2023
Article 43, section 2 of the current National Agreement states that the agreement shall stay in effect until May 20, 2023. Either party meaning the United State Postal Service or the National Association of Letter Carriers may advise the other party prior to the expiration date (May 20, 2023) that they wish to modify the current National Agreement. The party that wishes to modify (negotiate) must provide the other party notice not less than 90 days or more than 120 days before the expiration date that they want to negotiate a “new” agreement.
According to our “new” NALC, National President Brian Renfroe, the NALC has advised postal management that they wish to negotiate a “new” agreement. The specifics at this time are not known and hopefully within the next two months all active letter carriers will have some idea what will be proposed to management.
President Renfroe has also said that the NALC will begin meeting with the USPS starting on February 20, 2023. This is 90 days prior to the expiration of the current agreement. Hopefully, the parties will be able to·come to terms on a “new” agreement.
If, however, they are not, the alternative could be at first mediation with a neutral party trying to get the parties to come to agreement or an agreement to go before an Arbitrator for a binding solution. Meaning whatever the Arbitrator says is the agreement, that is what it is! No appeals and No vote of ratification by the membership.
If, however, the parties negotiate a contract, then that agreement will be sent out to the membership for a vote. If at least 50% of the membership “votes for” the agreement it is then signed off by the National leadership. (1 member, 1 vote) If you don’t vote, whatever you think about the contract means nothing. You are accepting the majority rule of those who do vote!
The membership could reject a proposed agreement and past mandates from the members have called for a job action. This could be a “slow-down,” a gray “flu” sick call or even a withholding of labor (strike). The law says that “STRIKES” are illegal!
In 1978 (44 years ago), the membership did exactly that, a majority of those who voted, rejected the contract. The main reason for the rejection was because the NALC, National leaders in 1978 agreed to a “CAP” ON THE CURRENT COLA (cost-of-living) PROVISION. So, what happened? A cap on the cost-of-living means that if the CAP is 3% and inflation COLAs are 6% you only get a 3% pay raise. Thus, your wage increases would be 3% less of what they would have been if there was “NO” CAP.
When the contract was rejected in 1978 the NALC and USPS agreed to go back to the bargaining table. A mediator, Harvard Professor James J. Healy was appointed to resolve the issue of the COLAs. Mediator Healy agreed to “uncap” the COLA meaning there would be “NO CAP”. The Mediator, however, also agreed that “new” employees hired after the settlement would be subject to a “lay-off” clause for their first 6 years of employment. Those employees who were already on the “rolls” in 1978 before this agreement could not be “laid-off”!
At the present time, no one knows what parts of the contract will be negotiated but I think it is “safe to say,” wage increases and/or benefits (health insurance) will be part of any “new” National Agreement. Hopefully, there will also be improvements concerning the status of our CCA non-career employees versus the re-establishment of an “all” career PTFs.
In the opinion of this writer, all letter carriers should be “career”! If this goal is not achieved, I believe that the constant turnover and resignation of “new” employees at a rate of 40% or more will continue. This is not only undermining the Postal Service, it is affecting the stability of the Union membership. This in turn will undermine the relationship that letter carriers build with their experience and the loyalty they gain when they work with the customers over a period of years. That relationship, in my opinion, is one of the greatest assets that the NALC has. The public trust their letter carriers but if they never get to know them, or believe that they cannot rely on them, that trust will be permanently eroded. That could be the “real” undermining of the US Postal Service and the NALC!
