Saying this time they want to reach an agreement, not have an arbitrator impose one, the National Association of Letter Carriers opened bargaining Aug. 21 with the U.S. Postal Service.

"It is our intention - and it seems to me that this is almost deja vu at five previous ceremonies - to engage in good faith bargaining," NALC President Vincent R. Sombrotto told Postmaster General John E. Potter at the opening ceremony.

Key issues are wages, benefits and working conditions, Sombrotto said afterwards. Sombrotto did not set pay goals, but said in an interview after the ceremony the average letter carrier earns $39,000 yearly as a base and a top-of-scale carrier - after 13 years on the job - earns $43,000.

"We'll put what we feel is a fair economic package on the table that rewards Letter Carriers for their remarkable productivity" in sorting, managing and carrying the billions of pieces of mail they tote yearly, he added.

Wages, working conditions are key
Federal workers are scheduled to get a raise in line with inflation, around 3.6 percent, while President George W. Bush wants to raise military pay 4.6 percent.

Working conditions are also key. In his opening remarks, Sombrotto mentioned crime as a threat. And he said in the interview that since one quarter of all Letter Carriers are female, "They have different needs, many as single parents" that the new contract should address.

And, just before bargaining started, the union's magazine, Postal Record, said NALC is talking with USPS about an automatic political contributions checkoff for workers.

The present NALC contract covers 227,241 NALC members and 241,255 active workers overall. It expires Nov. 20. It resulted from interest arbitration following an impasse in negotiations in 1998.

Potter, a career postal manager, said he had similar goals. "We should reach an agreement that preserves financial viability of the Postal Service, enhances our customer service and rewards our employees," he said.

Potter has forecast a deficit this year for the Postal Service of $800 million-$900 million. Before he became Postmaster General on June 1, managers estimated the deficit at $3 billion. The figures could pose problems, though Sombrotto said in the interview that "every employer, when you go into collective bargaining, tells you how tough times are."

Sombrotto promised NALC would offer proposals to help the Postal Service compete more effectively in "a changed communications landscape," including the Internet, that threatens its business.

This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.