There’s an uprising happening across the U.S., and it involves worsening job conditions, opaque backroom negotiations, and hundreds of thousands of letter carriers in American cities and suburbs who want a better deal.
Despite the promise of a historic contract, more than 225,000 workers in the National Association of Letter Carriers have been working without one since May 2023 — more than 500 days. But last month, when NALC President Brian Renfroe brought a tentative agreement to the membership that had been negotiated with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, workers were left frustrated by raises of 1.3 percent — just $0.20 for city carrier assistants making $19 an hour.
Now, angered by subpar wages in a job that’s grown only more demanding in recent years, many letter carriers want to reject the deal.
