Postal Negotiations End in Arbitration

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For the first time in the 14-year collective bargaining relationship between the U.S. Postal Service and its four major unions, the parties were unable to agree on wage and benefit terms. As a result, their differences were resolved by arbitration panels selected by the parties. (Arbitration was first used in 1981, but only for one of the unions--the Rural Letter Carriers Association.) Bargaining began in April 1984 and continued until the July 20, 1984, expiration of current agreements, when all meaningful negotiations on the major economic issues essentially ended, although the parties were able to agree on some other issues.

The main impediment to settlements was the Postal Service's contention that the employees were …