Region 5 NBA Report, September
by David Teegarden
Collective Bargaining
Preparations are underway for when the collective bargaining agreement ends in 2026. The Executive Council has selected the subcommittees that they will work on and begun discussions about proposals that will be submitted to the Service. Last contract, I was on the Workplace Issues subcommittee. That subcommittee covered anything that affected letter carriers on the workroom floor. The subcommittees this year are broken up by contract article. I am on Article’s 5, 15, 17 and 31 subcommittee. We will meet weekly and review previously approved convention resolutions, unachieved bargaining proposals, and other craft union agreements. There is also a rank-and-file bargaining committee consisting of 30 letter carriers from across the country who will meet and discuss collective bargaining and share their thoughts on proposals.
Later this fall, surveys will go out to all the membership to get your input. If you have thoughts on proposals that affect Article’s 5, 15, 17 and 31 give me a call and we can discuss it. I selected this committee because I believe that the DRT problems need to be addressed in a meaningful way. The backlog and delays in the system currently are unacceptable and must be addressed.
December Exclusionary Period
As referenced in Article 8 sections 4 and 5 the December exclusionary period will commence on November 29th , 2025 (Pay Period 26-2025 Week 1) and ends on December 26th , 2025 (Pay Period 01-2026 Week 2). The penalty exclusionary period does not affect the new language in Article 8.4.G which requires letter carriers to be paid for any hours worked beyond 12 hours in a service day or over 60 hours in a service week. All hours worked beyond the 12- and 60-hour limitations will still be paid at 2 1/2 times the normal rate of pay even during the December exclusionary period.
MOU’s M-02013 and M-02014
The Postal Service and the NALC have agreed to language on two MOU’s.
MOU M-02013 Re: Monetization of Annual Leave allow carrier employees to sell back a maximum of 80 hours of annual leave provided two criteria are met.
The employee must be at the maximum leave carry-over ceiling at the start of the leave year.
The employee must have used fewer than 75 sick leave hours in the leave year immediately preceding the year for which the leave is being exchanged.
MOU M-02014 Re: Annual Leave Carryover for Leave Year 2026 allows regular workforce career employees to carry over 520 hours of accumulated annual leave from leave year 2025 to leave year 2026. This MOU extends the 520 carryover for one year. Any leave carryover after 2026 would need to be negotiated or extended by another MOU.
National Rap Session 2026
The 2025 National Rap Session called for under Article 3 Section 4(b) of the NALC Constitution will be held in Cleveland, Ohio November 21-23 at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown. Registration will begin on Friday November 21st, and a welcome reception will be held that evening. Workshops will be held on Saturday November 22nd, and a Rap Session will be held on November 23rd . Deadline for hotel reservations is October 30th the hotel rate is $189.00 per night plus tax. For reservations call 1-800-445-8867 and mention “NALC Conference” and use group code NALC25 or go to the link on the NALC website.
Route Inspections and Adjustments
As previously discussed, the Region 5 office is in the process of rolling out route inspection investigation and grievance training. We are currently testing out forensic spreadsheets and training to make sure the product is accurate and complete. In the meantime, we will provide route adjustment 1838C and 3999 training for any individual or station going through route adjustments. Please call the office at 314-985-8040 and we will set up the training before your route inspection. We will also put a route adjustment forensic expert and grievance expert at your disposal to ensure that letter carriers in Region 5 get a fair evaluation of their routes. Reach out to us at the above number and we will assist you.
Until next time stay safe out there!
David A. Teegarden
National Business Agent
NALC Region 5