Internal bargaining subcommittees, composed of Executive Council members and Headquarters staff, have been assigned specific articles of the National Agreement and are meeting on a regular basis to review information and develop proposals for submission in the bargaining process. Click here for a list of the subcommittees that each Executive Council member has chosen to serve on, along with the related National Agreement articles.

Each subcommittee is tracking its progress by preparing and submitting reports following each meeting. These reports detail information including which articles were discussed, what materials were reviewed, the status of proposal drafts, and when the subcommittee is scheduled to meet next.

Subcommittees are reviewing the following materials:

• Official NALC bargaining positions — Resolutions submitted by branches and state associations that have been debated, voted on and adopted at past national conventions dating back to 1970.
• Prior bargaining proposals — Proposals from previous rounds of collective bargaining that can potentially be reworked or resubmitted.
• Collective bargaining agreements of other unions — Contract items and elements that might translate well into our craft or prompt ideas relevant to city letter carrier issues.

Rank-and-File Bargaining Committee reports—Ideas developed by the Rank-and-File Bargaining Committees comprised of Branch Leaders, Contract Enforcers and Newer Members. These committees met in the Washington, DC, area in mid-September and underwent a weeklong review process similar to the one followed by the Executive Council and staff bargaining subcommittees. Click here for more information.

The Executive Council is scheduled to meet at Headquarters again later this month. NALC will continue to provide updates about the work of the subcommittees involved in the collective-bargaining preparation process.

The first dispute arises from a position recently taken by management representatives on Step B teams regarding the arbitrability of grievances. The interpretive issue to be decided is whether a grievance appealed to Step B ceases to be arbitrable if the Step B team fails to issue a decision on the grievance within 14 days, absent an extension agreement.

The second interpretive dispute is over the Postal Service’s refusal to comply with the June 30, 2025, national-level award by Arbitrator Margo Newman, commonly referred to as the “NACI Award.”

Arbitrator Newman’s award held, in relevant part, that a grievance challenging the removal of an employee terminated because of an unfavorable National Agency Check with Inquiries report is arbitrable so long as the employee completed probation prior to the removal. Since the award was issued, USPS has failed to comply with it. USPS recently sued to vacate Arbitrator Newman’s award in federal court. The interpretive issue to be decided is whether USPS violates the National Agreement by refusing to comply with the national-level award.

NALC has requested to meet with USPS to discuss these issues pursuant to the process in Article 15.3.F of the National Agreement. Further updates will be provided as they become available.

Here are instructions on activating an account.

Letter carriers work and are paid as normal.

Because USPS is an independent, self-funded federal agency not funded by tax dollars, the Postal Service is not affected by the shutdown.

Branch presidents may begin registering their MBA representative for the training through the branch president’s Members Only page. The registration directions are below.

The class will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern time and will be an hour and a half long.

NALC has developed the ability to create a registration and training gateway through the Members Only portal on the NALC website.

Registration

Once a meeting has been scheduled through the Members Only portal, branch presidents will need to register their members in order for them to attend. To access the registration option, branch presidents can go to the NALC website and log on to the Members Only portal. Once logged on, click the “Meetings Registration” button, which will display a list of upcoming meetings. From there, presidents can register a member(s) by entering their last name in the search box and selecting the correct member from the drop-down list.

A member can also be removed from the registry list by checking the box under the “delete” column next to the corresponding member. Branch presidents will not be able to register more than the maximum number of attendees per branch or exceed the maximum number of attendees for that session. The maximum number of registrants per branch and for the session, as well as the registered-to-date counts, are displayed on the registration screen.

Training materials

Training materials and other pertinent information may be supplied for each session in the form of PDFs. These documents will be available to registrants on their Members Only page. The documents can be printed, copied and/or saved.

Accessing meeting information and/or joining the meeting

When a registered member wants to access training materials, view topics or join a meeting, they can go to the NALC website and log on to the Members Only portal. Once logged in, the member will press the “Meetings” button, which will display a list of those meetings the member is registered to attend.

For each meeting, there will be three buttons: the “Documents” button will give the member access to the training materials; the “Topics” button will give the member access to a list of topics (if any); and the “Join” button. The “Join” button will appear 10 minutes prior to the start time on the day of the meeting.

If a member logs in to the Members Only portal sooner than 10 minutes prior to the start of the meeting, they will need to exit to the home page and re-enter to access the “Join” button.

Once the “Join” button is selected, a Webex window titled “Starting your meeting...” will pop up. Scroll down to select “Join from your browser.” When joining, the member will be prompted to enter their name and email address in order to attend the meeting. Proceed by selecting the “Next” button followed by the “Join Meeting” button.

The committees are undergoing a review process similar to the one followed by the Executive Council and staff bargaining subcommittees. The Rank-and-File Bargaining Committees will provide valuable input on potential proposals from their various perspectives.

Below is a list of each Rank-and-File Bargaining Committee member.

Branch Leaders

• Valerie Castillo - Salem, OR Branch 347
• James Collins II - Knoxville, TN Branch 419
• Anthony DeMatteo Jr. - New Haven, CT Branch 19
• Elise Foster - Chicago, IL Branch 11
• Sean Geackel - Bux-Mont, PA Branch 920
• Eric Lomax - Jamaica, NY Branch 562
• Blake Rockers - Lawrence, KS Branch 104
• Leigh Smith - Decatur, GA Branch 2225
• John Syacsure III - South Macomb, MI Branch 4374
• Marta Witten - Findlay, OH Branch 143

Contract Enforcers

• Doug Blevens - Jonesboro, AR Branch 1131
• Lakeyshan Bryant - Greenwood, MS Branch 1080
• Thomas Filipone - Philadelphia, PA Branch 157
• James Giese - Stockton, CA Branch 213
• Yvette Kinard - New York, NY Branch 36
• Juan Munoz - Corpus Christi, TX Branch 1259
• Matthew Parkin - Pocatello, ID Branch 927
• Eric Porter - Sheboygan, WI Branch 102
• Michael Ridgely - Silver Spring, MD Branch 2611
• Zed Waltz - Lexington, KY Branch 361

Newer members

Brother Breakfield began his 38-year postal career at the Sappington Post Office. He became a vital part of Branch 343, serving as shop steward at his station for many years. Breakfield was passionate about advocating for the needs of his fellow letter carriers and played a crucial role in the branch’s legislative efforts, working tirelessly with politicians from both sides of the aisle to secure legislation beneficial to workers.

From 1992 to 2005, he served as editor of Branch 343’s award-winning publication, The Mound City Carrier, and was instrumental in publishing the commemorative 50-year Golden Jubilee edition in 2000. From 1998 to 2000, Breakfield served on the Member-at-Large Negotiating Committee. His dedication to the union extended to his role as chairman of the Board of Trustees for Branch 343 from 2000 to 2005, and later as co-chairman of the Branch 343 Retiree Group from 2005 to 2025. In recognition of his service, Breakfield was honored as Retiree of the Year in 2009.

Breakfield was a fixture at both state and national conventions, serving as a delegate from Branch 343 from the 1980 Atlanta convention through the 2016 Los Angeles convention. Alongside his wife, Charlotte, Breakfield was also a key supporter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, working on numerous fundraising events and making a lasting impact—whether by answering phones at the MDA Telethons or serving meals at the annual MDA golf tournaments.

Breakfield is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Charlotte; five children; 15 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. His legacy of dedication, service and kindness will never be forgotten.

“On behalf of the NALC, I am grateful for Brother Breakfield’s many years of devoted service as a leader, mentor and friend to his fellow letter carriers,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said. “He will be greatly missed by all who had the honor of working alongside him, and our deepest condolences go to his family and loved ones.”

This year, the December period begins Pay Period 26-2025, Week 1 (Nov. 29, 2025) and ends Pay Period 01-2026, Week 2 (Dec. 26, 2025).

Keep in mind, the penalty overtime exclusion period does not affect the new provision bargained for and included in the 2023-2026 National Agreement outlined in Article 8, Section 4.G. This provision, which in accordance with M-02009 began on July 1, 2025, requires letter carriers to be paid at the rate of two and a half (2½) times their base hourly straight time rate for any hours worked beyond 12 hours in a service day or 60 hours in a service week. This requirement to compensate letter carriers at that rate of pay is unchanged during the December period. All hours worked in excess of 12 hours in a service day or 60 hours in a service week will still be paid at 2½ times the normal rate of pay.

Brother McCommons began his career with the Postal Service in 1992 and served for 33 years. He was a proud member of Erie, PA Branch 284, where he held several leadership roles, including shop steward and branch president.

As branch president, Bill worked tirelessly to protect the rights and well-being of NALC members in Erie. His leadership, integrity and compassion left a lasting impact on his union brothers and sisters, and his kindness, humor and generous spirit will be remembered by all who had the privilege of knowing him.

He is survived by his wife, Laura; daughters, Bethanie and Emily; stepchildren, Brian, Eric and Tyler; his grandchildren; and his siblings.

“Brother McCommons was a dedicated leader and tireless advocate for his fellow carriers,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said. “His commitment to our union and the members of Branch 284 will not be forgotten. On behalf of NALC, I extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.”

In addition, the national parties have agreed to a MOU Re: Annual Leave Carryover for Leave Year 2026 (M-02014) which increases the maximum allowable annual leave carryover amounts outlined in the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM). For leave year 2026, regular work force career employees covered by the USPS-NALC National Agreement may carry over 520 hours of accumulated annual leave from leave year 2025 to leave year 2026. The Memorandum, which does not change the provisions in the ELM for payment of accumulated leave, will expire with the conclusion of the 2026 Leave Year.

The meeting will begin with registration on Friday, Nov. 21. A welcome reception will be held Friday evening. Registration will continue Saturday along with workshops led by national officers and headquarters staff. The rap session will be the morning of Sunday, Nov. 23.

Should any branch or state association designee attending the rap session need sign language accommodation, please contact the office of the Secretary-Treasurer at NALC headquarters as soon as possible.

The national conference is held in years between the NALC’s biennial conventions. Article 3, Section 4 (b) of the NALC Constitution states: “The National President shall, once each year except in the year of the National Convention, call a national conference. This conference shall be voluntarily attended only by State and Branch Presidents or their designees, with their expenses to be borne by the State Association or Branch represented.”

As a reminder, the deadline for making hotel reservations is Oct. 30. The hotel rate at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown is $189/night plus tax. For reservations, click here or call 1-800-445-8667 and mention “NALC Conference” and use group code NALC25.

NALC has arranged additional rooms at the Hyatt Regency Cleveland at The Arcade at a rate of $150/night plus tax. For reservations, click here or call 1-877-803-7534 and refer to group code “NALC Rap Session.”

Click here for more information.