USPS Declines to Extend Contract Talks - NALC 'Disappointed'

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the United States Postal Service declined to extend collective-bargaining negotiations with the National Association of Letter Carriers, triggering an impasse that will automatically send the matter to mediation under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.  If no consensual agreement is reached in a 60-day period of mediation, the issues will be submitted for final and binding resolution before an "Interest Arbitration" panel, which under law must consider all the evidence presented by the parties.

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Fredric Rolando, President of NALC, issued the following statement:

"I am disappointed by the Postal Service's decision. We have been making steady progress in negotiations, right up through this afternoon.  Our negotiations have been innovative, professional and productive and have been conducted at the highest level.

"Now that the formal litigation process has begun, we will pursue a negotiated agreement through mediation and prepare to vigorously defend our members in Interest Arbitration, if it reaches that step.

"Notwithstanding this turn of events, NALC continues to believe that a negotiated agreement is in the best interests of the parties, the businesses that rely on us and the nation we serve.  We will continue to negotiate in good faith as mediation takes place under the law's dispute-resolution process even as we prepare for binding arbitration, and we will work with Congress on vitally needed reforms.  We also will work with our external expert advisers to advance a new business model that will revitalize and preserve the USPS as a vital element of the nation's business and cultural infrastructure."

SOURCE National Association of Letter Carriers