MEMBERS CHANGING their ADDRESS

 

Please be sure to give the Secretary/Treasurer your new address when you move.  The Union does not necessarily know you have a new address just because you gave it to the USPS.  Please text 865-740-3162 with your new information.

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state convention hotel

reservations

The TNRLCA State Convention will be held June 24 - 26, 2023 at the Franklin Cool Springs Marriott, 700 Cool Springs Blvd, Franklin, TN.  Below is a link to make your reservations. To receive the group discount, which is $147 per night plus tax, reservations must be made by May 19, 2023. 

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https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1670443106182&key=GRP&app=resvlink

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Letters of Demand ARE Being Issued

TO CARRIERS Exceeding 2240 HOURS

 

Carriers, please be aware the Postal Service is sending out invoices to carriers that exceeded 2240 hours.   As per the Step 4, #E95R-4E-C 01267089, if the carriers exceeded 2240 through no fault of their own, the Letters of Demand would be waived. Do not pay these invoices. These invoices say that they are for information only, however, there could be managers who still want to issue the Letter of Demand. Immediately contact your steward should you receive a Letter of Demand, file a grievance, and file a waiver of claim, PS Form 3074.

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RRECS & Electing the

High Option on Form 4241

The new RRECS route evaluations were to be available Monday, March 20 and the effective date was to be Saturday, March 25.  However, the USPS has informed the NRLCA there are system issues and the 4241-A could not be generated. The new timeline is as follows:

                 April 1: PS 4241A is to be made available to the carriers

                 April 8: First RRECS Pay Period 4/8 - 4/21/23 (Pay Period 9/23)

                 April 28: First RRECS paychecks are issued

Carriers may elect the high option on form 4241 if you qualify (you must have 10 years as a regular carrier). When you complete the form, you must sign you will stay under 2080 hours. However, you are not required to sign that the survey is correct. If you are not signing the survey is correct, you must put in writing why it is not correct.

Members: You may obtain a sample form 4241 on the NRLCA.org website.

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New EMA Rate Effective

April 8, 2023 (Pay Period 09-23)

 

On March 14, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the February Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which established the Private Transportation Index at 261.223, a decrease from the November 2022 Index of 266.492. Therefore, based on the February 2023 CPI-W release, the Equipment Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for rural carriers will decrease 2.0¢ to 91.5¢ per mile. This EMA rate will be effective April 8, 2023 (Pay Period 09-2023).

Rural Carriers: In accordance with the provisions of Article 9, Section 2.J.3 of the USPS/NRLCA National Agreement, effective April 8, 2023 (Pay Period 09-2023), the Equipment Maintenance Allowance (EMA) will decrease to 91.5¢ per mile, or a minimum of $36.60 per day, whichever is greater.

Auxiliary Rural Carriers, Rural Carrier Reliefs, Rural Carrier Associates, Rural Carrier Part Time Flexibles, and Auxiliary Assistance Employees providing auxiliary assistance or serving auxiliary routes under the provisions of Article 9, Section 2.J.5, will receive EMA of 91.5¢ per mile or $9.75 per hour, whichever is greater. This EMA should not exceed the amount provided in the special EMA chart for route stops and miles.

The next index will be calculated in three months and will reflect the current market price of gas. Remember, EMA is not just gasoline. The following is a breakdown of what is included in our EMA:

          45% - New & Used Motor Vehicles

          24% - Motor Fuel

            3% - Motor Vehicle Parts & Equipment

            8% - Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair

          17% - Motor Vehicle Insurance

            3% - Motor Vehicle Fees 

        100% - TOTAL INCLUDED IN EMA 

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$208 Cost-of-Living Adjustment Effective March 11, 2023

 

Pursuant to the release of the January 2023 Consumer Price Index - Urban Wage and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), and in accordance with Article 9.1.E , the fourth COLA adjustment of the 2021-2024 National Agreement will result in a $208 increase for eligible rural carriers. This COLA adjustment will be effective March 11, 2023 (PP 2023-07). All COLA adjustments are based on a 40-hour evaluation with proportional application to those route evaluations over 40 hours. The increase should appear in paychecks dated March 31, 2023.

In accordance with Article 9.1.E.3, full COLA adjustments will apply to Table One and new Step 15 of Table Two. COLA adjustments to Steps 1 through 14 of Table Two will be adjusted proportionally to each step’s percentage of Step 15. This will serve to bring Table Two schedule (Step 15) employees to the same pay level as Table One (Step 12) employees, thereby eliminating the pay differential between Table Two and Table One employees at the top step and for the rest of their careers.

NOTE: All leave replacement employees will receive an additional 1% salary adjustment annually in lieu of COLA adjustments.

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NRLCA and USPS Sign MOU Allowing Regular Rural Carriers to Volunteer to Work on Sundays and Provide Assistance on other Rural Routes

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Due to continued staffing challenges in rural delivery operations, the Postal Service and the NRLCA have signed an MOU regarding two temporary modifications to the USPS-NRLCA National Agreement. Beginning Saturday, February 25, 2023, and continuing through September 1, 2023, regular rural carriers may volunteer to work on Sunday to deliver packages and may also volunteer to provide service on rural routes other than their assigned routes in the office. Regular rural carriers will be compensated at the overtime rate for hours worked on Sunday and for hours performing service on routes other than their assigned routes.

The NRLCA has agreed to this for the benefit of our RCAs and the overwhelming number of members who have requested an extended MOU.

Regular rural carriers will not be required to work on Sunday or serve part of any other rural route. Regular rural carriers must volunteer to perform these additional services.

Prior to working volunteer regular rural carriers on Sundays or on other rural routes, management must comply with the scheduling provisions of the National Agreement, to include use of the Sunday/Holiday Parcel Delivery Work List.

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RETRO PAY ADJUSTMENT

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Rural carriers should have received their retro pay adjustment on the check dated February 17, 2023.  Recent Retirees: If you were employed at the USPS during the period included in the adjustment, you will get a hard copy check. Please contact the post office where you last worked if you do not receive your retro pay adjustment. Included in this retro pay adjustment are the "General Wage Increase" dating back to August 2021 & "COLA Adjustments" for June 2021 and January 2022.

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New DACA Code G: Annual Leave

in Lieu of Holiday Pay

 

Per the 2021-2024 Agreement between the NRLCA and USPS: Effective the Presidents’ Day 2023 holiday, regular rural carriers who work their holiday, at their option, may elect to have their annual leave balance credited with one day of annual leave in lieu of holiday pay. DACA Code G has been established for this purpose and will be valid beginning in PP 05/2023.

Members, please go to NRLCA.ORG to view the the document.

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Rural carriers diagnosed with 

covid-19 after january 27, 2023

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On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) was signed into law. This legislation streamlined the process for federal workers diagnosed with COVID-19 to establish coverage under the FECA (Federal Employees' Compensation Act). FECA Bulletin 21-09 was issued on April 28, 2021 and incorporated the ARPA’s provisions for processing COVID-19 claims.

Section 4016(b)(1) of the ARPA required these statutory provisions apply to a federal worker who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 on or prior to January 27, 2023. That legislation is now expired. Therefore, any claim for which COVID-19 is diagnosed after January 27, 2023, must establish the five basic elements for determining a workers' compensation claim.  The five basic elements include:

1. The claim was filed within the time limits set by the FECA. (A CA2 would be used to file this type of claim, not a CA1.)

2. The injured or deceased person was an employee within the meaning of the FECA.

3. The injury, accident or employment factor actually occurred, and a medical condition was diagnosed in connection with the injury or event.

4. The employee was in the performance of duty when the event(s) leading to the claim occurred.

5. The medical evidence establishes that the diagnosed condition is causally related to the injury or event.

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The New Postal Service Health

Benefits (PSHB) Program to Take 

Effect January 2025

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The Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program is a new, separate program within the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program which is being administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). It  will provide health insurance to eligible Postal Service employees, Postal Service annuitants, and their eligible family members starting in 2025. The PSHB Program coverage will replace Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) Program coverage for these groups. Any plan participating in the PSHB program must include plans with benefits equivalent to FEHB for postal workers and annuitants.

Employees, annuitants, and their family members who are currently eligible for coverage under the FEHB Program will be eligible for coverage under the PSHB Program. Employees, annuitants, and eligible family members may continue to participate in the FEHB Program for the 2023 and 2024 plan years. Their current FEHB enrollment will continue unless they make any changes prior to January 2025. The first opportunity to select a new PSHB plan will take place during Open Season in late 2024, and coverage under the PSHB health benefits program coverage will begin January 2025. Employees and annuitants currently enrolled in FEHB plans who do not enroll in a new PSHB plan during Open Season in 2024 will automatically be enrolled in a PSHB plan. The automatic plan enrollment will be based on their active employment or retirement with the USPS.

Enrollment in a PSHB plan will not disrupt enrollment in other insurance and benefits programs which include:

• Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP)

• Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS)

• Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), or

• Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP)

If a family member of a Postal Service employee or Postal Service annuitant meets the eligibility requirements for enrollment in an FEHB plan, such as through qualifying employment with the Federal government, the PSRA (Postal Service Reform Act) will not affect their eligibility to enroll in an FEHB plan or affect their ability to cover their eligible family members.

Most Postal Service annuitants and their eligible family members who are entitled to Medicare Part A will be eligible to enroll in Medicare Part B during a six-month special enrollment period (SEP) starting April 1, 2024. This six-month period permits annuitants who did not sign up for Part B at the age of 65 to do so penalty-free. (The 10% per year penalty is waived.) Individuals who qualify for the SEP will receive a separate notification prior to April 1, 2024, as required by the PSRA. Annuitants and their family members who are entitled to Medicare Part A must enroll in Medicare Part B to be eligible to continue PSHB coverage. Current annuitants will not be required to enroll in Medicare Part B if they chose to stay out. Some other very limited exceptions will apply.

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Multifactor authentication now required for LiteBlue

Cyber criminals continue to pose a threat to postal employees by creating fake websites that closely resemble LiteBlue. As a reminder, you can reduce the chances of going to a fake site by navigating directly to the official USPS website at (spell aloud) W-W-W - “dot” - L-I-T-E-B-L-U-E - “dot” -U-S-P-S- “dot” -G-O-V.

As an additional layer of protection, the organization is strengthening its security measures by requiring multifactor authentication (MFA) for all employees to gain access to LiteBlue after Jan.15.

Multifactor authentication is an identity verification method in which users provide two or more confirmation factors to gain access to an online account.

It is frequently used by banks and other institutions dealing with sensitive personal information.

When employees log into LiteBlue, they will be required to reset their Self-Service Profile (SSP) password, verify the last four digits of their Social Security Number (SSN), and set up their multifactor authentication preferences.

Once an employee’s setup is enabled, these ID confirmation factors will be required each time he or she logs in.

For more information or to view support materials, go to the LiteBlue login page and select “Multifactor Authentication" or members visit the www.NRLCA.org website.

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new 2023 FEHB, FEDVIP premiums

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The Office of Personnel Management released the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) premium rates for 2023. Federal employees and retirees will see an average increase of 7.2% in their portion of premiums. This is the highest increase since 2011.

The average increase for federal employees and retirees for the Federal Employees Dental Insurance was 0.21%, and a decrease of 0.41% for vision plans.

Open season will run from Monday, November 14 through Monday, December 12. Check out the Rural Carrier Benefits Plan (Aetna Insurance). The savings are phenomenal and the coverage is basically the same. However, you must be a member of our union to get this insurance. I have a limited number of brochures on the RCBP. If you would like some information, call, text or email the state secretary/treasurer and I will send you what I have available. Also, if you are not a member and would like to try this insurance plan and save lots of your hard earned money, contact me for a form 1187 to join our association. The annual savings are often more than the annual dues.  What are you waiting on?

Additionally, if you already have the RCBP, the 2023 premium for self + Family (382) is less expensive then the self+1 plan (383). You might want to switch yourself to self + Family. It is a savings of $9.91 per pay period for a total of $257.66 per year.

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Election Results: 2022-2023

NRLCA National Board

 

Listed below are the newly-elected National Board for the 2022-2023 Association year:

• President: Ronnie W. Stutts

• Vice President: Donald L. Maston

• Secretary-Treasurer: Thomas K. Turner

• Director of Labor Relations: Bridget Boseak

• Director of Steward Operations: Shirley Baffa

• Executive Committeeman, 4-year term: John Adams

• Executive Committeeman, 3-year unexpired term: Jeanette Dwyer

• Executive Committeeman, 2-year unexpired term: Patrick Pitts

• Executive Committeeman: 1-year unexpired term: Nicky Phillips

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IMPORTANT NOTICE ON

RURAL CARRIER SAFETY

 

The following is a statement of NRLCA’s position on three very important issues:

1. The safety of rural carriers and the public.

2. Requiring or allowing regular carriers to work on other routes and/or on Sundays.

3. Requiring Leave Replacements to work more than 12 hours in one day.

We want to reach every rural carrier as soon as possible. Please share this information with rural carriers in other offices and ask them to post also.  

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NRLCA and USPS Sign MOU

Concerning Annual Leave

Carryover for Leave Year 2023

 

The NRLCA and USPS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreeing that for leave year 2023, regular work force career employees covered by the USPS-NRLCA Agreement may carry over 520 hours of accumulated annual leave from leave year 2022 to leave year 2023. That is equivalent to 13 weeks or 65 days of annual leave carryover.

In all other respects, the ELM provisions for payment of accumulated leave are not changed because of this Memorandum.

This MOU will expire December 31, 2023. Please go to NRLCA.org to see the actual document.

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New Medicare Advantage for RCBP

 

For 2022, RCBP is offering an incredible enhancement for retirees with Medicare Parts A & B, the option to opt-in to Aetna Medicare Advantage! While this new option may create questions, this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document is meant to assist our RCBP retirees in making a decision that is best for them and their family.

Here are few key points to keep in mind regarding Aetna Medicare Advantage for RCBP.

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1. You must be retired with Medicare Parts A & B.

2. This enhanced plan is optional, 100% voluntary for RCBP retirees.

3. You will remain, and always be an RCBP member by opting-in and joining this plan.

4. No change in premium—you pay the retiree share of RCBP premium.

5. You can opt-out at any time and still have the great coverage of RCBP with Medicare Parts A&B.

6. Part B premium reduction!

 

What are some of the plan highlights?

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• $900 Medicare Part B premium reduction per year for each eligible member

• Added programs such as SilverSneakers®, Healthy Home Visits, nonemergency transportation for medical appointments, meals after a hospital stay and more, at no extra cost

• Unlimited chiropractor visits

• Unlimited physical, occupational and speech therapy visits

• Low prescription copays—as low as $0 from preferred pharmacies and $2 from standard pharmacies

• Nationwide doctors (use any doctor who is eligible to receive Medicare payment)

 

Please visit NRLCA.ORG for more information.

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MAIL DELIVERY after 8:00 p.m.

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Postal Service Headquarters Leadership has committed to the NRLCA that rural carriers should not be out on the street later than 8:00 PM.  Your National Board believes that delivering mail and packages past this time creates a very unsafe situation and is committed to stopping this practice whenever possible.  We ask that any rural carrier who is required to deliver mail after 8:00 PM immediately notify your District Representative so that we may bring this to the attention of higher level USPS Officials as soon as possible.  Please assist us by reporting infractions as requested.

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raft incentivE PROGRAM 

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As an incentive for recruiters and new members, the 2021 RAFT Program offers the following benefits:

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1. Individual recruiters will receive the following monetary amount paid by the National Office of $15.00 for each RCA or ARC recruited and $50.00 for each Regular or PTF recruited. The recruited individual must sign an "1187 Dues Withholding Authorization Form" and stay on the USPS employment roles for a period of three months after the State Secretary or National Office processes the 1187 Form. The recruiter should legibly list on the upper right hand corner of the new member's 1187 Form the following to quailify for the incentive payment: their full name, EIN or CSA number, and their address.  Please submit all 1187 forms to the State Secretary/Treasurer immediately after receiving them from the recruited individuals. Please do not hold them.

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2. The newly recruited member will receive three free months of membership before his/her Form 1187 is sent to the USPS for processing and the deduction of pay period organizational dues.  

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3.  No incentives will be paid to the State Association.

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LETS GET RECRUITING!!​

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