On January 10, 2103, the arbitration panel hearing the impasse in bargaining between the National Association of Letter Carriers and the U.S. Postal Service issued its final and binding decision. Following a similar pattern set by both the APWU, and the Rural Carriers, the panel imposed a two year wage freeze, one year of waived COLA, and one year of deferred COLA. The NALC contract will run for four and a half years, and provides for three general wage increases (1 percent in November 2013, 1.5 percent in November 2014, and 1 percent in November 2015), and seven possible COLA payments.
The NALC award also lowered the entry wage for newly hired carriers (appointed on or after Jan. 12, 2013) and created a new category of bargaining unit, non-career employees who will have a path to career positions. The Transitional Employee category has been eliminated, and also the new contract provides for the conversion of PTF carriers to regular status.
Management’s demand for the elimination of the no-layoff clause for carriers with at least six years of service was rejected, and the existing no-layoff provision in Article 6 was retained. The arbitration award also calls for a reduction in the Postal Service’s share of weighted average health premiums in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) – from 80 percent in 2012 to 78 percent in 2014 (with no change in 2013), and then to 77 percent in 2015 and 76 percent in 2016 for all current career employees. Slightly different changes will apply to carriers appointed to career jobs on or after Jan. 12, 2013.
How this NALC decision will affect the ongoing proceedings between the NPMHU and the USPS remains to be seen. Although the NPMHU-USPS Arbitration Panel is not bound by this most recent decision, the panel certainly will be giving it some weight in its deliberations once the hearings have concluded. The next scheduled dates for hearings are January 29, 30, 31, and February 1, 2013.
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