Ruralinfo.net

USPS rural carriers contract sets stage for privatization, does nothing to address wage theft through RRECS

The contract does nothing to address systematic wage theft through the Rural Route Evaluated Compensation System (RRECS), a piecework-style system that determines pay not by the actual hours worked but through an opaque algorithm that evaluates how long a route should take to deliver. RRECS was imposed behind carriers’ backs through a side agreement between the NRLCA … Read more

Easter Monday could soon become federal holiday under new GOP proposal

Easter Monday could soon be a federal holiday under a new legislative proposal. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Va., are leading the way on legislation to make the day following Easter Sunday a holiday amid several other countries also recognizing the holiday. In a thread posted to X, Schmitt cited a … Read more

Fly flags at half-staff to honor Pope Francis

All Postal Service facilities should fly the U.S. flag at half-staff to honor Pope Francis, who died April 21. Flags should be flown at half-staff until sunset on the day of interment. To fly the flag at half-staff, hoist the flag to the peak for an instant and then lower it to the half-staff position. … Read more

NRLCA Reaches Tentative Agreement with USPS for Three-Year Contract

The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association and the United States Postal Service have negotiated a Tentative Agreement to cover the three-year period from May 21, 2024 to May 20, 2027. This Tentative Agreement must be ratified by a majority of the voting membership of the NRLCA to become effective.  A more detailed explanation of the … Read more

Federal benefits face possible cuts in House Republicans’ budget resolution

Although the details of House Republicans’ narrowly approved budget framework are still up in the air, some initial proposals show the possibility of changes to federal benefits, mainly in retirement and health care. As part of the GOP budget resolution, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is looking at cuts of at least $50 … Read more

Congressman Stephen Lynch – The US Postal Service isn’t for sale

Congress did not establish the agency as a profit-making operation but rather as a core public service whose origins date back to the Postal Clause of the US Constitution. In delivering the mail to every home and business in America six days a week — all for the cost of a postage stamp — the … Read more

A show of respect after a rural carrier passes

After Mooresville, IN, Rural Carrier Travis Green died last month, his colleagues received permission to drive along his route and past his mother’s house. A video of the postal procession later went viral on social media. Green, 56, worked for the Postal Service for 36 years. Merv Hendricks, a local newspaper columnist, penned a tribute to the beloved Postal … Read more

Q+A with NRLCA President Don Maston

The president of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association discusses President Trump’s push to privatize the Postal Service. Don Maston is president of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, which has more than 130,000 members delivering mail to rural and suburban communities throughout the U.S. Maston spoke with Ledyard King about President Trump’s push to privatize … Read more

This rural carrier helped a customer who fell while doing yardwork

Rural Carrier Angela Darnell was delivering mail in Trafalgar, IN, recently when she heard someone yelling for help. She got out of her vehicle and found an older woman lying on the ground. The customer had fallen backward while pulling weeds in her yard and couldn’t get up. Darnell couldn’t lift the customer by herself, … Read more