Government affairs

Legislative Updates

Senate Democrats propose up to $25k pay increase for essential workers, including letter carriers

Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Senate Committee on Aging Ranking Member Bob Casey (D-PA), Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Vice Chairman Tom Udall (D-NM), and Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-MI) put forward a proposal to provide additional pay premiums to ‘essential’ frontline workers, which includes letter carriers and other postal employees.

The proposal is meant for consideration by Members of Congress, key stakeholders, and the American people and amounts to an additional $13/hour on top of workers’ current salary or hourly rate – capped at $25,000. This would apply to all ‘essential’ workers, including letter carriers and other postal employees. There is also a proposal calling for a $15,000 recruitment incentive for health and home care workers needed to fight this public health crisis.

“Thousands of workers report to the frontlines of our nation’s pandemic response each and every day, placing themselves squarely in harm’s way to serve the needs of others,” said Leader Schumer. “Senate Democrats’ proposed ‘Heroes Fund’ would provide premium pay to these essential workers—the doctors and nurses, grocery store workers, transit workers, and more who are central to fighting this crisis—and would establish an incentive system to retain and recruit the workforce needed for the long months to come. Essential frontline workers sacrifice daily for our collective health and well-being, and Senate Democrats are fully committed to supplying these heroes the financial support they deserve.”

“So many people are working hard and performing essential duties to help our communities confront this pandemic, and they deserve to be compensated for their dedication,” said Senator Peters. “Whether it’s health care providers and food supply workers in the private sector, or postal workers and security professionals in the public sector, we owe our frontline workers our thanks and our support. This proposal not only addresses the financial needs of these essential workers, it also presses for additional protective gear and other measures that will help ensure they can continue to perform their critical roles while protecting their health and safety.”

NALC is thankful for this proposal and supportive of it. NALC has been advocating to include hazard pay for letter carriers and will continue to work with Congressional leadership on upcoming stimulus measures to include this proposal.

Return to Legislative Updates

NALC MEMBER APPS

The free NALC apps for smartphones provide convenient access to tools and information about issues affecting active and retired letter carriers. Information on downloading and using the apps is in our apps section.

CLICK FOR NALC APPS