In January 2023, NALC and USPS agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding procedures to follow when city letter carrier assignments are permanently moved from an independent installation to a sorting and delivery center (S&DC). That MOU, RE: Movement of City Letter Carrier Assignments from an Independent Installation to a Sorting and Delivery Center (M-01990), contains a provision (Item #11) that ensures letter carriers will have their routes evaluated, and adjusted, if necessary, soon after moving to an S&DC. This is important, as in many instances an S&DC is farther from a letter carrier’s route than their old office, and S&DCs are generally larger than traditional facilities, which sometimes lead to more time needed to retrieve mail, load vehicles, gather accountable items, etc.
Item #11 of M-01990 requires the parties to evaluate these routes 30 days after they are moved to an S&DC, and to do so in accordance with the Technology Integrated Alternate Route Evaluation and Adjustment Process (TIAREAP). Since TIAREAP expired on May 31st, the national parties have agreed to amend Item #11 of M-01990 with MOU RE: Alternate Route Adjustment Process – Sorting and Delivery Centers (ARAP-S&DC) (M-02006). This MOU provides the mutual understanding of the national parties on the process for evaluating and adjusting routes moved to an S&DC, and applies to all city letter carrier routes impacted by the establishment of, or relocation into, an S&DC on or after June 1, 2024.
NALC and USPS have also agreed to guidelines (M-02007) which must be followed when evaluating and adjusting routes under the Alternate Route Adjustment Process – Sorting and Delivery Centers (ARAP-S&DC). This joint process utilizes NALC and USPS representatives to evaluate and adjust routes moved into an S&DC and is similar in structure to the many joint evaluation and adjustment processes throughout the years dating back to the mid-2000s.
These agreements can be found in NALC’s Materials Reference System on the NALC website.
