USPS News: Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2001
Release No. 01-098
US Postal Service and National Association Of Letter Carriers Extend Negotiations Beyond Midnight Deadline
WASHINGTON - The Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), AFL-CIO, have agreed to extend contract negotiations, saying negotiations have been productive and they hope to reach a negotiated settlement. The current three-year contract between the USPS and the NALC expires tonight at midnight.
"The talks have been very productive," says Tony Vegliante, V.P., Labor Relations. "However, we've been distracted from the negotiating process during the past several weeks as we've grappled with the challenges that have faced the nation, the Postal Service and employees due to the bio-terrorism threats."
The Postal Service has been meeting daily with union and management association officials on employee safety and mail security issues since bio-terrorists sent anthrax bacteria through the mail.
Vegliante said USPS and the NALC are hopeful that the negotiating teams can now concentrate on forging a new bargaining agreement. "We are optimistic about the possibility of a negotiated agreement," he said, "and we intend to now focus our energies on making that a reality."
The U.S. Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO (NALC), formally opened national contract negotiations August 21, 2001. The NALC represents over 241,000 city letter carriers nationwide.
For 226 years, the United States Postal Service has been the gateway to the household, binding friends, families and neighbors together. It is an independent federal agency that handles 46 percent of the world's mail volume, with annual revenues of $65 billion. The Postal Service is not funded with taxpayer dollars, but derives its revenues solely from the sale of postage and other products and services it provides. Its unrivaled service network means the Postal Service can delivery money, messages and merchandise daily to 135 million addresses, and with some of the most affordable postage rates in the world.
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