About 200,000 mail carriers have reached a tentative contract agreement with the US Postal Service that includes retroactive wage increases and a promise to provide workers with job opportunities. Air-conditioned trucks.
The new agreement, which still needs to be ratified by union members, runs until November 2026. The delivery of messages has been operating without a contract since May 2023.
Both the union and the Postal Service welcomed the agreement announced Friday.
“Both sides didn’t get everything they wanted. But by bargaining in good faith, we ended up with an agreement that met our goals and rewarded our members,” Brian Renfro, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, told The Associated Press. To recognize the contributions of members to the Postal Service and the American people.”
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Among other improvements, the deal increases top pay and reduces the amount of time it takes new workers to reach that level, Renfro said. He credited Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and his deputy for negotiating in good faith throughout the arduous process.
Postal service She said the agreement supports Delivering for America’s 10-year mission to modernize operations and adapt to changing customer needs.
“This is a fair and responsible agreement that is in the best interests of our employees, our customers and the future of the Postal Service,” said Doug Tolino, deputy postmaster general and chief human resources officer.
As part of the agreement, all city carriers will receive three annual wage increases of 1.3% each by 2025, some of which will be paid retroactively starting in November 2023. Workers will also receive both retroactive and prospective cost-of-living adjustments.
There is also a commitment from the Postal Service to “make every effort” to equip mail trucks with air conditioning.
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This summer, the Postal Service began rolling out new electric delivery vehicles, which come equipped with air conditioning. Although the trucks won’t win any beauty contests, they have gotten rave reviews from letter carriers who are accustomed to older vehicles that lack modern safety features and are prone to breaking down — and even catching fire.
Within a few years, the new delivery fleet will expand to 60,000 vehicles, mostly electric models, to serve as the primary delivery truck for the Postal Service from Maine to Hawaii.
Under the tentative contract agreement, the Postal Service must discuss with the union any plans to purchase new mail trucks that do not have air conditioning.
This is the second contract negotiated since DeJoy was named postmaster general in 2020. It is expected to take several weeks for union members to ratify the contract. The contract does not include rural mail distributors because they are represented by a different union.