By Eric Alseth
Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, May 24, nearly 200 letter carriers and their supporters gathered to rally and fundraise for the union reform slate Concerned Letter Carriers (CLC), outside American Family Field ahead of a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game.
A presidential election for the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will be held this fall amid a series of growing pressures for letter carriers. The candidates at the top of the CLC slate visited Milwaukee to build support for their reform slate and to showcase their policies. CLC presidential candidate James Henry and vice presidential nominee Corey Walton and other CLC slate members spent time socializing with the crowd and addressing the many issues which plague letter carriers.
“Our needs are not being met, we hit the streets every day, and management can’t guarantee our safety on the job or off the clock,” Henry said. “Pay and benefits keep sliding and we want to make sure we get those back to a place that respects our craft!”
Throughout their fight for a new contract, letter carriers have been worried about privatization and increased cutbacks. Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, private sector logistics CEOs have been appointed Postmaster General in recent times. Their policies have led to increases in use of discipline of letter carriers, reduction in capacity and persistent delays of mail.
CLC supporters feel that the sitting NALC president Brian Renfroe has failed to address these issues. Renfroe presided over negotiations for the letter carriers’ 2022-2025 contract which was settled with meager increases in pay, well below the pace of year-on-year inflation. Currently Renfroe is negotiating another contract and the CLC slate supporters feel the contract fight is once again falling short of the needs of working letter carriers.
James Henry also spoke about the need for unity among all carriers, stating, “If we come together as a unit at every level, our power is unshakable and unquestionable,” he said. “If we stay fractured and separated across the country, we’ll never take that step forward.”
Recent years have seen an uptick in union activity in the NALC, as well as many other unions across the country. Letter carriers in Milwaukee are represented by NALC Pioneer Branch 2. Many Branch 2 members have committed to campaigning for the CLC slate. The election will occur this fall after the 2026 National Convention in August.
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