222,000 Letter Carriers Have Tentative Contract Deal

222,000 Letter Carriers Have Tentative Contract Deal

by Mike Hall, Jul 13, 2007

The Letter Carriers (NALC) and U.S. Postal Service (USPS) have reached a tentative five-year agreement that includes new limits on contracting out work. NALC President William H. Young calls the pact a “win-win situation” for the 222,000 union members and the USPS.

This agreement is fair to hard-working letter carriers by taking necessary steps toward protecting their jobs now and well into the future, along with financial compensation that takes into account increases in the cost of living and the difficult task carriers often face in delivering mail to our nation’s growing population, At the same time, it helps the U.S. Postal Service to build on its record as the most efficient and affordable postal service in the world.

The proposed contract includes new limits on contracting out letter carrier work in more than 3,000 city delivery installations and establishes a six-month moratorium on contracting out city carrier delivery services elsewhere across the country. It also establishes a union-management team to study subcontracting issues.

In addition, the new pact eliminates the use of low-wage temporary workers known as “casuals” and replaces them with bargaining unit workers covered by the contract.

A rank-and-file ratification vote will soon get under way.