USPS, letter carriers head to mediation for new contract

Negotiations between the U.S. Postal Service and the union representing its largest group of letter carriers on a new collective bargaining agreement have entered a 60-day mandatory mediation period after the current contract expired on Friday.

Representatives for the National Association of Letter Carriers and the Postal Service were unable to finalize a deal during talks in Washington last, the union said in a press release. The existing contract will remain in effect until a new negotiated or arbitrated agreement takes effect. NALC represents 295,000 current and retired delivery workers.

If no agreement is reached during legally-mandated mediation, unresolved issues will be addressed through an arbitration process, which could result in a final and binding decision. The parties will select a neutral arbitrator to chair an arbitration board that would also include one management and one union arbitrator.

“While good-faith bargaining with our counterparts from the Postal Service has brought progress in some areas, we have not yet reached agreement on terms that we believe properly reward NALC members for their hard work and value to the Postal Service. We are confident that both sides of the table will continue to productively engage throughout the 60-day mediation period. We will do everything we can to reach agreement but are fully prepared to use the interest arbitration process if necessary to resolve any remaining differences,” said NALC President Brian Renfroe.