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48 The Postal Record August 2024 In addition, the department re- views what others write about the USPS financial results, including re- The department monitors USPS financial results, volumes, service performance and workforce data and provides analysis and context to the Office of the President. Ex- amples of items the department analyzes include USPS product revenue and volume, workers’ com- pensation accounting, the USPS balance sheet, and monthly reports on employment and workhours. The department also monitors postal products and services usage, and summarizes USPS reports about us- age, such as the USPS Household Diary Study. Research Department T he NALC Research Department provides research and analysis to NALC’s Office of the Presi- dent, Executive Council and staff of the union’s major departments. Holly Feldman-Wiencek joined the department in 2016 as a research assistant and has been NALC’s re- search director since January 2023. Sean Crosbie joined the depart- ment in 2017 as a staff assistant for economic analysis. Examples of Research Depart- ment work include analysis of quar- terly and annual USPS financial re- ports; analysis of postal regulatory developments and filings; moni- toring of USPS volumes by class of mail; support for collective bargain- ing; coordination of NALC’s interest arbitration case and hired expert witnesses; analysis of city carrier craft demographics and workforce data; research on U.S. postal and parcel industry trends; evaluation of regulations and developments among international postal opera- tors; and representation of NALC on postal industry panels and at postal conferences. Since the 2022 biennial conven- tion, the Research Department has worked on a number of issues on behalf of NALC members. Analysis of USPS reports
ports published by the Postal Regu- latory Commission (PRC), the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspec- tor General (USPS OIG) and industry groups. Despite the repeal of the pre- funding mandate in 2022 and cost reductions due to the early imple- mentation of the Postal Service’s strategic plan, the agency faces a difficult financial outlook. USPS re- ported a loss of $6.5 billion in fis- cal year 2023. As of the end of the second quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, the Postal Service had not sig- nificantly improved its net loss over the same period the previous year. These results were favorably af- fected by increased revenue due to increased parcel volumes and lower transportation costs, but partially offset by the continued effect of in- flation on operating expenses. Collective bargaining and interest arbitration The Research Department’s prep- arations for a new round of collec- tive bargaining begin far in advance of a contract’s expiration. The de- partment began this work for the current round in the fall of 2022, ahead of the May 2023 expiration. The department engages with col- lective bargaining in two ways: Be- fore bargaining opens, we provide initial research and insight into USPS finances and the labor market to give NALC leadership a detailed understanding of the broader con- text in which they will bargain, and, during negotiations, we work in col- laboration with NALC’s attorneys to craft the case that the union will make in interest arbitration. While we never know before negotiations open if we will reach an impasse and go to interest arbitration, the department works these dual tracks to ensure that we will be ready for arbitration if necessary. Before contract negotiations be- gin, the department conducts pre- liminary research into the overall health of the economy, labor mar-
ket trends, wages in the parcel and delivery market, and trends in USPS workforce data. We share this infor- mation with the Office of the Presi- dent and other NALC officers who will be at the bargaining table. Dur- ing negotiations, the department is on call to provide any research or analysis as issues arise. The department’s main focus during bargaining is preparing the case for interest arbitration. This work is comprehensive and meticu- lous, and includes updating pre- vious NALC presentation exhibits and data, developing new exhibits and identifying expert witnesses to support NALC’s case. In this round of preparations, the department created new exhibits on general economic conditions, injury and illness rates among letter carriers, recent labor settlements around the country, comparison of wages across the delivery industry and the trend toward remote work in the labor market. The department also worked closely with outside ex- perts on wage comparability, heat safety, economics, the parcel mar- ket, delivery industry employment trends and workforce structure. The department provided these experts with background information, an- swered questions, and assisted in identifying publicly available data to help them develop effective wit- ness testimony to support NALC’s case in arbitration. Pay tables, COLA tracking, annuity tables When USPS makes changes to the letter carrier pay tables, the Re- search Department independently verifies the changes to make sure that they are correct. The depart- ment provides pay tables to the Communications Department for publication in The Postal Record and posting on NALC’s website. The Research Department also tracks the monthly changes in the consumer price index (CPI) and summarizes where the contract, re-
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