August 5-9, 2024 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
oversight over the Postal Service. It has five commissioners, who are appointed by the president for six-year terms. Currently, Michael Kubayanda serves as chairman and Thomas Day serves as vice chair- man. The three other commission- ers are Ann Fisher, Ashley Poling and Robert Taub. Recently, the PRC has intervened on Market Dominant price increas- es and the Postal Service’s 10-year plan in the last two years. As discussed in the 2022 Chi- cago convention report, the PRC finalized a new ratemaking sys- tem in December 2020. This new system modified the price cap for Market Dominant products to al- low for additional pricing authority beyond the consumer price index. The new system implemented two mechanisms designed to permit the Postal Service to generate ad- ditional revenue to cover costs out- side of its control related to mail density declines and retirement obligations. Since the rate system change, USPS has raised Market Domi- nant rates six times, most recently bringing the price of a First-Class stamp up to 73 cents in July 2024. The PRC has adjudicated these increases, allowing the Postal Service to use banked pricing authority as outlined in the sys- tem. However, the frequency and magnitude of these increases has caused alarm for mailers, with some suggesting that the pricing increases have been accelerating the decline in mail volume. The PRC’s 2020 ruling included a five-year review period to as- sess the effects of the ratemak- ing system change, though the PRC also retained the flexibility to conduct the review sooner than five years if necessary. As a result of commenters raising a substan- tial number of concerns related to the effects of the new system, in April 2024 the PRC initiated a new proceeding to conduct this review earlier than planned. NALC will monitor this regulatory case and
Volume 137/Number 4
April 2024
In this issue President’s Message National Officers 34 Branch Election Notices 49 Branch Items 54 1
The monthly journal of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS
NALC calls on Congress to pass H.R. 7629 —PAGES 4-7
Arbitrator selected to hear case for new national agreement —PAGE 8
While combating the horrific in- crease of crime against our members has become a top legislative priority for our union, we have remained fo- cused on policies that will protect our retirement security and benefits. For more information about our ongoing legislative priorities, please refer to the Legislative and Political report on page 25. Postal Regulatory Commission and the USPS Board of Governors The Postal Regulatory Commis- sion (PRC) is an independent agen- cy that has exercised regulatory
30 The Postal Record August 2024
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