2022 No. 2 – June 23, 2022
You are reading the second Contract Update produced and distributed by the NPMHU during the course of 2022 negotiations. These updates, along with the Union’s magazine and monthly bulletins, will keep mail handlers throughout the country informed and involved in the issues raised during this round of bargaining.
On June 22, 2022, representatives from the NPMHU Negotiations Team and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) met for the first session of main table bargaining at Postal Service Headquarters in Washington, DC. Both groups entered into the meeting with sincere optimism for positive and productive negotiations in the coming sessions. The purpose of these meetings at this early stage of the proceedings is to introduce and explain all of the parties’ official bargaining proposals.
During this first substantive meeting, each side discussed their objectives and priorities. The NPMHU and the Postal Service finalized the written ground rules governing this round of collective bargaining, the nature of the subcommittees and their respective leadership, and the best ways to facilitate an efficient and fruitful round of contract negotiations.
Both parties are eager to present their proposed changes to the current contract. Acting in his capacity as chief spokesperson for the NPMHU, National President Paul Hogrogian reiterated some of the changes that the union will seek in the new contract:
- Fixing the broken wage scale for new career employees that worsens with every Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)
- Addressing the issues surrounding Mail Handler Assistants, including conversion, pay, and insurance
- Curtailing subcontracting, outsourcing, and privatization
- Minimizing the use of temporary supervisors and other unnecessary details
Who’s at the Table?
Members of the NPMHU Negotiations Team include President Hogrogian; Secretary-Treasurer Michael Hora; National CAD Manager Teresa Harmon; National CAD Representatives Neil Ryan, Thomas Ruther and Eugene Horton; and our legal team from the NPMHU General Counsel’s office. USPS management was represented by chief spokesperson Patrick M. Devine, as well as a dozen other representatives and legal counsel.
What’s Next?
Main table negotiations will continue on June 29, 2022, when representatives of the USPS and the NPMHU will meet at NPMHU Headquarters for a full day of presenting and explaining proposals to amend the National Agreement. At that time, both parties hope to begin their discussions on a host of topics with a full exchange of ideas. The parties also have formed several subcommittees, which will meet in their own sessions. These meetings are off the record and focus on particular portions of the National Agreement, considering any related proposals as a group. Several subcommittees have so far been formed, including subcommittees on Articles 11, (Holidays), 12 (Principles of Seniority, Posting, and Reassignments), 32 (Subcontracting), Mail Handler Assistants, and Memoranda of Understanding and Letters of Intent (MOUs and LOIs).
On-the-record bargaining sessions will be routinely scheduled throughout the summer. Behind the scenes, the NPMHU Negotiations Team will be caucusing constantly to ensure that all the issues and proposals being prioritized in this round are carefully considered.
Future editions of this Contract Update will outline some of what’s being discussed this year, highlighting developments in negotiations as they occur. Please check your bulletin boards, the mobile app and npmhu.org for more bargaining information throughout the coming weeks and months.
