Contract talks between the U.S. Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO will resume Jan. 29, the NALC said.
Negotiations are focusing on wages, benefits and work rules. Direct mailers are watching closely because 80 percent of all postal costs are labor-related.
The contract would replace an agreement that was scheduled to expire last November. However, the USPS and the union, which represents 241,000 letter carriers in non-rural locations nationwide, postponed contract talks and agreed to extend the previous contract after the anthrax crisis and Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Both sides said the negotiations before the suspension were productive, and both expect to reach a settlement.
