Boston, MA – On August 5, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) began its 73rd biennial national convention. Tensions among the rank and file heading into the convention were high, as the national body has been unable to finalize a tentative agreement with the United States Postal Service despite the contract expiring May 20, 2023. Letter carriers are working for near-poverty wages due to rapid inflation.

Brian Renfroe, the national president, has come under fire in 2024, receiving formal charges of Abandoned Position and Dereliction/Neglect of Duty, Impaired Driving After Hours in a NALC Owned Vehicle, and Circulating False or Misleading Statements about a NALC officer during the start of negotiations. The executive council investigation recently acquitted him of the charges but revoked his driving privileges. Renfroe himself declared that the charges would not be a subject of the convention.

What's become clear to the membership is that this leadership is incapable of bargaining with the company and have failed the rank and file for the last 15 months. The carriers are rising up and are taking action by forming an opposition slate against national leadership, going by the name Concerned Letter Carriers (CLC).

Immediately after the presidential address, three members of the CLC went to each of the various stations on the convention floor with the intent to bring a motion to the floor that would force the president to read out the charges against him. After some discussion this vote was successful, with a margin of approximately 2100 to 1500.

Build a Fighting NALC (BFN), the new reform movement within the NALC which took shape in the late spring and early summer months, had their first in-person meeting where they had a panel of speakers discussing the need for change by making clear demands such as a $30 per hour starting wage, an end to Sorting and Delivery Centers, and the right to strike. BFN will be forming chapters in different cities in an effort to bring about more rank-and-file support.

On August 8, the delegate body heard the appeals of President Renfroe and agreed to uphold the decisions of the executive council.

There were a few contentious resolutions brought to the floor, with the largest being the case for open bargaining. The members of NALC want top to bottom transparency from national during contract negotiations so that members receive contract updates. The resolution called for public rallies in support of the bargaining efforts that would lead to real rank-and-file participation and bolster their positions at the table. While the strongest of such resolutions was unsuccessful, one of the other open bargaining resolutions was passed and national union will now be forced to hold rallies across the United States during contract negotiations. The resolution which would have forced transparency with rank-and-file members was shot down after national business agents stormed the mics to denounce the most popular solution brought to the convention.

The other big resolution was to demand an end to Sorting and Delivery Centers after Branch 3 in Buffalo was successful in its public campaign to stop the one being created in their district. However, business agents abused their power, coercing members from voting in favor and the resolution lost.

This is only the beginning of the reform movement within NALC. These demands are popular and felt amongst a wide base of the rank and file. Those at national, most clearly highlighted by President Renfroe, have forgotten what’s it’s like to be down on the shop floor fighting with the bosses. Build a Fighting NALC (BFN) and the opposition leadership slate of the Concerned Letter Carriers (CLC) represent a potential shift in direction for the membership and its leaders.

Fight Back! will carry updates as the election plays out and the reform movement develops.

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