(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – Manny Greer has health problems and is dealing with food insecurity.  Marisa Carrion is a young single Mother of three, while David Kozinski has been working for 26 years now but is worried about his younger Co-Workers who are having a tough time these days.

What brought these three National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 3 Members together on Wednesday (November 13th) - on a very cold and early morning, was a rally held outside a Post Office Branch on Buffalo’s West Side.

There about 50 local Letter Carriers waved signs that read: “Letter Carriers Still Work Harder - Deserve High Pay, “Say NO To The Tentative Agreement” and “VOTE NO” as passing vehicles honked their horns in support of the Union-represented Carriers who told WNYLaborToday.com a tentative agreement reached with the United States Postal Service (USPS) “is a slap in the face” to not only them, but nearly 600,000 of their fellow NALC Members across the country.

“‘Plain and simple, we have to be out here - we have to do this,’” said Greer, who reached out to Branch 3 President David Grosskopf, Jr. and asked a public rally be scheduled outside the Post Office where he’s worked for three years now.  “I have an auto-immure illness ‘and I feel great when I can afford medication.’  ‘But I have to work overtime to afford it.’”

“There’s ‘nothing in it (the tentative contract agreement) for the average’ Mail Carrier,” said Greer (Pictured Above/WNYLaborToday.com Photos), who also admitted he is dealing with food insecurity.  “It ‘only addresses management’s issues.’  ‘You can’t call them (the wage increases in the deal) raises.’  ‘I hope it gets voted down.’”

Carrion (Pictured Below/WNYLaborToday.com Photos) is a nine-year Letter Carrier with children aged nine, six and 10 months. 

Like Greer she hopes NALC Members vote the tentative deal down because “there’s not enough money in it.”

“‘That leaves me robbing Peter to pay Paul,’” she told WNYLaborToday.com.  “‘We need to have a bigger raise because we (Letter Carriers) are the backbone of the Postal Service.’”

Meanwhile, Kozinski (Pictured Below/WNYLaborToday.com Photos), a 26-year Letter Carrier, is at the top of the wage scale. 

His wife works and his kids are grown, but he told WNYLaborToday.com he has a problem with his Co-Workers receiving a lot less in wages than they should be compared to what others are making.

“(The USPS) ‘is not addressing the impact of inflation,’” Kozinski said.  “And ‘it’s incredible this agreement does not address retention.’  ‘We are churning through people because the mental and physical toll is so high.’  ‘With what they’re offering you could go work a fast food job and make the same wage without the mental and physical impact.’”

“Look, Letter Carriers ‘have done it all,’” he continued.  “‘We’ve worked through everything’ - including the (Coronavirus) Pandemic.  ‘Some of us get robbed out there.’  ‘Others have been killed.’  A (1.3%) wage increase ‘is a slap in our faces.’  ‘We are the face’ of the Postal Service.  ‘I certainly hope it does get voted own.’”

NALC announced the tentative agreement with the USPS in mid-October (A Summary of the agreement can be accessed at: Summary-of-2023-Tentative-Agreement.pdf).

Letter Carriers will be voting on the agreement in the month of December.

If it’s turned down, it will be back to the negotiating table for both sides.

However, NALC Letter Carriers across the U.S. are currently organizing and rallying to get the message across to the public that the tentative agreement fails to address current economic conditions and work rules sufficiently to reward America’s hard working Letter Carriers.

NALC says the wage increases offered by the USPS do not offset the increase in inflation and are nowhere close to what is needed to sustain a livable wage in today’s economic conditions.

For example, under the new agreement, new hires can expect a starting hourly wage of $20, wages similar to the Fast Food Industry.  

And without significant raises, the USPS will be unable to attract new Employees to stay with the service for the long term.

“(The USPS) has offered an economic package of (3.9%) over (42) months, ‘which is not keeping up with inflation,’” Branch 3 President David Grosskopf, Jr. told WNYLaborToday.com at the rally. 

“‘We’re going in reverse here.’  (NALC Members) ‘would not be able to put money into their (401k’s) or life insurance.’  ‘This is absolutely not a benefit,’” he said.

The “general word” from NALC Members across the U.S., Grosskopf added, is that Letter Carriers are saying: “No way.”

“‘It is a slap in our faces,’” he said.

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: For More, Read: US Postal Workers Are Fighting Massive Service Cuts