USPS union negotiations extended into January
Negotiations between the US Postal Service and two major unions will extend into the New Year, with the organisations agreeing to put back their deadline once again, this time to January 20. The contract talks with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) have been extended twice previously since the original deal ran out at the end of November.
Issuing a statement on Friday as the previous deadline passed, USPS said the latest extension would “allow the parties to continue to work on the important economic, health care, workplace and other contractual issues being discussed”.
NALC, which represents more than 195,000 urban-based mail carriers who between them took home $15.bn in wages and benefits in 2010, insisted there was progress being made in the talks with USPS.
“We are encouraged that progress is still being made and we want to take all the time necessary to reach an agreement that serves the interests of America’s city letter carriers,” said Frederic Rolando, the NALC president, adding: “We are committed to achieving a win-win contract at this crucial time in the history of the Postal Service.”
The NPMHU, whose 46,000 members accounted for $3.5bn in USPS operating costs last year, also said progress was being made in talks, “albeit slow progress”.
The union said in a statement: “The National Office of the NPMHU appreciates the patience and support of the membership, and extends to all its wishes for a peaceful, joyous and prosperous holiday season.”
If talks with NALC and the NPMHU do not succeed and deadlines are not further extended, the process will move to mediation or arbitration.
Labour accounts for about 78% of operating expenses at the US Postal Service, which is desperately seeking to cut costs to counter multi-billion dollar annual losses at the moment, with debts around its legal limit of $15bn.
First Class Mail, which provides around half of USPS revenue, has seen volumes decline 27% since 2006, and the USPS is seeking to change its labour contracts to incorporate a more flexible use of full-time workers and a greater use of part-time workers to respond.
A contract was signed with the American Postal Workers Union for its 205,000 members last May, which laid the foundations for the current talks with NALC and the NPMHU. Since the APWU’s deal was agreed, the Postal Service has been looking for additional changes to its healthcare arrangements and also to avoid lay-off protections as it seeks to reduce its overall workforce from 570,000 closer to 400,000 over the next few years.
USPS talks with the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA), for its 67,000 career and 48,000 non-career members, ground to a halt in November 2010, and are set to be decided by arbitration.
