NEW CONTRACT ACHIEVED!!  After months of negotiations and proceeding into mediation and finally to interest arbitration, Arbitrator Steven Goldberg has given his award affecting over 200,000 APWU represented employees.  The new contract awarded July 8, 2016 will  be in force  (retroactively)May 21,2015 thru September 20, 2018.  This contract was hardfought on many fronts. I commend our National President Mark Dimondstein and the entire negotiating team for their relentless efforts toward obtaining a new contract  that would provide workers decent wages and improved working conditions with a special effort in maintaining America's public post office. Some of the highlights of this contract are: *GENERAL WAGE INCREASES of 3.8% OVER THE LIFE OF THE AGREEMENT FOR CAREER EMPLOYEES  -*PSE WAGE INCREASES OF 6.8% OVER THE LIFE OF THE AGREEMENT+INCREASES TOTALLING AN ADDITIONAL .50 CENT PER HOUR *PSE'S WILL RECEIVE SIX PAID HOLIDAYS PER YR-  *ALL PSE'S TO BE CONVERTED IN MAINTENANCE AND MOTOR VEHICLE CRAFTS- *ONE-TIME CONVERSIONS OF ALL CLERK PSE'S TO CAREER IN 200 WORK YEAR INSTALLATIONS WITH OVER 2.5 YEARS OF SERVICE AS OF JULY 8,2016  -ONE YEAR FROM THE AWARD REVISIT FOR ANOTHER POSSIBLE ONE-TIME CONVERSION  -*NO LAYOFF PROTECTION FOR ALL CAREER EMPLOYEES ON THE ROLLS AS OF JULY 8, 2016     -*UNIFORM AND WORK CLOTHES ALLOWANCES INCREASED 10% OVER LIFE OF AGREEMENT  -*CLARIFICATION FOR EXPANDED BEREAVEMENT LEAVE *HEALTH PLANS AND BENEFITS FOR CAREER EMPLOYEES REMAIN IN EFFECT WITH EMPLOYEE'S PORTION INCREASING 1% PER YR OVER NEXT 3 YEARS. These are only a few of the changes to our contract.  (Please see the link below to the "APWU National NEWS"  for a full review of the provisions of the contract and Arbitrators Goldbergs Award.)  In the coming weeks and months we will delve into the administration and implementation process in preparation for the ongoing challenges.