Thursday, June 1, 2017

Mailers' Groups Blast NALC Deal

Three mailers' organizations blasted a labor deal with the National Association of Letter Carriers today as proof that the “spendthrift monopolist” U.S. Postal Service “cannot be counted on to control its costs or prices.”

“Rather than bringing compensation more in line with the private sector – as required by postal law – the tentative agreement with NALC worsens the problem,” said a joint statement from Postcom—The Association for Postal Commerce, MPA—The Association of Magazine Media, and the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers.

In defending the current inflation-based price cap on most postal rates, the statement said, the coalition has presented expert testimony showing "that postal workers are paid nearly twice what the private sector pays for similar work."

“The NALC contract confirms that the Postal Service cannot be trusted to make the tough decisions needed to control its own costs.”

The collective bargaining agreement released May 12 would give career letter carriers three pay raises totaling 4.7% over the 40-month life of the contract in addition to seven cost-of-living adjustments. The three mailers groups indicated that the Postal Service didn’t get anything in return for the generous pay package, such as the ability to save money by filling openings with more low-paid non-career employees.

Keeping the cap on CCAs
“Instead of continuing a shift to lower-cost employees, the agreement converts many City Carrier Assistants (“CCAs”) to career status and preserves existing narrow limits on the total number of CCAs that the Postal Service may employ,” the statement said.

“The NALC deal is only one of a recent series of collective bargaining agreements that widen the postal employee compensation premium rather than narrowing it.” The NALC says the contract would cover 213,000 active employees if the union’s members ratify it.

“It is commendable that USPS provides stable, middle-class employment for a large number of employees, but substantially over-compensating them, and paying for this with above-inflation rate increases for mailers, is inappropriate and jeopardizes the whole enterprise. There are proven ways to rein in excess labor costs without disrupting the lives of existing employees,” the coalition's statement said.

Postal officials are seeking legislative relief from the 10-year-old law that keeps rate increases proportional to changes in the Consumer Price Index. But the coalition, along with other mailers, argues that the cap has forced more financial discipline on the USPS and prevented it from imposing large rate increases that would hurt both mailers and the Postal Service itself.

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35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its a good contract. We work in the heat, put up with customers letting loose their dogs, etc. Make car dealers stop raising the prices of a new car to 30,000 and we can keep wages low.

Unknown said...

Ups is private sector and the last time I checked they made considerably more than usps.

Anonymous said...

This statement demonstrates how out little this group understands the postal workforce. Usps has a 50 percent turnover rate due to the low pay and benefits of the CCA workforce. An industry this size cannot operate efficiently when it cannot retain its workforce. Further, the so called non profit mailers avoid discussing how they are heavily subsidized by the USPS. Perhaps the rest of the stamp purchasing, parcel mailing citizens and businesses would prefer that you take your allegedly non profit business to a competitor. Oh, thats right, there is no competitor who delivers to every door in the country for the lowest price in the world.

Unknown said...

Yup - these corporate shills equate us to paperboys, apparently - clueless jerks just trying to stuff more money in their pockets at the expense of middle class workers

blockpusher said...

"postal workers are paid nearly twice what the private sector pays for similar work."

Meaning, the Paper Boy

Anonymous said...

Why don't some of you people that complain about what we make come walk 14 miles(which I do daily) in our shoes? If you have not done this job then YOU have NO IDEA what we do.As you sit there on your rear end in a nice cushy AIR CONDITIONED office, you have absolutley no right to complain about what we earn for doing good old fashioned HARD work! Try sitting in a 140° truck 8+ hours a day...you try walking thru neighborhoods with drugs and vicious dogs(with only a little can of pepper spray for protection) You Come walk in the rain, sleet, snow, and ice...YOU come work in the heat and humidity of the South. We work HARD EVERY SINGLE DAY! I CHALLENGE you to come do my job with me for 2 weeks. You can deliver mail and packages and I mean some heavy large packages...and until you do you need to keep your mouth shut!! Proud to wear BLUE and honestly EARN what I make. At the end of the day, I know I have put in an honest day's work!! How about you? Can you take a piece of mail fron NC to CA for .49 cents...I DON'T THINK SO!

Anonymous said...

So the writers complaint is that Postal Workers make too much? They make too far over the "average" private worker? I guess the writer thinks fast food wages are just fine for everyone and that they should all live in poverty.

Historically, Unions have brought wages UP in the private sector...NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!

Grow up and learn a bit from history, then come back and post like a caring human being. Screw the Dead Tree Edition.

Anonymous said...

Postal workers are paid nearly twice what the private sector pays for similar work. (pizza delivery)

Anonymous said...

Pizza delivery is NOT the same as mail delivery in any way whatsoever...and I am not putting down pizza delivery or any other job...how many pizza delivery people do you see walking from house to house carrying a stack of pizzas for delivery and servicing basically EVERY house? No going back to your car and riding to the next house...but walking and carrying pizza and packages, and advertisements, all while trying to avoid vicious dogs, keep everything dry as you walk in a rainstorm, or ice storm, or snow storm...HMMMM? YOU DONT

Anonymous said...

I would like to see one of these morons come out and do our job. Bet they can't . they have no clue what carriers do everyday . I like the new contract especially for the ccas right now they get shit pay and are treated like shit this contract just gives then some of what they deserve

Unknown said...

We already lost 5 dollars an hour starting out career when we went to a 2 teir pay scale how much more can they take and still get their political mail plus non profit mail out. How bout we strike and watch the up roar it causes and then just maybe we will get the respect we deserve

Anonymous said...

Exactly what I thought!!

Anonymous said...

Exactly what I thought!

Anonymous said...

Just another twisted attempt by mass-mailers to place blame on postal workers and a lame try to shift focus away from ending the CPI cap pricing regulation. Postcom and their members benefit from postage as low as 16 cents - but somehow the workers are to blame. The mailers’ statement mentions the “minuscule quit rates of postal workers” and then turn around and criticize the postal service for not increasing the cap of low-wage CCA’s. They conveniently forget to mention the quit rate in FY 2016 was a WHOPPING 59.9% for CCA’s and 42.7% for all combined crafts. This is causing major problems for daily operations and customer service. Being a mail carrier may appear to an outsider as an easy stroll-through-the-park type job. Until you do it! Being a professional mail carrier is tough … no joke. Postcom. MPA and Non-Profit mailers complain that USPS is a monopoly and they don’t have other delivery options. If they ever get their wish, good luck finding a private entity to do it for 16 cents. It’s time for the PRC to remove the unfair CPI price cap and Congress to pass meaningful postal reform.

Anonymous said...

this group of companies, i hear, aren't exactly on any "best companies to work for" list. In fact for decades the post office asked one of them to take the detached label and put somewhere on their circular, making their mail cost effective------and they snubbed their nose at the post office and after about 30 yrs of postal excess labor they have now changed- so take a hike, so to speak!

Anonymous said...

Full Time Regular carrier reaches top step in how much time? 12 years. A full time UPS Driver makes top rate in 5 years. That's right, 5 years. And to rub salt in the wound, their top rate is over $36/hr.

Anonymous said...

The current budget proposal from the White House wants to raise FERS contributions by 6% over the next 6 years + eliminate COLA's. So will postal workers actually get a pay boost with the new proposed agreement? Sounds to me more like a pay cut!

Anonymous said...

UPS and FEDEX are paid better then us. FedEx ground is not but I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the times I have seen their deliveries at the wrong address or just thrown in the bushes etc. I don't touch the package but let my customers know where it is. Because I care about them getting what they ordered and letting them know how these people treat their packages. That is why we are the most trusted Federal agency year after year. As far as the increases in pay goes - how many of them would balk at getting 4.5% a year let alone over the course of three years. I believe that breaks down to 1.5% a year. They would be up in arms if that is what they were given. Screw them. Go with FedEx Ground and see how long your mailing business stays afloat.

Anonymous said...

.. and why is it ANY of your business what kind iof f raise we get...TAX DOLLARS DO NOT PAY US...we are the ONLY branch of the Federal government NOT supported by your tax dollars...so do you have the right to bitch about our raise...everybody at some point and time gets a raise...so why is it your business...USPS has taken on a lot with the Amazon contract and the carriers literally carry the brunt of that deal...so stick your nose somewhere else that it doesnt belong and get it the hell out of our business!!

Anonymous said...

The only fair comparison to USPS Letter Carrier jobs is to UPS drivers and FedEX drivers. The fact is that both of those get paid more than letter carriers and have comparable or better benefits.

Anonymous said...

These mailers get discounts for putting a full coverage in order, problem is when we get it it's in backwards order, so we spend 20 minutes casing it up. Then one out of 10 red plum circulars come with no cover just all the ads that fall out when you try to grab it. Yea, let UPS bid on that and see what they charge you. I'm convinced the usps loses money on much of this discounted crap.

Anonymous said...

As a retired Postal worker I think that craft salaries are way to high when compared with any other industry. Making over $60K yearly for a non managerial position is ridiculous. Why not pay fast food workers $40K? Store associates $50K. Do carriers really think it takes a Masters degree to place mail into a mail box, mail slot, cluster box? Get real!! $40K would be a fair salary when compared to any other industry.

Frank said...

Overpaid? Maybe in some parts of the country but not all. New York City or Boston or San Francisco not overpaid.

Anonymous said...

The Association for Postal Commerce, MPA—The Association of Magazine Media, and the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers?"

These sound like "Unions" for those who use the USPS to get their "products" delivered.

I don't know about the APC, but the MPA or magazine media people should be more concerned with the downward spiral in subscriptions and the advertising dollars lost from their publications. Are they blaming the USPS because people are using the internet for information instead of magazines and newspapers?

As a letter carrier, my route doesn't get much second-class mail anymore. Perhaps the industry can take some lessons from AARP. AARP is what we get the most of for second-class magazine media. The AARP magazine at 23,144,225 and the AARP bulletin at 22,700,945 monthly clobbers everything else in the USA. Costco's Connection comes in second place with 8,740,785 circulation. Playboy isn't even on the top 100 list. Why pay and wait a whole month to see naked women when you can see them instantly on the internet and a whole lot more?

As for the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, what can I say? These folks would want the USPS to deliver their 90+ percent straight-to-the-trashcan after delivered junk for free, and still be unhappy about the price.

Tony Rodriguez said...

Eliminate the USPS annual pre funding 5 billion tax requirement imposed by Congress, THEN you can open your mouth and criticize the USPS.

Anonymous said...

Nobody has mentioned, that over the life of the contract, us letter carriers (along with all the other postal workers) will be paying out of our pockets, 1% more for each year of the contract, for our health benefits. So, a 4.7% pay increase equates into a 1.7% actual net pay increase over the 40 month time. I can honestly say, that is not all that great.

As for the CCAs becoming full time, I am glad for it. Not all CCAs will become full-time. In my office, ours will not because of the man-hours requirement. This is our 5th CCA hire, in slightly less than 2 years. While going through the process to hire a new CCA each time, my co-worker and I work nearly 4 month stretches, of 6 days a week. I really think, the NALC should have negotiated to bring back the Part-Time Flexible Carrier career position back.

To retain people, you should give them a good incentive to stay.

Unknown said...

They wouldn't last 2 weeks....hell, they wouldn't make it through one day.

Anonymous said...

the only ones "overcompensated" are these arrogant, know-nothing CEO's . they wouldn't know a hard days work it kicked them in the ass! We work hard for our money and at the same time put up with so much P.O. BS! Putting cheap labor to supplement the regulars has only damaged the ability of the usps to fulfill its obligations to the public. Most of these CCAs are lazy stupid and looking for the easy way out, that's why so many quit! Once they find out its really WORK, away they go! We deserve every penny we get!

Anonymous said...

The person who claims to be a retire postal worker is dead wrong.
I'm a clerk who has been with the USPS for 30 years.
The actual beginning of all this is "Pay For Performance".
The supervisors padded the numbers for years to get their bonuses.
Now that the machinery counts the pieces, it is showing the actual volumes.
We had a CCA in our office for one day. She said, "Screw this, I'm going back to the nursing home to wipe asses!" Shows how good being a CCA is.

Unknown said...

The ones whom overpaid are those supervisors who just sat there playing on their phones for 4 hrs then take another 4 hrs nap. Argggg

Anonymous said...

I do expect such a tumescent nonsense from ignorant nonentities such as these collected morons. Let them take their non profit mail to UPS and FEDEX and understand why we don't make much money. If you calculate the worth of your daily work, then you will see the picture that your work does not reflect your pay( your/ hour multiply by hours worked) In most cases, my daily work load is around $4500 but my 8hours can only fetch me $230, not even 1 % of what I deliver daily.

Anonymous said...

I have worked in the industry for over 20 years not from the USPS side but from a large mailer side. Some of the points here a valid on both sides, (However, I do not agree with tossing F-bombs back and forth that is unnecessary) I understand it is hard work that USPS does for us and no other company has the reach they do. With that said something needs to be done to deal with the fact that many USPS employees have such entitlement mentally attitudes that is hurts business. Many our my customers (or should I say our customer USPS and mine) are fed up with how difficult it is to work with the USPS to get even the simple questions answered. No other industry gets three 4.7% increases in a 40 month time frame plus 7 cost of living increases. I have been in the industry for 23 years and have not gotten even just a cost of living increase in at least 5 years. This seems a bit high for the world today and will not help the loss of revenue or encourage mailers to mail more by continuing to raise rates to cover.

Anonymous said...

paid twice as much as the private sector? Who are they comparing to? the paper boy or the pizza delivery guys? Then you should bring your business to them and not the post office.

Anonymous said...

"Private sector", huh?

UPS, FedEx; aren't they "private sector"?

UPS drivers most definitely have better compensation; higher salary, better benefits and retirement.

Who are these fools comparing Letter Carriers to?

I know who to compare them to...

Anonymous said...

I've been a carrier for 32 years, soon to be done, and if anyone wants to follow me for a day, have at it. The mailers are the ones getting a free ride. The USPS practically gives my service away, and my guess is that postal exects and the PRC get "rewarded" for their generosity. The carrier job is getting more and more extensive and these extras are not figured in to our daily workload. More than that, some of my fellow carriers are "close" to management which leads to others given more work to do, but are expected to do it in less time. New hires are the ones getting shafted. Their "time" is not counted until they make it full time, which could be years. They're not trained properly, they only learn routes of the carriers that are "close" to management. They're expected to do more work in less time than these close to management carriers. If they only learn "certain" routes, then when they're forced to do others, they're in the dark. If they don't comply with these issues, they don't get scheduled or they're sent to other offices, usually 15-20 miles away. In my time I have had someone say to me, "I wouldn't want your job today" a thousand times. Whether it's freezing cold in the snow, oppressive heat, downpouring rain, I'm there everyday. So you sitting in an office getting a "bonus" every 5 minutes, getting your 3-4 day weekends every month, respectfully keep your opinions to yourself. Finally, when I do leave with 32 years, my pension will be less than 20k. Not worth the time of dealing with inadequate management and a very high maintenance public. So the next time it's pouring rain at your house, walk around your neighborhood carrying 20lbs. Because I'm sure your neighborhood is "entitled" to have your mailbox on the house, and not on the street where it should be