Hours, pay may change for local letter carriers, postal workers

BARSTOW • With the postal service facing what it calls the most dramatic decline in mail volume since the Great Depression, contracts may change for rural letter carriers and other postal workers in the Barstow area.

Officials with the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, which represents about eight rural route letter carriers at post offices in the Barstow area, began contract negotiations with the United States Postal Service Monday.

The American Postal Workers Union, which represents clerks, mechanics, custodians and other workers, began negotiating contracts Sept. 1. There are about 17 clerks, maintenance workers and supervisors at the Barstow post office. Current contracts for workers in both organizations expire at midnight Nov. 20.

Mail volume reached a peak of 213 billion pieces handled by postal workers in 2006 and dropped to 177 billion pieces last year, according to the United States Postal Service. Mail volume is expected to drop to 150 billion pieces by 2020.

Employees’ wages and benefits account for 78 percent — about $56 billion — of the postal service’s operating budget, which is dependent on funds from the sale of postage, products and services.

Rural letter carriers’ pay is based on the number of boxes they visit, the amount of mail they deliver, the type of delivery, how many packages are delivered and the number of miles driven, said Pam Vaughan, a California steward for the NRLCA. This data is subject to change on a yearly basis, which makes it difficult to publish a salary range for an average carrier, she said.

Relief workers’ pay is also based on the number of deliveries they make, how far they drive and the type of delivery, Vaughan said. But they do not receive the same benefits, including health coverage and retirement, as regular workers do.

Mark Saunders, a spokesman with the USPS, refused to answer questions on what the salary ranges are for rural letter carriers.

Rural letter carriers from the Barstow post office deliver to homes and businesses in Hinkley, Lenwood and the outlet malls. The office currently employs one full time worker and one part-time worker, said Postmaster Jason Pluma. Compared to city carriers, who drive six to 18 miles a day, rural carriers drive 60 to 70 miles a day using their own vehicles.

Pluma has had to cut the number of routes both inside and outside the city because of the declining mail volume. For rural carriers the decreased mail volume costs them money, Pluma said.

Pam Stocking has worked at the Barstow post office for more than 24 years and delivers to about 566 businesses and homes in Lenwood and Hinkley. She puts 50 miles a day on her own Jeep Wrangler and gets an allowance for the mileage.

With the declining volume Stocking said she’s worried about changes to her pay and work hours.

“Nothing’s looking good for the postal service right now,” she said. “I don’t have any way of knowing what’s going on until something comes out.”

Two rural letter carriers work at the post office in Hinkley, according to the postmaster there. Two rural letter carriers work at the Newberry Springs office, traveling 80 to 90 miles a day. Each Newberry Springs carrier has a substitute worker to fill in on days off, said postal clerk Karen Foreman.

The recession and the increase in digital communications such as e-mail and instant messaging is to blame for the drop in mail volume, according to Saunders.

Congress deemed the postal service an essential service to the nation, so if negotiations come to an impasse, workers are prohibited from striking.

The rural letter carriers association represents 67,000 full-time rural letter carriers and 48,000 substitute letter carriers. The postal workers union represents 211,000 employees nationwide.

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(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com