Today, NALC joins all Americans in honoring and celebrating Juneteenth, a meaningful holiday commemorating the final emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.

While this historic day celebrates liberation and freedom, it is also a reminder of our nation’s painful legacy of slavery, racism and discrimination. Today, we reflect on our history, how far we have come, and what still needs to change.

Nearly thirty percent of Postal Service employees are Black, and NALC is one of the most diverse unions in the country. NALC has a long history of paving the way to a stable, respectable, middle-class public service job and retirement for millions of Black Americans. We are proud of this legacy and commit to doing everything in our power to continue improving the working lives of the nation’s letter carriers. 

On behalf of NALC, I wish everyone a safe and happy Juneteenth.

“USPS records show that letter carriers report hundreds of heat injuries annually,” Renfroe said. “However, the actual number is undoubtedly greater, as the Postal Service’s productivity-focused culture discourages letter carriers from reporting symptoms, as evidenced, in some cases, with letter carriers being disciplined because of a heat-related injury.

“Heat illness does not just sicken my members. On occasion, it kills them,” he continued. “At least seven letter carriers have died as a result of exposure to heat since 2012. Tragically, these injuries and deaths are preventable.

“A nationwide heat standard that sets clear requirements for USPS and other employers is the only way to truly mitigate the dangers that heat poses.”

Click here to watch President Renfroe’s testimony. His full submitted testimony is available here.

OSHA will hear testimony from labor representatives, industry stakeholders, and others with positions on the rule over the next few weeks. After the hearings conclude, a post-hearing comment period is expected to last 90 days.

“NALC appreciated the opportunity to bring the voice of our 200,000 active members to today’s hearing,” Renfroe said. “NALC has been a leader in fighting for a national heat safety standard for years, and we support full implementation of this rule. Our union stands ready to work with OSHA, the Department of Labor, and all necessary stakeholders to keep this critical proposal moving through the rulemaking process.”

In accordance with the National Agreement Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Re: PTF Advanced Annual Leave, 40 hours of annual leave will be advanced to PTF employees, prorated to the end of the leave year for their first leave year as a PTF, and annually thereafter, unless and until the employee converts to full-time status.

Similarly, in accordance with the MOU Re: CCA Advanced Annual Leave, upon completion of an initial 360-day appointment as a CCA, and immediately upon reappointment to any subsequent appointments thereafter, CCAs will be advanced 40 hours of annual leave. Upon initial implementation, CCAs will receive annual leave prorated to the end of their 360-day term.

Eligible CCAs and PTFs should see the credit to their annual leave balance reflected on the Pay Period 16-2025 earnings statement.

Effective June 14, 2025 (PP 14-2025), all city carrier assistants (CCAs) pay rate will be increased to reflect an additional $0.50 per hour. This increase is in addition to their cumulative general wage increases.

Pay table modifications

Also, effective June 14 (PP 14-2025), all city carriers currently in Step P in Tables 1 and 2 will receive a one-time pay increase to an amount that is equal to a flat dollar amount of $1,000. Carrier technicians will receive $1,021. These increases are in addition to the general wage increases and COLAs.

The Postal Service expects the eliminations of Table 2 Steps AA and A to be effective July 12, 2025 (PP 16-2025). In conjunction with  the elimination of Steps AA and A, all city carriers in those steps will be advanced to Step B and begin a new 46-week waiting period to be completed before advancing to the next step.

Retroactive (back pay) provisions

USPS indicates that back-pay calculations are ongoing and expects payment in August 2025. The retroactive pay will include the Nov. 18, 2023, and Nov. 16, 2024, general wage increases (plus the 1 percent additional increases for CCAs on those dates) and the first four COLAs for career carriers.

As a direct result of NALC’s action in the Senate, HSGAC’s text does not include the provision in the House-passed reconciliation bill that would eliminate the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) Special Annuity Supplement, a critical benefit for FERS-covered letter carriers who retire before they are eligible for Social Security at 62.  

Unfortunately, the committee is seeking to take back any unspent money designated for Postal Service electric vehicles and require the agent to sell all its electric vehicles and associated infrastructure.

“While we are pleased that no cuts to letter carrier retirement benefits were included in the Senate proposal, the fight is far from over," NALC President Brian Renfroe said.  “This ridiculous effort to slow down or stop the Postal Service from procuring new delivery vehicles for letter carriers threatens our safety and the service we provide. New delivery vehicles are already long overdue. Letter carriers work in dangerously high temperatures inside most postal vehicles, and keeping the current fleet operating becomes more difficult every day.”

Like the House-passed bill, HSGAC also included language imposing a fee for Merit Systems Protection Board Claims and Appeals, which will impact Postal Service employees. NALC opposes this provision.

Though they do not apply to the Postal Service or letter carriers, the HSGAC proposal also includes other anti-federal employee provisions that threaten unions, such as requiring unions to reimburse 10 percent of any funds received through payroll deduction to the Department of the Treasury, elimination of official time, and forcing new federal hires to choose between at-will employment or increasing their FERS contribution, just to name a few.

“This package is full of anti-labor provisions that set a dangerous precedent for federal unions and all federal and postal employees,” Renfroe said. “We stand in solidarity with our fellow federal employees in their fight.”

Next steps 

Each Senate committee will continue to release its priorities. So far, nine of 16 committees have released their text. Once all Senate committees release their text, full Senate consideration will follow. Notably, the Senate Budget Committee released text that does not include the government-wide provisions mentioned above. Whether HSGAC or the budget committee’s text will be used in the final version is unclear.

If the Senate can pass its legislation, which only needs a simple majority as opposed to the usual 60 votes, the House and Senate will go to conference to reconcile the differences in their bills and vote on a final package. 

"NALC has been fully engaged throughout the reconciliation process. As it continues to unfold, we will keep fighting like hell to ensure our retirement benefits stay off the table, new postal vehicles are protected, and that anti-labor proposals get shut down," Renfroe said. “Thank you to every letter carrier who has joined the fight. Let’s work together to finish the job.”

Check nalc.org for future updates.

McMackin began his career as a letter carrier in 1974 and served his fellow carriers in a variety of roles throughout the years. He was a dedicated advocate for the National Association of Letter Carriers. In 2024, he was recognized as a gold card member, marking 50 years of membership in the NALC.

“Brother Mac’s years of service to Branch 70 and the broader NALC community will be remembered with gratitude,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said. “We offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends.”

The White House budget calls for eliminating “official time,” and more specifically, “steward time” at the United States Postal Service. NALC’s collective bargaining agreements (CBA) with USPS have longed provided for payment of stewards for performing steward activities permitted under the CBA. This provision is found in Sec. 714 under the "General Provisions Government-Wide" chapter of the Technical Supplement to the 2026 Budget Appendix released by the White House.

“This budget proposal is a calculated attack on our collective bargaining rights, letter carriers, and our union,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said. “Any attempt like this to infringe upon what we have bargained in good faith will be met with the fiercest of resistance from hundreds of thousands of America’s letter carriers, postal employees, and the hundred of millions of Americans we serve every day.

 “This is particularly concerning as we prepare for an incoming postmaster general with a troubling anti-union background and further justifies growing concerns about handing over our public service to private shipper.”

The FY 2026 request calls for a 22.6 percent cut to non-defense spending, a $163 billion cut from current year spending, which is expected to trigger major cuts to discretionary programs.

Every year, budget season typically begins with a mandate from the White House to set federal spending and policy priorities. As has unfolded under previous Republican “trifectas” (single-party control), the GOP sought to reduce federal spending and increase corporate tax breaks.

While the Postal Service is not taxpayer-funded, there are always implications from White House directives, as included in the FY 2026 budget request.

“NALC stands ready to protect the rights of our members, the agreement we have collectively bargained, and the thousands of dedicated shop stewards who enforce its terms daily. We will keep fighting like hell against any agenda that attacks us or our rights,” Renfroe said.

“Letter carriers are not new to these budget battles, despite the Postal Service not being taxpayer funded. It’s ultimately up to Congress to reject this budget blueprint of destruction. We call on all members of Congress of both parties to declare this portion of the budget proposal dead on arrival.”  

Please continue visiting NALC’s Legislative Action Center to contact your members of Congress on our most pressing issues.

Since the date of the Nolan Award, NALC and USPS have been discussing the best course of action to implement some new rules. As a result, the parties agreed to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Re: Resolution of Issues Left Open by the Nolan Award of March 21, 2025. This MOU explains that some new provisions in Article 8 of the National Agreement will take effect on July 1, 2025, and that until that date, the language from those sections in the 2019-2023 National Agreement will remain in place. The specific sections of the contract that are being implemented on July 1 are fully explained in the MOU.

New overtime options

The provisions of Article 8, Section 5.A create new opportunities for full-time letter carriers to volunteer for overtime. Under the previous language, in effect through June 30, 2025, letter carriers could either sign the Work Assignment List or the Overtime Desired List (ODL). If they signed the ODL, they were volunteering to work overtime on both their regularly scheduled and non-scheduled days. While they could indicate their preference to work either 10 or 12 hours each day, they were still available to work seven days a week. Beginning July 1, full-time letter carriers will have more options.

As before, they can sign the Work Assignment List indicating their availability to work up to 12 hours only on their own assignment on a regularly scheduled day. The new language does not change the rules regarding the Work Assignment List. Under the new contract, letter carriers who wish to be on the ODL can now select to volunteer to work up to 12 hours on their scheduled days only or they can volunteer to work overtime up to eight hours only on their non-scheduled days. If they desire to do both, they can do so by signing both ODLs. Letter carriers who select to work up to 12 hours on their scheduled days only are available to work up to the daily limitations on each of their regularly scheduled days. On their non-scheduled days, they are treated like other letter carriers who are not on the ODL. For letter carriers who have selected to work overtime up to eight hours only on their non-scheduled days, they can work only on their non-scheduled days up to a maximum of eight hours. On their regularly scheduled days and beyond eight hours on their non-scheduled days, they are the same as non-ODL letter carriers. If a letter carrier chooses to sign both ODLs, they may do so, and they are volunteering to work up to 12 hours per day on both their scheduled and non-scheduled days. In essence, it is the same as the ODL that has been in place for many years.  There is no longer an option for letter carriers to indicate their preference to work up to 10 hours in a day.

As under previous contracts, letter carriers have the right to sign the ODL or Work Assignment List in the two weeks before the beginning of the calendar quarter. Once a letter carrier signed the list, they never had to sign it again as long as they remained in the same installation and did not remove their name from the list. Because of the changes to the ODL, letter carriers who are on the list during the current quarter must sign one or both of the new ODLs if they want to remain available for overtime. The next quarter begins on July 1, so every full-time letter carrier who wants to sign one of the ODLs should indicate their preference during the two-week signup period. Letter carriers who previously signed the Work Assignment List and wish to remain on that list do not need to sign up again. 

Automatic payment for hours worked in excess of daily and weekly limits

While the new language in Article 8, Section 5.G.3 will take effect on July 1, the Postal Service may not have its payroll system updated to compensate letter carriers who voluntarily agree to work in excess of 12 hours in a service day or 60 hours in a service week. As explained in Article 8, Section 4.G, any letter carrier who works over these limitations is automatically paid an additional 50 percent of their base hourly straight-time rate. Until the pay systems are updated, the parties have agreed to a process that requires management at the district level to review the hours of every letter carrier and identify the city letter carriers who have worked in excess of the daily and weekly limitations during the previous pay period. Management must then input the pay adjustments for those individuals into their Grievance Arbitration Tracking System (GATS). Every pay period, the Postal Service must provide documentation to the NALC at the headquarters level detailing which employees worked over the limitations and how much each letter carrier was compensated. Because the new language does not take effect until July 1, any letter carrier who is required to work more than 12 hours in a service day or 60 hours in a service week should notify their shop steward so they can investigate and file a grievance if necessary. After July 1, and until the Postal Service’s payroll systems are ready to provide automatic payments, any disputes regarding the proper payment for hours worked will be handled at the headquarters level. Once the payroll system is updated, the additional compensation will be paid automatically.

New Employee Experience, Retention and Mentoring Program

In addition to the changes in Article 8, the parties also agreed to the nationwide implementation of the MOU Re: New Employee Experience, Retention and Mentoring Program on July 1. Until that time, the only places where this program will be in effect are those locations in which the parties jointly selected to conduct pilot tests under the MOU Re: New Employee Experience and Retention Program and the MOU Re: New Employee Mentoring Program. Under these two agreements, the parties used an alternate dispute resolution process to handle issues that arose in the pilot offices. After July 1, when the pilot programs end and every office nationwide is included in the New Employee Experience, Retention and Mentoring Program, violations of this MOU will be handled through the Dispute Resolution Process outlined in Article 15 of the National Agreement.

The electronic version of the 2023-2026 National Agreement is available here. NALC is in the process of printing hard copies of the National Agreement. Information on distribution and availability of hard copies will be provided in the future. 

As it relates to letter carriers, the initial legislation contained harmful provisions, including a 4.4 percent across-the-board increase for all employees’ contributions to the Federal Employee Retirement Systems (FERS) and recalculating retirees’ annuities based on their high-five salary average (instead of high-three). Following aggressive lobbying efforts by NALC and the federal employee community, lawmakers removed these two provisions.

Despite our best efforts, a key threat to postal employees did pass in the House: elimination of the FERS special annuity supplement, a crucial benefit for FERS-covered employees who retire before becoming eligible for Social Security at age 62.

Other anti-federal employee provisions were advanced, including forcing new federal hires to choose between at-will employment or paying an increased FERS contribution of 9.4 percent and imposing a fee for Merit Systems Protection Board Claims and Appeals. While these provisions do not impact letter carriers, they are clear attacks on job security and union protections for hundreds of thousands of federal employees. 

“Passage of this bill and any change to letter carrier retirement benefits is a direct attack on public servants who serve every community,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said. “NALC strongly condemns the 215 lawmakers that voted for legislation that included reductions to retirement benefits for letter carriers.  

“As the bill heads to the Senate, we urge every senator to oppose any letter carrier retirement benefits cuts. Letter carriers are employed by an off-budget agency that isn’t funded by taxpayer dollars. We earn our retirement benefits through hard work and contribute to them every pay period. We are fighting like hell for what we deserve and were promised.”

Next steps

H.R. 1 now heads to the Senate, where they have their ideas for changes to the House-passed bill. The Senate has a tight timeline with the goal of getting the package to President Trump’s desk by the July 4 recess.

The Senate, which will only require a simple majority to pass reconciliation (51 votes instead of the usual 60), can remove the elimination of the FERS special annuity supplement from its version of the reconciliation package. With 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats, there is little room for Republican objection. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) has already indicated his opposition, tightening an already very thin margin.

Beyond federal workforce impacts, the bill contains numerous provisions that could derail action in the Senate, including cuts to Medicaid, low-income food and nutrition programs, and clean energy programs, to name a few. H.R. 1 also expands tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans while increasing funding for national defense, border security and deportation. The bill would increase the debt limit by $4 trillion.

Take action

The Senate can remove the elimination of the FERS special annuity supplement from its version of the reconciliation package.

Click here to ask them to oppose any cuts to letter carrier retirement benefits.

“It is gratifying to see so many letter carriers and other volunteers contribute their time and energy to make such an impact on their local communities year after year,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said. “We know that the recipients appreciate it.”

About 1 in 5 Americans, including millions of children, senior citizens and veterans, are unsure where their next meal will come from. The May food drive helps to relieve shortages of food that local pantries experience in spring after winter holiday donations have been depleted. And when summer arrives, most school meal programs are not available, so the need for food grows.

Since NALC’s first national food drive in 1993, active and retired letter carriers, with the help of volunteers, have collected a total of 1.94 billion pounds of food leading up to this year’s drive. While the total for this year won’t be announced until the July edition of The Postal Record, anecdotal reports pointed to another great year.

“Everybody needs a little help every now and then,” Addie Harford, Gainesville, FL Branch 1025 president, told her local ABC TV affiliate. “We give back to our food banks because we are out there every day, and we see how hard it is, and we just want to contribute back to our community.”

“It’s a great event that they do for us every year,” Devin Scott, treasurer of the Billings, MT Family Service Board, said. “We’re very appreciative they put this on for us. We get great results, and we have an amazing community that does this for us.” During his interview by local TV station Q2, Scott pointed out that the food and money donations add up: “We raise thousands of pounds of food every year. ... The cash donations give us the ability to purchase fresh food, fresh produce and everything else. It’s so meaningful to what we’re able to provide everybody.”

Officials from St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix, AZ, told the local ABC TV affiliate that they were especially appreciative of the food drive results this year because they expect to lose out on more than a million pounds of food this summer because of recent government cuts.

“As letter carriers, we’re very proud of the work we do,” Sacramento, CA Branch 133 Secretary Jeff Bishop told his local NBC TV affiliate. “We’re very honored to be able to give back to the communities that we live in, the communities that we work in.” Bishop added that he looks forward to the drive each year and knows the difference each donation can make. “No matter where you are in the country, the feeling is all the same,” he said. “You know that that you are making an absolute impact in someone else’s life.”

“It’s designed to help feed families across the country, from community to community,” Winston-Salem, NC Branch 461 President Wayne Green told his local NBC TV affiliate.

The annual food drive wouldn’t be possible without the support of our national partners: the U.S. Postal Service, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, RR Donnelley, United Way Worldwide, the AFL-CIO, Valpak, Kellanova and CVS Health. These partners help through such actions as paying for the specially marked postcards, donating thousands of pounds of food and thousands of dollars to food pantries, donating bags that letter carriers distribute to customers, gathering volunteers, or getting out the message about the food drive.

Branches were asked to report their food drive totals to Headquarters by June 6. The total pounds of food collected, and top branch collections, will be announced in the July issue of The Postal Record.

Congressman Connolly was a true champion for letter carriers and all federal employees. He was a strong leader who always fought to protect letter carriers and the Postal Service. We appreciate his years of unwavering fight, and we send our sincerest condolences to his family.

Calise became a letter carrier in 1985 and delivered mail to his community until his retirement in 2021. Before becoming president of Branch 903, he served as recording secretary and a shop steward. He also served as co-chair of the Committee of Presidents.

He is survived by his wife, Cathy; his sons, Michael III, Kyle and Matthew; and nine grandchildren.

In addition to serving Ocean City as a letter carrier, Calise was active as a youth baseball coach and a board member of the Upper Township Baseball Association.

“Above all, his true love was found within his friends and family,” his family shared. “Mike was a man that wore his heart on his sleeve and enjoyed teaching his skills to all.”

“Brother Calise’s passion for serving letter carriers and strengthening the union inspired those around him,” President Brian L. Renfroe said. “We are thankful for his dedication to Branch 903 and mourn his loss alongside his family, friends and fellow members.”

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the House is finalizing the budget reconciliation package. Today, the House Budget Committee voted to reject the full package, but cuts to letter carrier retirement benefits are still on the table.

TAKE ACTION

Click here to ask your representative co-sponsor H.Res. 70 and oppose cuts to postal retirement benefits.  

More information on H.Res.70 is available here.

More information on the proposed cuts to letter carrier retirement benefits is available here.