Mail Handler 1% Pay Increase will be Effective November 14, 2015

  1% Pay Increase is Effective November 14, 2015

Effective November 14, 2015 the basic annual salary for each grade and step of Table One and Table Two shall be increased by an amount equal to 1.0% of the basic annual salary for the grade and step in effect on February 15, 2013.

Private sector jobs seem to continue to rise, yet craft employee wages with the USPS continue a trend of near stagnant wages as health insurance continues to outpace any pay increases by far. On the average, health premiums will rise on the average of about 7.4%, far above increases for working class Americans. According to Mercer's 2014/2015 US Compensation Planning Survey, the average raise in base pay for U.S. workers is expected to be 3.0% in 2015. In comparison, USPS workers are being left far behind while pay raises for U.S. employees continue to grow steadily. While Mail Handlers take the brunt of negative economic impacts by being forced to relocate, often more than the contractual 50 mile limitation, during the USPS consolidations and closures.

We can only hope that the upcoming National Contract negotiations will garner more realistic wage increases. The Postal Service is doing exponentially better in its profitable parcel business and employees should realistically expect our employer to share some of this profit. That may or may not be the case. If the higher waged APWU employee contract negotiations are any sign in an 'apples to oranges' comparison of negotiations, things may look as gloomy as they have the past.

Most employers outside of the Postal Service have come to realize that large wage increases equate to higher productivity.

The PMG, in video after video, continues to inform employees how great our employees are doing and how great our customer service scores are. We can only hope these accomplishments, born through mail handlers doing more with less, will be appropriately rewarded. Our National Union has a strong team to lead us into the future and we are in hopes we will reap the benefits of our sacrifices and our families sacrifices of forced moves, fewer employees and little information being shared about our futures. - Chief Steward, Huntsville, AL

Reference: NPMHU 317