The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) membership has ratified a new three-year labor contract with the Postal Service.
The contract covers approximately 119,000 employees represented by the union.
Highlights of the agreement include annual general wage increases, a reduction in the employer share of health premiums, and the preservation of workforce structure modifications achieved during a collective bargaining process in 2010.
Additionally, the Postal Service will create an employee category, assistant rural carrier, to handle weekend and holiday parcel deliveries.
“Overall, this contract results in continued restraint in rural carrier labor costs while giving the parties the opportunity to focus on the ongoing major task of establishing and implementing new engineered work standards for rural carrier employees,” said Labor Relations VP Doug Tulino.
The new agreement, announced in February, runs through May 20, 2018.