Will We See a New Contract?
We have all been distracted over the past 6 months because of COVID-19. There is a real sense that we are living through a disruption of our normal lives because of the fear of contracting the disease and what has caused the loss of lives for over 200,000 of our fellow citizens.
As much as we would all like to get back to “normal”, that is probably not going to occur until we have a working vaccine. Unfortunately, no one truly knows when that will happen. We all wish it were tomorrow. In fact, we all wish it were yesterday.
Our contract expired in September of 2019 and as is required by the law, there was a 60 day “cooling off period.” This allowed the parties to meet and talk with the help of a “third” party mediator. These talks ended in November 2019 without success and now it was up to the parties to agree to select a “neutral” Arbitrator in order to arrive at a “final” and binding agreement. No plans were made with Management to do anything until after the 2019 holidays were over. A panel of 3 arbitrators would have to be selected before a hearing could begin.
In addition to the “neutral” arbitrator, each respective party (NALC and USPS) would choose their own arbitrator to complete the tripartite panel. In February of 2020, the NALC selected Bruce Simon (Union attorney) and the USPS selected Attorney Robert Dufek. The neutral Arbitrator who was chosen by both parties was Dennis Nolan. Essentially, Arbitrator Nolan will have the final say in whatever agreement is finally achieved.
Since May of 2018, the Postal Service had been negotiating with 3 other Unions besides the NALC. In 2018 they began negotiating with the Rural Letter Carriers and the APWU (clerks). In 2019, the USPS began negotiating with the NALC and the Mailhandlers at the same time.
Presently, the Rural Carriers and the Clerks agreements were settled with a 3 year contract and pay raises in the amounts of 1.3% in 2018, 1.1% in 2019 and 1% in 2020. Both agreement will expire in 2021.
If everything goes as planned (and we do not have another crisis), the NALC’s arbitration hearing could be decided by the end of 2020 or early 2021. The Mailhandlers did agree to a “new’ contract which had a 1.1% pay raise in 2019, and a 1% pay raise in both 2020 and 2021. All of the crafts did agree to the continuation of the Cost-of-living (COLA) provisions without change.
The work of a letter carrier, in my opinion, is significantly different than a clerk or a mailhandler. Rural Letter Carriers, however, do very similar if not comparable work based on the same work environment and exposure to the elements and customer services. This could be the challenge for the NALC when they present their arguments to Arbitrator Nolan. What must be remembered, however, is that the Rural Letter Carriers negotiated their agreement with Management and the NALC has not accepted any proposal for wage increases. That is the difference.
We and our Families could all use some “good” news before the end of the 2020. The best “news” for the end of 2020 and the start of 2021 would be the end of COVID-19 and a working vaccine. That would truly be a Happy new Year for us all. If, however, that is not possible then a settlement of our contract and significant pay increases (including hazardous duty pay) might help. God Bless you and your Families. Be Safe and Stay Healthy and Well. Yours for the Union.
**** Finally, I would like to Congratulate all of the Members of the “newly” elected Branch 6000 Executive Board (see Carol Brown article) on your election and look forward to working with you and the Members for the next 3 years!
