Mail handlers have voted to ratify a five-year contract offered them by the US Postal Service whichincreases their wages by a minimum of 1.2% a year until November 2011.
The acceptance of the deal, by 55,000 members of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, forthe bulk transfer, loading and unloading of mail, means USPS has now concluded long-term agreementswith two of the four major US postal unions, following acceptance of a four-year deal by the270,000-strong American Postal Workers Union last week.
USPS has also negotiated a deal with another union, the National Rural Letters Carriers’Association, but failed to agree terms, and is heading into arbitration, with the NationalAssociation of Letter Carriers, which represents 225,000 delivery workers.
Under the NPMHU agreement, workers will receive pay increases of 1.2% in November 2007, 2008,2009, 2010 and 2011, with an additional 0.6% increase scheduled for February 2008.
A new grade increase has also been added to the mail handlers’ pay schedule and the unionalso secured continued cost-of-living adjustments and a 1%-a-year reduction in health insurancecontributions by employees.
APWU members last week accepted an immediate, backdated pay increase of 1.3%, one-levelupgrades for eligible employees in 2008 and a further 1.2% pay rise in 2009, as well as otherbenefits similar to those secured by NPMHU.
