A special look at those fellow rural carriers we lost on the job this year.
Click on their photos to read their stories
2025 Rural CarrierYear in review
Ruralinfoturned 20 years old in 2025
Website Stats
New 2024-2027 National Contract was approved by the membership
Pursuant to Article XI, Section 4 of the NRLCA Constitution, the Ratification Committee has completed the tabulation of ballots and reports that the 2024-2027 NRLCA-USPS Tentative National Agreement has been ratified by a vote of 9,730 to 4,880, or 67 percent voting in favor of ratification
In memoriam
If any rural carrier that died on the job is missing on the “In Memoriam” list, please contact me and let me know. We want to honor everyone we have lost.
2025 Postal Vehicle Fires
On our other postal website, Postaltimes.com, we have documented 40 postal vehicles fires this year. We have been documenting these fires since 2017. So far our tally is 472 since 2017
Rural carrier heroes
NRLCA Turned 122 in 2025
On September 12th in 1903, rural carriers gathered in Chicago at the very first NRLCA National Convention to write our Constitution and bylaws and elect our first National Officers. What started with 12 state associations and 16,000 carriers has grown into the strong union family we are today.
Top Rural Carrier News of 2025
Click the arrows to click through the months
video shows how postal inspectors brought a rural carrier’s killer to justice
Top Downloaded Files from our Knowledgebase
| File | Downloads | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Salary Charts – 09/2025 | 24948 |
| 2. | RRECS Guide revised-02.04.25 | 2783 |
| 3. | RCA-–-How-to-use-postalease-for-USPS-health-benefit-plan | 2757 |
| 4. | 2021-2024-Special-Contract-Edition | 2542 |
| 5. | 2024-2027 National Contract | 2452 |
| 7. | 2021-2024 Contract-Q-and-A | 2299 |
| 8. | 4241 RRECS Cheat Sheet | 2200 |
| 9. | How to Read your Pay Stub | 2131 |
| 10. | Formula-office-implementation | 1870 |
pay updates in 2025
Retroactive (back pay) Provisions from new contract
All back pay provisions prior to August 23, 2025 will reflect on the February 27, 2026 paychecks.
2025 Regular Carrier Pay Updates
March 2025 COLA update
September 2025 COLA update.
November 2025 General Wage Increases
2025 RCA and ARC Pay Updates
RCA & ARC Increases
The $0.55 hourly increase was reflected on the October 24, 2025 paychecks.
The new step to increase $1.00 hourly was reflected on the October 24, 2025 paychecks.
November 2023 - Click for larger photo
November 2025 - Click for larger photo
ema updates in 2025
2025 EMA Updates
- April EMA Rate – 96.5¢ per mile
- June EMA Rate – 97.0¢ per mile
- October EMA Rate – 97.5¢ per mile
- December EMA Rate – 97.0¢ per mile
mous and step 4s in 2025
NRLCA – Step 4 Grievance Filed on Overburdened Routes Not Being Adjusted in a Timely Manner
On January 13, 2025, the NRLCA filed a Step 4 grievance regarding the Postal Service’s failure to timely adjust overburdened routes
Updated RHD vehicle incentive instructions and forms in accordance with MOU 8
MOU Signed to Allow Regular Carriers to Volunteer to Work on Sundays and to Volunteer to Provide Assistance on Other Routes
On August 15, 2025, the NRLCA and the USPS signed an MOU to allow regular carriers to volunteer to work on Sundays and to volunteer to provide assistance on other routes in the office
MOU Signed on Leave Carryover
On August 15, 2025, the NRLCA and USPS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreeing that regular work force career employees covered by the USPS-NRLCA Agreement may carry over 520 hours of accumulated annual leave from leave year 2025 to leave year 2026, and from leave year 2026 to 2027
Letter of Understanding Signed on PARS Label Time
The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association and the United States Postal Service entered into a Letter of Understanding that will credit PARS Label time for each route utilizing the previous 52 weeks of data
Step 4 – RCAs working over 12 hours
The issue in this grievance concerns whether Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM), section 432.32 was violated when leave replacements worked in excess of 12 hours in a service day
Step 4 – RCAs delivering parcels on the city side
On several occasions, the parties discussed the above-captioned grievance at the fourth step of our contractual grievance procedure. he issue in this grievance concerns Rural Carrier Associates (RCAs) delivering parcels to addresses regularly served by the city carrier craft
Step 4 – Start times and additional trips
There are three issues in dispute in this grievance: 1) starting times for rural carriers, 2) rural carriers being required to leave for the street at a pre determined time and 3) rural carriers making an additional trip to deliver parcels because parcel distribution was not complete before leaving to service the route
NRLCA – National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) Award
The National Agency Check with Inquiries, better known as the “NACI,” is the test that the Postal Service uses to complete background checks for newly hired employees through the Postal Inspection Service. Recently, the Postal Service took the position that all postal employees are “conditional” employees until after the NACI is completed and a favorable NACI returned
In closing
So there you have it. The recap of the rural carrier year. I did my best to touch on all the key points, but I’m sure I overlooked a few. I know this is lengthy, but there’s a lot to discuss over the course of a year.
Most of you are aware that I’ve been retired since October 2022, and yes, I wholeheartedly recommend retiring as soon as you can. My stress levels have dropped significantly, and my husband and dog are thrilled to have me around every day..
Thanks to everyone for considering what I do worth reading and paying attention to. Without rural carriers nationwide, this website wouldn’t be what it is today.
I wish nothing but the best for every rural carrier in this country. I want you to receive fair compensation and be treated with dignity and respect. I’m still passionate about the rural craft, so I’ll keep Ruralinfo.net running as long as I believe it’s beneficial for rural carriers.
Here’s to a better year for all of you in 2026. No matter what happens, I’ll be here to help keep you updated through it all.
With that said, let me share a few things coming up in 2026 that you should keep an eye on.
Things to keep on your radar for 2026
Retroactive (back pay) Provisions from new contract
All back pay provisions prior to August 23, 2025 will reflect on the February 27, 2026 paychecks.
2026 Pay Dates and Leave Year
USPS released their pay date and leave year chart. Click here
2026 Printable Rural Carrier Calendar
We created our yearly printable calendars in PNG or PDF format – Download at this link
Leave Carryover
There is an agreement to be able to carryover 520 hours to the new year. Read more
The New Leave Year
The leave year always begins the first day of the first full pay period in the calendar year. The 2026 leave year begins January 10, 2026 (Pay Period 03-2026), extends for 26 full pay periods, and ends January 8, 2027 (Pay Period 01-2027).
2026 Guarantee period
A new guarantee period for rural carriers will be effective on 10/3/26
Two Mini Mail Surveys coming in 2026
The beginning of the first full pay period in April and October, respectively, will be the effective date of all future rural route evaluations.
RDWL signup opportunities in May and October
The first opportunity to sign the relief day work list will be three weeks prior to the beginning of the new guarantee period and will be effective at the beginning of the new guarantee period. The second opportunity to sign the relief day work list will be three weeks prior to the beginning of the first full pay period in May and will be effective the first full pay period in May.
Sunday/Holiday Parcel Delivery Work List Signup Opportunities in May and October for Leave Replacements
The first opportunity to sign the Sunday/Holiday Parcel Delivery Work List list will be three weeks prior to the beginning of the new guarantee period and will be effective at the beginning of the new guarantee period. The second opportunity to sign the relief day work list will be three weeks prior to the beginning of the first full pay period in May and will be effective the first full pay period in May.
follow us
Sign up for our newsletters
Stay informed on what's happening in the rural carrier universe
Download the Ruralinfo.net official app
Follow Rural and Postal News
A calendar to show all the upcoming important events for rural carriers
Download documents and get easy links to top information
Visit our other websites in the Ruralinfo universe
Buy mea coffee
A ridiculous amount of coffee has been consumed while creating this and my other rural/postal websites. If you find any of my coffee-fueled content worthwhile, you can buy me a coffee to keep me going. Just click on the bouncing coffee. Thank you for your support!
