What to be Aware of When Being Converted from CCA to Career Employee
One of the things I feel makes the NALC unique, especially Branch 6000, is how much information we put out to our membership. From top to bottom you will never find a more transparent, hardworking organization then our Union. Probably the most vulnerable Members are the newly converted Carriers. Because they have already worked as CCA, many employees around them assume that they already know what is important. So, this is a little basic information that I hope will find those new Career Employees that have slipped through the cracks.
First and foremost; The Pay! Congratulations, the newly converted employee can expect a minimum hourly increase of $3.00, and as much as $5.62 for a PTF on a T-6 Opt, as per Table 2 of the NALC Letter Carrier Schedule. New pay scales are published on the NALC.ORG website. As of November 15th, (Grade2/T-6) PTF (Step B) – 26.28/26.83; Regular 25.17/25.70. This number may go up on March 7th 2026 if there is a COLA increase.
The newly converted Carriers’ bankable leave will double by nature of receiving earned Sick Leave. Let’s discuss the differences between Sick Leave and Annual Leave. The Career Carrier receives 4 hours of Sick Leave per Pay Period. This number will stay static the length of the Carrier’s career unless something different is negotiated nationally. There is no cap on Sick Leave; you can accumulate as much as you earn. However, you cannot sell your Sick Leave back to the Service or transfer it to another Employee that is sick or injured. At the end of your career, your Sick Leave will be used as Service Time towards retirement.
Annual Leave is capped and you can only roll over a maximum of 520 hours into the next Leave Year. There is a monetization of Annual Leave. The Service will cash out the CCA of any unused Annual as they are being converted to career as well as when you retire. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to sell up to 80 Hours of Annual Leave, above the cap, back to the Service before every new Leave Year provided you have used 75 hours or less of Sick Leave the departing year. Annual Leave is advanced in total in the beginning of every new Leave Year for Regulars. A PTF receives 40 hours of annual leave advanced at the start of their first leave year as a PTF, prorated until the end of that year.
There are three step increases for Annual Leave you earn per pay period. As a Career Carrier based on years of Career Service: 0- 3 years - 4 hours each Pay Period or 13 days a year; 3-15 years 6 hours each Pay Period or 20 days a year; 15+ years 8 hours each Pay Period of 26 days a year. You can also donate Annual Leave to another Employee that is sick or injured simply by completing a PS 3970-D, Leave Sharing Program – Request to Donate Leave Form.
The thing to be aware of about burning leave unnecessarily is that if you fall into a Leave Without Pay Status (LWOP) for too long, it can negatively impact your Career. It will delay your next Step Increase as well as the USPS contribution to your TSP, Life Insurance and Health Insurance and the accumulation of bankable leave all stops. Additionally, it can prevent you from transferring into a different station or craft. So, keep that in mind before you use your leave carelessly.
The newly converted employee must choose their health and life insurance benefits within 60 days of their conversion date. The date will be listed on the PS form 50 - Notification of Personnel Action that will be mailed to the Carrier’s address of record sometime around their conversion, as “enter on duty date”. After that, they can sign up, cancel or make changes to their Health Benefits during Open Season that generally runs a week or two before Thanksgiving to a week or two before Christmas. As far as a recommendation, I highly recommend the NALC Health Benefit Plan. You will seldom find a more dedicated Insurance Group then the one offered by our Union! I have had it my whole career and find their bedside manner to be second to none. You can find Information about the plans on OPF.Gov and NALC.org
One of the more important benefits that the USPS Service offers is one that I find to be underutilized by a lot of our younger, newer Members is the Thrift Savings Plan. The TSP makes up the bulk of your retirement if you do it right. Much like a 401K system, you must contribute from your pay, however our TSP system is so much more. It truly can be an investment portfolio if you run it correctly. The Service will match your contribution dollar for dollar, up to 5%.
TSP has five core funds, plus a family of Lifecycle (L) funds that are a mix of the core funds, making a total of 12 investment options (5 core funds + 7 L funds). The five core funds are the G, F, C, S, and I funds, while the L funds (like L 2055, L 2060, L Income) automatically become more conservative as the target retirement date approaches. For 2025, the standard maximum employee contribution (elective deferral) to a federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is $23,500. Once you have accumulated enough you can take a Loan against your TSP, however I feel that is not recommended because of the income tax implications if you default. Remember, this is your future that you are playing with. For more information, check out TSP.GOV or the Thrift Line: 1-877-968-3778.
As for the job itself, be a professional! Take care of Safety, Service and Security of the mail first and foremost. Your street time will take care of itself. There is no such thing as a minimum pace that you must maintain while you are on street time. Perform at a pace that your body can maintain for your whole career. REMEMBER - you are not obligated to perform your street time at the pace that Management dictates. However, you must report your inability to do so as soon as you are aware. Take all your breaks and comfort stops, complete a PS form 3996 if you do not feel you can maintain eight (8) hours, including pivots. Complete a PS 3971 for all requested Leave and always get a copy of all forms you submit. There is so much more but the best advice I can give is to trust your Union and take care of each other. For good or bad, we are all in this together.
To all my brothers and sisters, I wish for you a bountiful Thanksgiving and joyous Holiday season. May God protect the USPS and NALC.
