CCA Information
NALC CCA City Carier Assistant Rights & Benefits is a guide to help you better understand your rights as a CCA and the benefits you are entitled to.
NALC CCA City Carier Assistant Resource Guide will help you better understand your job as well as benefits and your conversion process.
NALC Letter Carrier Pay Schedule with all cost of living adjustments (COLA). Most carriers will be at level one. Level 2 is is for Carrier Technicians or also known as T6s.
Glossary of Postal Terms
A guide to show you what all the abbreviations on your pay stub mean.
CCA Timeline
Up to 60 days - Enroll in health plan
60 days - You can hold down routes
120 days - End of probation
120 days - Entitled to uniform allotment
360 days - 5 day seperation of service
Hold-Downs aka Opting
You can hold-down opt to a route that is going to be vacant for at least 5 days. You do so by filling out bid slips. Ask a steward for more information on where to find and how to fill out those slips. The bid slips must be in the bid box by 9 am Wednesday morning the week before the opt.
You can find out which routes will be vacant by looking at the leave calendar or checking postings at the time clock.
If you are not sure where a route is and want to see what area it covers, click here. Enter the zip code of that route then hover over areas of the map until you see the route you are looking for. It will select the whole route. You can also look up routes here. Again, enter the zip code in the search bar then select the route from the list.Route information may be slightly outdated in this option. On this one though, you can change the map to a satellite view which can be helpful in seeing if there are mounted boxes on a route or get a little more information about the area the route is in.
CCA AM/PM Checklist
Staring out as a CCA can be overwhelming. There are so many little things to keep track of. Scan this. Grab that. Don't forget to check this or that. Here is a checklist that you can print or take a picture of with your phone to help keep it all straight until you get it down. Never forget a scan or keys again!
Be Ready for Conversion
Getting converted to regular is every CCAs dream. It can feel like a very long wait for that day to come. When you’re at the top of the CCA seniority roster, here are a few things to start thinking about in order to make a seamless transition into career carrier.
First, make sure you can log into your LiteBlue account. You will need access to this site for bidding on routes, setting up insurance and adjusting your TSP percentage allotments among other things.
Second, start preparing to recite the last 5 years of your life...again. Upon conversion you will have to fill out a second background check and get fingerprinted again. You will need your last 5 years addresses, references, the whole works. You will essentially fill out the same background check you did when you were hired. If you still have a copy of your first background check laying around, dig that baby up. It will make filling it out again so much easier.
Third, start thinking about which health plan you would like to enroll in as a regular. The plans for regulars are different than the ones offered to CCAs. You can compare plans here. Once you find the one you want, write the plan code down. You will use that to enroll after conversion. You can also check out dental and vision plans here.
Last, consider what you would like to elect for life insurance. Once you are a regular you can enroll in FEGLI. It is the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance plan and it is very affordable. You can also choose from several NALC Mutual Benefits Association life insurance plans as well.
Although you don't have to fill everything out right away once you are converted, you do only have 31 days to decide on the FEGLI plan and 60 days to get enrolled into a healthcare plan.
NALC CCA Retirement Savings Plan is a retirement income plan designed for City Carrier Assistants (CCA’s) to supplement your pension. You make small payments to the plan while you're young, so you can receive a lifetime of monthly payments after you retire—even if you live to be 200!
Click the brochure for more information!
New CCAs have 60 days from their hire date to sign up for health insurance. As a CCA you have access to the USPS Non-career Health Plan. To learn more about that plan click here.
You will sign up thru www.liteblue.gov.
If you do not sign up in your first 60 days then you must wait for open season unless you have a qualifying life event like marriage or a having a child. Open season is the second Monday of November until the second Monday of December every year.
In our 2016-2019 contract the Postal Service’s bi-weekly contribution is $125 toward self-only coverage in the USPS Non-career Health Plan. The Postal Service’s contribution toward self-plus-one and self-and-family coverage in the USPS NCHP in the initial year of CCA employment is 65 percent of the premium costs. In the second year of CCA employment and beyond, the USPS share will rise to 75 percent of the total premium.
CCA Health Benefits
CCA Retirement Savings Plan
Getting Called In on Your Day Off?
CCAs are NOT on call! If you are getting called in on a non-scheduled day, you don't have to answer or go in. You are not an on-call employee!
Management can tell you (face-to-face) the day before to come in on a non-scheduled day and you would have to work. If they leave a note for you at your case when you return from a route you also have to come in.
If they are calling or texting you at 6 am on a day you were scheduled off, you are in the clear. If you don't want the hours, don't answer. Simple as that.
Branch 114 CCA Facebook Group
If you are interested in being added to our Branch 114 CCA Facebook group, please contact our CCA Chairperson (Adam L. or April S.). The group is private and is only for our branches CCAs. It's a great place to ask questions and stay in the loop with other CCAs.
There is also another Facebook group called NALC CCA Resource. This is a national CCA group. You do have to ask to join this one as well. This is another great group to be a part of. It can be very interesting to read about CCA related questions you haven't thought of yet.
Last but not least, we have a Branch 114 Facebook group that is open to all our members. I encourage you to join that one as well to stay up to date on all the events and concerns of the branch.
Annual Leave
Annual leave is paid vacation time, credited to CCAs as it is earned. CCAs can earn up to 13 days of annual leave per year based on the number of hours they work each pay period (see chart below).
This leave can be used for personal convenience, when you are sick or as bereavement when a family member passes away.
You can request to use leave by filling out a 3971 and submitting it to a supervisor.
Any unused leave will be paid out to you in a lump sum after the end of your 360 day tour. It does not rollover to your next tour. You will also be paid out any remaining leave at time of conversion.
CCA Paid Holidays
The following six days are holidays for CCAs: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. In our station, you will get 8 hours of straight pay for these days. You may be scheduled to work on Memorial and Labor Day in addition to getting your 8 hours of holiday pay as there is still Amazon delivery on both those holidays.
Amazon Non-Delivery Days
Union Dues Rebate for CCAs
Our local branch has voted to provide CCA’s a dues reimbursement of $150 annually on their anniversary of joining the NALC.
The rebate will come in the form of a check from the union. If you do not get the rebate within 2 weeks of your anniversary of joining the union, please let the CCA chairperson know so they can remedy the issue.
Overtime Pay for CCAs
CCAs are paid time and one-half for all work over eight hours in a service day and over 40 hours in a service week. This is referred to as regular overtime.
CCAs are paid double time for all work over 10 hours in a service day and over 56 hours in a service week. This is referred to as penalty overtime. (Penalty overtime does not apply during the December exclusion period. See a steward for more information.)
These pay rates are established in Article 8, Section 4 of the National Agreement
There are 4 days a year where there is no Amazon Delivery. Those days are New Years Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas day. All other holidays have Amazon delivery so you may still work on those days.
360 Day Break
CCAs are temporary employees of the Post Office. You are essentially let go after a 360 day term. After 5 days you are "re-hired" for another 360 day term. This cycle continues until you are converted to a regular carrier.
Some things to keep in mind during your separation of service:
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You will not be able to log into LiteBlue during those 5 days. After the 5 days your old login and password should work after you are "re-hired".
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If you were using direct deposit, you will have to set that back up. Your checks will revert to paper checks after each separation of service. (Paper checks are kept at Registry in our office)
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You will be paid out for any annual leave left at the end of your 360 day tour.