last summer on routes in Athens, Georgia, to rave reviews from carriers whose previous vehicles lacked safety features, often broke down and, on occasion, even caught fire.
The U.S. Postal service has announced that it will expand its new delivery fleet to 60,000 trucks, mostly electric models, delivering mail from Maine to Hawaii.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and his deputy have been praised for ‘bargaining in good faith’ throughout the negotiations by the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Brian Renfroe.
Renfroe says that neither side got everything they wanted but by bargaining in good faith ended with an agreement that met goals and will reward union members.
Deputy Postmaster General and Chief Human Resources Officer, Doug Tulino, describes the agreement as fair and responsible, adding that it serves the best interests of employees, customers, and the future of the U.S. Postal Service.
Takeaways
This is the second contract agreement negotiated with the NALC since DeJoy became Postmaster General in 2020.
Ratification of the contract by union workers is expected\ to take several weeks.
The new agreement does not include rural mail deliverers who are represented by a different union.