NRLCA and USPS Sign MOU Expanding Scheduling of Assistant Rural Carriers (ARCs)

On Thursday, March 26th, President Stutts signed an MOU temporarily expanding the scheduling and utilization of Assistant Rural Carriers (ARCs).

For the period beginning Monday, March 23, and continuing through Friday, June 5, 2020, ARCs may be scheduled, on a volunteer basis, on non-holiday weekdays to provide auxiliary assistance for package delivery and for casing and/or carrying of rural routes. ARCs are hired to provide weekend and holiday service and these carriers may not be available on weekdays. Therefore, management will schedule only those ARCs who have volunteered availability for weekdays.

Management must ensure that ARCs have received training for proper handling of mail delivery on rural routes, to include the appropriate vehicle familiarization.

ARCs may not be used to perform delivery service on non-holiday weekdays if other rural carrier craft employees are contractually entitled to this work. Additionally, ARCs may not be used solely to avoid overtime compensation to other rural carrier craft employees.

The use of ARCs for Sunday/holiday package delivery and mail delivery on Saturdays will continue in accordance with the Assistant Rural Carrier (ARC) Implementation Guidelines issued November 2, 2016.

The parties will revisit these temporary modifications immediately prior to the end of the period identified above to determine if an extension is appropriate.

Please click here to view/download the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)