Petition to NRLCA concerning USPS Summer Sale

Don Cantriel
National Rural Letter
Carriers' Association
1630 Duke Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3465

TO   Don Cantriel

President, NRLCA

The members of the NRLCA that have signed their names to this document, demand you and the Officers of the NRLCA take action to protect all members of the Rural Craft.  The USPS plans to offer discount mailings in an effort to raise volumes without fair compensations to the rural craft members.  As our elected and paid officials, it is your duty to represent the interests and desires of this association to the best of your abilities.

The Postal Plan

April 10, 2009 2009 The Postal Service has informed mailers that it will be announcing shortly a summer sale on postage for any increased Standard Mail volume for many Standard mailers. "We are very pleased that USPS is taking advantage of the pricing flexibility that DMA worked so hard for in the passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act," said DMA President and CEO John Greco.

DMA has long advocated seasonal pricing. At the Postal Regulatory Commission/Postal Service Summit in 2007, DMA Chairman Markus Wilhelm urged the Postal Service to offer seasonal rates and even daily rates to grow mail volume during slower times. "The current economic climate demands this new pricing strategy to grow mail volume during the slow summer season," Greco continued. "It has taken two years for this to come to fruition, and we welcome its continued progress."

The full details of the plan remain a work in progress, but mailers would be offered 20- to 30 percent discounts from June 15 to September 15 for mail volume over and above that mailer's past mailing. The Postal Service would establish a base mail volume for each mailer derived from that mailer's mailings from June 15 to September 15, 2008 adjusted downward by the current mail trends for that mailer during the first two quarters of Fiscal Year 2009. Any mail volume above that baseline would receive the "summer sale" price.

Since the Postal Service must establish a separate base line for each mailer and provide an appeal to each mailer to contest those calculations, it is likely only the 4,000 largest Standard Mailers will be eligible this summer.

The proposal must go to the Postal Regulatory Commission, and DMA will push for quick approval so that mailers will have the greatest amount of lead time for planning as possible. DMA will also ask the Postal Service to establish this "sale" for the summer of 2010, so that mailers will have a year to plan and the Service will reap the full benefit of the sale.

"Every mailer should immediately examine their mailing program and seek to adjust it to take full advantage of this stimulus program," added Greco.

DMA expects the Postal Service to file the details of this issue with the Postal Rate Commission within the next three weeks, and will keep members informed of developments as they arise.


The Members of the NRLCA Respond:

Our Contract

(4) The Employer reserves the right to conduct a national count of mail for all rural routes during the last twelve (12) working days in September of any year. The Employer agrees to notify the Union at the national level at least thirty (30) days in advance of the commencement of the count.

Just how convenient will it be to add the additional workload of these added bulk business mailings to our routes, following a major hit to our evaluations, without having to pay us for the additional workload that will be created? And then STOP the program immediately prior to our next opportunity to be evaluated based on the workload!

THIS is the time to start demanding that wherever possible, an ANNUAL average of anything that can be tracked data wise annually be done that way. This farce of claiming our time when it is down, then adding work, then removing the workload 2 days prior to an evaluation is a direct assault and a unilateral action against our pay and allowances. If the Union cannot prove this, as they failed to prove the other "programs" that have been used to devalue our checks, then it is time for some serious rethinking.

When PMG Potter goes to Hill with this one, we need to demand that Mr. Cantriel and his staff be right there to demand that some form of compensation, such as a "Summer Percentage Increase" of our pay in proportion to the increased volume be included in any agreement to allow the USPS to offer these deals to the same companies they sweet talked delaying mailings during the Feb-Mar mail count. This is plainly an effort to work us extended hours without compensation.

Here is the real kicker....While offering these "deals" to the mailers, USPS will be working hard to eliminate/consolidate routes and terminate employees, while increasing the mail volumes they say have created the NEED to eliminate/ consolidate the routes! Talk about having your cake and eating it too!

AT least offer us something.

If you are going to mug me, take my watch, wallet, and car keys, there is absolutely no need for you to spit on me and slap my face while you fill your pockets with my hard earned items, and then kick me before you walk away.


Mistreat the family pet often enough, and that pet will respond. Think we are less than a pet? That gentle family dog, once abused enough, will rip out your throat to defend itself.

More from Contract:

b. Whenever a carrier represents that certain unusual conditions or special services were not reflected in the latest evaluation, the evaluated time may be adjusted by an appropriate allowance as determined by the Employer. Such additional allowance may be authorized only when the carrier's actual work time exceeds the current evaluated time for the route.


If this plan by management does go into effect, WE MUST compare our daily and weekly DUVERS totals, number of boxholders etc to that which we received during the mail count. This SPECIAL program, should be reflected as a SPECIAL SERVICE, and should be more than proof that we need to be adjusted based on that special service.

IT IS IN THE CONTRACT ALREADY!!!!!

It is time this craft stand up and be counted.  Each dues paying member of the NRLCA should affix their name to this document, to express our concerns to the NRLCA about this issue.  Let our numbers show our resolve in prohibiting continued loss of pay and positions through Management's manipulation of the evaluation pay system.