Beginning May 17, the entire NALC Executive Council, along with Headquarters letter carrier staff, legal counsel and professional staff, came together with the Postal Service’s bargaining team at a Washington, DC, hotel for the entire final week of the contract in an attempt to reach a deal with USPS. A mandatory 60-day mediation period will follow, as required by statute. During that period, NALC will continue to work toward reaching a negotiated agreement with the Postal Service. After the mediation period, unresolved issues would be addressed through an interest arbitration process, which would result in a final and binding decision on the contents of a new National Agreement. The parties will select a neutral arbitrator to chair an arbitration board that would also include one management and one union arbitrator.

NALC officers and staff have been working since August 2025 on preparation for these negotiations. At the same time, the union has been preparing to present our case in interest arbitration if necessary. All the proposed contract changes or additions were created by subcommittees of NALC Executive Council members and Headquarters staff after months of intensive preparation. The subcommittees developed our concepts and proposals after consideration of NALC’s official bargaining positions adopted at national conventions, feedback from Rank-and-File Bargaining Committees and the national rap session workshop participants in Cleveland, OH, last fall, the participation of members across the country in surveys, and more.

“I’m appreciative of the arduous work of our Executive Council members, staff and professionals during the last several months of preparations and negotiations for a new collective-bargaining agreement. I am also appreciative of the input from branch leadership and all the members of NALC who have taken part in various aspects of our preparation for this round of bargaining,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said.

“While good-faith bargaining with our counterparts from the Postal Service has brought progress in some areas, we have not yet reached agreement on terms that we believe properly reward NALC members for their hard work and value to the Postal Service. We are confident that both sides of the table will continue to productively engage throughout the

60-day mediation period mandated by law. We will do everything we can to reach agreement but are fully prepared to use the interest arbitration process if necessary to resolve any remaining differences after the 60-day mediation period.

“We look forward to the opportunity to have in-depth discussion with our branch and state leaders on where we are and next steps in the process at our Collective-Bargaining Conference in Washington, DC, in just over a week.”

The Collective-Bargaining Conference will be held June 1-3. Further updates will be provided as the process moves forward.

In addition to the development of the LMS, NALC has also been working on the creation of a standardized Informal Step A Training program to help shop stewards represent members on the workroom floor. The modules created for this program vary in length from 15 to 60 minutes and cover a variety of subjects NALC members and union representatives will find helpful. These modules include:

• National Agreement modules, which explain the articles of the contract. Some are covered in multiple modules.
• How to Grieve modules, which explain how to take the contractual language and file a successful grievance.
• Grievance Procedure modules, which explain how a steward can use the grievance-arbitration process effectively.
• General Education modules, which include other subjects a shop steward may need to be effective in their job.

The nationwide rollout of the LMS begins May 19 and will continue until every member is able to log in and begin taking these classes. Access to the LMS will be turned on by region based on the following schedule:

• Tuesday, May 19—Regions 4, 11 and 12
• Tuesday, May 26—Regions 6, 8 and 15
• Tuesday, June 2—Regions 2, 5 and 9
• Tuesday, June 9—Regions 1 and 3
• Tuesday, June 16—Regions 7, 10, 13 and 14

Once access to the LMS is added for your region, you can enter by first logging into the Members Only portal of the NALC website. Once you log into Members Only, the LMS is found in the Members Menu. Simply bring up the menu on your device and select “Learning Management System” from the drop-down menu. You will be automatically directed to the LMS website, where you can view all the modules available and begin taking classes.

Starting July 1, NALC will begin adding new modules every two weeks, so members should log in regularly to view the new content.  

If you are unable to view the bargaining update through the NALC mobile app, please log in to Members Only using your phone's web browser.

Robles, a member of Centennial, CO Branch 5996, joined the Postal Service as a city letter carrier in 1998 and joined NALC during orientation. He has served as a chief steward, Formal Step A designee, branch trustee, arbitration advocate and district lead for joint route adjustment processes. Additionally, he has served as vice president and director of education for the Colorado State Association of Letter Carriers. In 2016, President Fredric V. Rolando appointed him as a regional administrative assistant for Region 4, a position he held until his appointment as NBA. Robles is also a graduate of NALC Leadership Academy Class 15.

An Army veteran, Brother Birkett served from 1974 to 1977 as a military police investigator. Prior to joining the Postal Service, he was a Teamster from 1980 to 1984, during which time he attended Central Texas College, the University of Iowa and the University of Dubuque. Iowa Gov. Chet Culver honored him as an honorary colonel in the Iowa National Guard.

Birkett began his postal career in July 1984, joining the Postal Service as a clerk represented by the American Postal Workers Union, before transferring to the letter carrier craft just two months later and immediately joining NALC as a member of Dubuque, IA Branch 257.

Soon after becoming a letter carrier, Birkett became a steward for Branch 257. In 1986, he was elected branch president, serving in that role until 1996. He also served as a local business agent from 1991 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2009. From 1992 to 1996, he served as the district representative for the Iowa State Association of Letter Carriers. He became an arbitration advocate in 1995 and worked as a part-time regional administrative assistant (RAA) from 1995 to 1999. Birkett served Branch 257 as health benefits representative for more than 15 years, as Muscular Dystrophy Association coordinator from 1986 to 2009, and as food drive coordinator for 11 years.

From 2003 to 2009, he served as president of the Iowa State Association. He was inducted into the Iowa State Association’s Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Dubuque Area Labor Hall of Fame in 2023. He was also an active member of the Dubuque County Democrats' Central Committee, a delegate to multiple county, district and state Democratic conventions, and district coordinator for all of labor in 2008.

In 2009, NALC President Fredric V. Rolando appointed Birkett as RAA for Region 5, a position in which he conducted training classes on a wide range of subjects throughout the region. He was elected NBA for Region 5 by acclamation at the 69th Biennial NALC Convention in Philadelphia in 2014, and was subsequently re-elected by consent at the 2018 Biennial Convention in Detroit. He retired from the position in 2022.

Birkett will be lovingly remembered and greatly missed by his wife of 46 years, Cheryl; his children, Nicole, Brett and Blair; cherished grandchildren; and many other family members and loved ones.

“NALC mourns the loss of Brother Birkett,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said. “He spent decades in dedicated service to the letter carriers of Region 5, and his contributions to our union will not be forgotten. On behalf of the NALC, I extend our deepest sympathies to his family and all who had the privilege of working alongside him. He will be greatly missed.”

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

The class will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern time and is scheduled to be one and a half hours long, but usually finishes earlier.

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 into the Members Only portal. Once logged in, choose the Meetings Menu from the menu on the left-hand side of the page and then select the Meeting Registration by Officers option. This 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 into the Members Only portal. Once logged into the portal, the member will choose the Meetings Menu from the menu at the left-hand side of the page and select the Join a Meeting option, 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 you log into the Members Only portal sooner than 10 minutes prior to the start of the meeting, you will need to exit to the home page and re-enter to access the “Join” button. Once you select the join button, you will be taken to a Webex window titled “Starting your meeting…”. 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.

If you are unable to view the bargaining update through the NALC mobile app, please log in to Members Only using your phone's web browser.

Rios began his advocacy for letter carriers when he became a shop steward in 2009, then served as area shop steward, local business agent and arbitration advocate, and in 2012 worked as a dispute resolution team representative. In 2015, President Fredric V. Rolando appointed him as a regional administrative assistant for Region 1, a position he held until his appointment as NBA. Rios is also a graduate of the NALC Leadership Academy Class 16.

Due to space constraints, attendance at the conference is limited to one representative from each branch and state association. Only the branch or state president or their designee may attend.

A registration process has been created online through the Members Only Portal, which can be accessed from the home page of the NALC website. Branch and state presidents must go into the “Meetings Menu” tab in the Members Only portal, select “Meetings Registration by Officers,” and then click “Collective-Bargaining Conference” to register themselves or their authorized designee.

The conference will begin with check-in of those registered from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 1. An opening session and welcome reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 1. Conference sessions will begin at 9 a.m. and run all day on both Tuesday, June 2, and Wednesday, June 3. Registration will run from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.

NALC has arranged a block of rooms at the Washington Hilton Hotel for June 1-4 at a rate of $299/night plus tax for a single/double room. For reservations, click here or call 202-483-3000 and mention Group Code 973. The deadline for making hotel reservations is May 11.

If you are unable to view the bargaining update through the NALC mobile app, please log in to Members Only using your phone's web browser.

Today, the Postal Service announced it will temporarily pause employer contributions to the defined benefit portion of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) account through the end of the fiscal year. This pause has no immediate impact on any current or future retired letter carriers.

This move is necessitated by the Postal Service’s current financial situation and is a direct result of continued inaction by Congress to fix the legislative constraints that inhibit the Postal Service's ability to invest in its infrastructure and modernize to meet the needs of its employees and the American people.

If Congress were to allow for a new investment strategy for USPS retiree health and pension funds, a fair recalculation of the agency’s Civil Service Retirement System pension obligations, and an increase in the agency’s borrowing authority, this pause in FERS contributions would not be necessary.

It is time for Congress to act on these commonsense policy changes to protect our jobs, retirements, and the essential and reliable service we provide to every American.

More information is available here.

Today, NALC President Brian L. Renfroe will participate in a House field hearing in California focused on protecting democracy, election security, voting rights and vote-by-mail.

The event will be livestreamed at 11 a.m. PT. Watch the livestream here.

The hearing will be hosted by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Committee on Administration Ranking Member Joe Morelle (D-NY).

The field hearing comes while voting rights and mail-in ballots are facing unprecedented threats. Last week, President Trump issued an executive order aimed at severely limiting mail-in ballots nationwide. At the same time, the SAVE America Act, a voter suppression bill that also targets vote-by-mail, has continued to be debated in the Senate. Identified as a top priority of the administration, the legislation passed the House earlier this year.

President Renfroe was invited to participate as a panelist to share letter carriers’ perspective on the recent attacks on mail-in ballots and how such drastic action could affect letter carriers’ work.

Other panelists include Dr. Barbara Simons, former chair of Verified Voting Foundation; Kevin Shelley, former California secretary of state; Brittany Stonesifer, voting rights and redistricting program manager at California Common Cause; professor Rory K. Little, UC Law San Francisco; and Gabriela Carcamo from The Arc San Francisco.

“The recent attacks on vote-by-mail threaten voting rights, our essential work and the entire Postal Service,” President Renfroe said. “Voting by mail is safe, secure and an essential part of our democracy. I appreciate the opportunity to bring NALC’s voice to this panel as we continue fighting to protect America’s access to mail-in ballots.”