5/20/16 Following 90 days of bargaining over the terms of a new National Agreement—culminating in a week of intense negotiations—NALC and the U.S. Postal Service announced tonight that the bargaining period would be extended beyond the midnight expiration of the 2011-2016 contract on May 20.
During the extended period of negotiations, the terms and conditions of the 2011-2016 contract will remain in effect.
NALC President Fredric Rolando issued the following statement:
The intensive discussions we’ve had over the past three months—both at the main table on key economic provisions, and among the numerous committees composed of NALC Executive Council members and management representatives—have been productive and professional. Although we cannot say definitively that we will be able to reach an agreement without resorting to the law’s mediation and interest arbitration procedures, there has been tangible progress and both sides remain committed to attempting to reach a mutually acceptable tentative agreement.
What is at stake in these negotiations?
Obviously, setting wages that reward all letter carriers—career and non-career alike—for their exceptional contributions to the Postal Service’s essential service to the people and businesses of the United States is the most critical issue. Years of hard work and dedication by America’s city carriers have positioned the Postal Service to meet the evolving needs of the nation’s mailers, shippers and citizens.
The inadequacy of city carrier assistant (CCA) wages and the need to improve career conversion rights for CCAs are glaring problems that must also be addressed.
Repairing and improving the work culture in carrier stations across the country also is a major focus of our contract talks.
We are negotiating at a time of great challenges and great opportunities for the Postal Service of the 21stcentury. The Postal Service must evolve to become an indispensable public utility for the internet age, and it is NALC’s responsibility at the bargaining table to shape that evolution constructively—both to improve service and to assure the Postal Service’s long-term viability, while strengthening the terms and conditions of America’s city letter carriers, the nation’s most trusted workers. Our bargaining team is acutely aware of this responsibility and is committed to fulfilling it.
As long as we see a path toward success, we will stay at the table and work as hard as we can to reach a new National Agreement.
Oh NALC in your ivory tower who douth thou worketh for? I wanted to send Mr Rolando an e-mail expressing the personal hell letter carriers have endured during the duration of the last contract…deferred 1% raises……CCA hell……..increased abuse including criminal behavior by some management…..all the while the NALC rolled over while management blatantly disregarded the contract. I wanted to say Rolando if you cant fight like Diamondson does for the clerks, like the teamsters does for my wife, then I’m out of the union, I quit. But you can’t contact him as no e-mail address is listed for the ivory tower. I could send a letter, but who knows if it gets there with the plant closings and a CCA delivering.
The more NALC screws up the more the voices of David Noble and the NALC TRUTH PAGE grows much louder
The letter-carriers will get screwed again! The union is weak and only looks out for there own interests . We never got a fair raise. I have so much hate for both sides!
would locality pay give increases to all carriers salary. How do you apply, why don’t we have it already. My neighbor says she gets it, she’s a fed
Watch, when it comes to the money issues the bargaining will end and, again,go to arbitration.. Three months and you can’t agree on the issues ? Seems to me there is n’t any good faith bargaining here.
always the same 1.7, 1.9. 1.8 raises and 4 to 10% raise in health care =about 5% loss over 3 years.
Rolando is a weakling I’m afraid
A weakling that makes 180,000 a year. why should he care about us
Subsidize Amazon til 2018, sell priority mail, subsidize UPS FEDEX charities and non profits, get gps , xray all parcels, bonus $$ for elephant plaza , and now that 2016 is here and prefunding is supposed to end, oh yeah, lets also stop the temporary emergency rate hike. Lets face it, the USPS will NEVER make a $1, because congress will continue to make sure we are unprofitable. Want to know why the contracts are for 3 years, because thats just after the “secret” amazon deal ends. DISGUSTING
cca wages are higher than top pay carriers without locality wages for high cost areas. All rolando wants is to get cca’s a wage hike, according to the COP meeting.To hell with the other 170,000 carriers. Lets get the top pay carriers 1%. We got 1%, when the cca’s got screwed and all unions were giving back billions each year with the 2 tier wage system and no benefits and the usps was still mismanaged and couldn’t make it work financially. What will rolando give up (wink, wink) from not representing us at arbitration to help the cca’s. Maybe he can get us .5% and a 1.5 % yearly increase in our hbp costs. I would love to know how many of the 170,000 non cca’s asked him to get cca’s a wage hike and don’t worry about the regulars. Hell, even the usps sends out a stupid questionaire to see if we are happy with our wages. It’s amazing that we can’t get the teamsters to represent us, at least they get real raises
So, we finally get some details. Maybe management was the culprit behind the CCA program and the NALC fought it but lost. It would make sense that had the NALC approved of it they wouldn’t be trying to improve the program now. Will there be a negotiated contract? I doubt it. Management has gone right to the wire in the past only to back out at the last minute and send the talks to mediators and arbitrators. We can’t take their word for anything.
Will a new contract guarantee a better workplace environment? Well, management is conducting a program to award their own for inspired leadership and improving workplace conditions, but there’s just a teensy weensy problem – it’s eligible only to managers at district levels on up, meaning nobody who actually ever spends time on a workroom floor will be involved. Why don’t you award me for outstanding janitorial contributions? I’ve never pushed a broom in my 31+ years as a city carrier, but since logic doesn’t seem to fit into the equation, and when you’re dealing with postal management it seldom if ever does, why should that stop you from cutting me a big check? I’ll be waiting for my award presentation at the office.
Fred Rolando we better get everything on this contract, because if we get the bare minamum the voices of David Noble and the NALC truth page are going to grow louder and louder.