Summary of the 2024-2027 Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement

The American Postal Workers Union and the U.S. Postal Service have reached a tentative three-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) announced APWU President and Lead Negotiator Mark Dimondstein. The following is a summary of that tentative agreement. 

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Contract Time Period

• Three-year contract: September 21, 2024 through September 20, 2027 

General Annual Wage Increases and Cost-of-Living-Adjustments (COLA)  

• 1.3% November 16, 2024 (will be paid retroactively) 

• 1.4% November 15, 2025 

• 1.5% November 14, 2026 

• As PSEs receive no COLA, there will be an additional 1% increase each year (2.3%, 2.4%, and 2.5%) with an extra 50 cents/hour after 26 weeks.

• PSEs in four-hour Remotely Managed Post Offices (RMPOs) (who are not covered by the automatic conversion to career provisions) will receive an additional $1.00 per hour after four years.

Full Cost-of-Living-Adjustments (COLA) for Career Employees (Six Total)

• COLA will be paid the second full pay period after the release of January 2025 (paid retroactively), July 2025, January 2026, July 2026, January 2027, and July 2027 CPI.

• APWU remains the only postal union with full COLA.

Changes to Post-2010 Pay Scales

• No later than the first full pay period 180 days after contract ratification
  • Grade 4 will have Step-JJ eliminated and the new starting step will be II
  • Entry Step-GG will be eliminated from Grades 5-7 for PSEs who are automatically converted to career after 24 months.
• Grade 3 will be upgraded to Grade 4 effective September 19, 2026 (Pay Period 21-2026)
  • New top steps will be added for Grades 4, 5, 6, and 7
    • Grade 4, Step J
    • Grade 5, Step L
    • Grade 6, Step M
    • Grade 7, Step M
• No changes to the waiting period for step increases, which is the shortest wait time of all postal contracts.

Increased Night Shift Differential

• Effective September 25, 2025, night shift differential rates will be increased by a fixed amount of 4.0% 
• Effective September 19, 2026, night shift differential will be increased by a fixed amount of 2.0%

Job Security 

• Protection from layoff for career employees with six years of service remains in effect.

• Any current career employee on the rolls as of September 20, 2024, but with less than six years of career service will be protected from lay-off for the life of the National Agreement. This provides at least 70,000 additional career employees protection from possible layoff. 

• Maintained the 50-mile limit on excessing.

• The current moratorium on subcontracting of Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) work will continue in its present form during life of the Agreement.

• Automatic PSE conversion to career status after two years (with the exception of the four-hour RMPO PSEs) remains in full force and effect.

Health Insurance 

• No change to the Postal Service percentage contribution to premiums for those participating in the Postal Service Health Program.

• 95% Postal Service contribution to premiums of the APWU Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP). 

Uniform/Work Clothes Program Allowances 

• 2.5% increase to the uniform/work clothes allowances for years 2025, 2026, and 2027.

• National Level Task Force established to examine the current uniform purchase program.

Additional Work Rule Changes

• Annual Leave Exchange increased from 40 hours to 80 hours.

• Annual Leave Carryover increased from 440 hours to 520 hours.

• Additional family members to be covered under Bereavement Leave to include mothers and fathers-in-law, grandchildren, and stepparents.

• Employees will no longer be required to serve two “probationary” periods if converted to career within their first term as a PSE.

• Additional non-discrimination terms added to Article 2.1 to become consistent with Federal law.

• Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) in current CBA contract to be carried forward.

• Additional items added to list of cases to be heard in expedited arbitration.

• Pilot program to develop virtual hearing process for expedited arbitration only.

• Arbitrators can no longer order briefs in discipline cases, it must be by joint agreement of the parties.

• MOU added to address the Step-4 (national dispute) backlog.

• MOU on purging of letters of warning.

• PSEs to be included when administrative leave granted due to “Acts of God”.

Additional Clerk Craft Provisions 

• PTFs can now identify the specific offices that they are willing to work in within a 50-mile radius.

• PTF Hub Assignment MOU made permanent.

• MOU for one-time voluntary Reassignment Opportunity for PTFs.

• USPS must give APWU 60 days’ notice when new or revised EAS position descriptions are created to allow the APWU to address any bargaining unit work that might be in the new position description.

• MOU establishing a work group to examine the Job Bid Management (JBM) tool to address local exceptions in the bid process.

• MOU on Telework for Customer Care Center that guarantees remote work and no subcontracting of the CCC for the life of agreement.

• MOU on Telework for Mail Requirement Clerks that guarantees remote work and no subcontracting of the MRC work for the life of agreement.

Additional Motor Vehicle Service Craft Provisions 

• HCR Limitation MOU has been renewed.

• Motor Vehicle Craft-Highway Movement of Mail provisions increased to higher dollar and mileage limits.

• Language added to establish seniority date if a MVS transfer is delayed beyond 90 days.

• Reversion Defined.

• Overtime Desired Lists to be by section and/or tour unless defined by LMOU.

• MVS Craft employees in 204(b) status prevented from being converted to full-time or career status unless they return to the craft for one continuous pay period.

• Seniority for “Preferred Assignments” clarified.

• Vehicle Maintenance Repair Agreements (VMRA) term added to Article 39.3.K.

• MVS Training Initiatives Committee MOU updated.

Additional Maintenance Craft Provisions 

• Per Diem MOU remains for all offsite training.

• The Annual In-Service Register is now open to all APWU non-career employees.

• Employees on an In-Service Register who twice decline positions in the Maintenance Craft will be removed from the In-Service Register, there will no longer be a yearly purge.

• JCIM Pecking Order updated. Revised Step 6 to preference Maintenance Craft employees excessed out of closed installations, clarified steps 7 through 9, added Step 13 for PSEs, and replaced the word “consider” with “select” in three of the steps.

• Expanded Opportunity to include Mail Processing Equipment Mechanics (MPE) for NST (ET-11) eligibility.

• Revised Article 38.3.K.4.b.  Area Maintenance Technician (AMT) PS-9 now encompasses Maintenance Mechanic (MM) PS-7, protecting AMTs facing excessing.

• Continuing education training for skilled Maintenance Craft employees every three years.

• AMTs will have the opportunity to request changes to reporting stations.

• Residual vacancies that have been vacant for at least 120 days may be posted by Notice of Intent (NOI) by joint agreement of the local parties.

• Established job protection for employees who fail to qualify after in-service promotion or employees that were hired from the Entrance Register.

• Revised MOU regarding Article 32 exceptions.

All provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that were not modified in negotiations remain in full force and effect. For example, overtime provisions, discipline procedure, grievance-arbitration procedure, holidays, etc.