Several changes to the NPMHU’s Contract Administration Department and National Executive Board have recently been announced.
On May 11, 2015, President Paul Hogrogian announced Kevin Fletcher’s appointment to the position of National Representative in the NPMHU Contract Administration Department, effective May 16, 2015.
Kevin is stepping down from his position as President of Local 305 to pursue his long-term goal of working full-time in the CAD. Brother Fletcher began his career as a Mail Handler in 1988 at the Charleston, WV P&DC where he became actively involved with the Mail Handlers Union in 1990. Prior to his election as Local 305 President, Kevin served as Shop Steward, Branch President, State Executive Board Member, and Vice President for his Local Union. Local 305 represents more than 2,700 mail handlers in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Immediately prior to his service as Local 305 President, Brother Fletcher also served as Local 305’s Manager of Contract Administration from 2007 to 2012. He has extensive experience as an arbitration advocate, having arbitrated scores of cases for mail handlers on virtually all contractual issues. He has served as the Eastern Region’s RI-399 Committee Member and as a member of the RI-399 SWAT team. In addition, Brother Fletcher has been a Delegate to each of the NPMHU National Conventions since 2004 and he served on the Constitution Committee at the 2012 convention. Needless to say, Kevin brings a wealth of experience to his new position as National CAD Representative.
As part of this move to full-time employment at the National CAD, Brother Fletcher has relinquished his position as Eastern Region Vice President on the National Executive Board effective upon the conclusion of the Board’s most recent meeting on June 2, 2015. This resignation produced a vacancy in the Vice President’s position, and the National Executive Board has announced its unanimous selection of John A. Gibson to fill the unexpired term of office as Vice President, Eastern Region, with that appointment effective on June 6, 2015.
Gibson has served as an officer of Local 308 for more than 16 years, including four terms as Branch President of the Philadelphia Network Distribution Center (formerly, the Philadelphia Bulk Mail Center) and four years as Vice President. John is currently in his second term as Local President serving Local 308’s membership of 2,500 bargaining unit mail handlers – covering approximately 30 facilities in Delaware, South Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania, including the entire Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Brother Gibson started with the Postal Service at the NJI & BMC in June 1985, transferring to Philadelphia in 1986. Shortly thereafter, John began his service to the Union first as a shop steward in the Philadelphia BMC, and then as the facility's Branch President in 1999, serving four terms immediately prior to his election as local president in 2011. In his many years, John has both attended and conducted a plethora of training programs, including matters of contract enforcement, safety & health, casual usage, the defense and rights of MHAs, and Article 12, to highlight just a few. John served as a National spokesperson during the Ergonomic Risk Reduction Process rollout, and sits on the Safety and Health Committee for the Eastern & Cap Metro Areas.
John has attended the George Meany Labor College, and is a seasoned arbitration advocate with extensive experience in matters of jurisdictional and contract enforcement in the dispute resolution and grievance-arbitration processes. He has previously served the NPMHU in an ad-hoc capacity as the Eastern Region Director and has served the Eastern Region as its RI-399 Committee Member and as a member of the RI-399 SWAT team. John also was elected to represent Local 308 as a Delegate to previous NPMHU National and LIUNA International Conventions.
Brother Gibson’s experience and insight will be a great addition to the National Executive Board, which also is comprised of National President Paul V. Hogrogian, National Secretary-Treasurer Mark A. Gardner, and Regional Vice Presidents Jefferson C. Peppers III (Central), Lawrence B. Sapp (Southern), Rudy Santos (Western) and David E. Wilkin (Northeastern).
Finally, on May 18, 2015, President Hogrogian announced that National CAD Representative Tim Dwyer will be taking over as National Shop Steward Trainer. Brother Dwyer will continue to serve in the Contract Administration Department. In addition, Tim will assume all duties related to the Union’s shop steward training initiative.
Tim started as a mail handler in Manchester, NH in 1984. He served as a shop steward for Local 301 from 1985 through 2002, and as the New Hampshire State Executive Board Member from 1997 through 2002. He later held the position of Local 301 Treasurer from 2002 to 2006, and Local President from 2006 until 2012, representing thousands of mail handlers throughout the six states of New England. During this period, Tim represented mail handlers in thousands of grievances, and served as the lead advocate in scores of arbitration hearings. In conjunction with these duties, he was first appointed to the Local 301 Arbitration Task Force in 1998, has served on the National Task Force on Discipline, and in recent years has been an active member of the National Training Committee, covering various topics such as arbitration advocacy, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and LMOU negotiations. Tim represents the NPMHU on the Article 12 Task Force and has been a member of the National CAD for more than three years, since April 2012.
Commenting on these CAD and NEB appointments, President Hogrogian said that “it is an honor to lead an organization with such depth of qualified and dedicated individuals willing to serve and further the interest of all mail handlers.” Hogrogian added that “Kevin Fletcher, John Gibson, and Tim Dwyer are all dedicated and uniquely qualified unionists.”
Please join us in welcoming John Gibson to the National Executive Board and Kevin Fletcher to Washington, DC — congratulations to all.
