Federal Government Shutdown

It’s hard to turn on the news lately without hearing talk about a potential federal government shutdown. Members of Congress have failed to develop a spending plan through the appropriation process for fiscal year 2024, which starts on October 1, 2023. This means appropriated federal agencies and departments could shut their doors and would not be able to offer services to the American public: new parents could not have Social Security cards issued to their children; farmers could not sign up for USDA programs; federal studies of disease prevention will be halted; new law enforcement officers could not be hired; inspections to ensure the safety of the nation’s food and water supplies will be put on hold; and the FDA could not approve new drugs, medical devices and products. Additionally, our brothers and sisters who work in these departments will be furloughed for the duration of the shutdown. As such, many federal employees who live paycheck to paycheck will not receive a paycheck. This impacts their ability to pay their mortgages, medical bills, and children’s daycare.

It needs to be emphasized that the Postal Service and its employees will not be directly impacted by a shutdown. The USPS is not an appropriated federal agency, and Mail Handlers will still receive paychecks and will still report to work.

At most, NPMHU members could feel the effects of the shutdown on the national economy. The 2013 shutdown cost the US economy $2-6 billion, while the 2018-2019 partial shutdown cost $11 billion. At this time, the Republican-led House and the Democratic-led Senate have produced possible spending plans, but have yet to come to a consensus on details. The NPMHU will be following this issue and will provide our membership with any updates.

Appointments – NPMHU Committee on the Future and NPMHU Women’s Committee

National President Paul Hogrogian has made three appointments to the NPMHU’s Committee on the Future (COTF). Jim Haggarty, President of Local 307 (Michigan); Charles Charleston, President of Local 311 (Texas); and Edvina Tesch, President of Local 332 (Utah) will be joining the Committee.  First created by the National Executive Board in 1996, the Committee on the Future of the NPMHU continues to meet on an annual basis in order to engage in long-range planning and strategic thinking for the Union and all Mail Handlers employed by the U.S. Postal Service.

Jim Haggarty began his career as a Mail Handler in 1998 at the Grand Rapids P&DC.  Brother Haggarty has served the members of Local 307 as a Steward, four terms as Branch President, two terms as MI State Executive Board Member and is in his fifth term as Local President.

Charles Charleston began his career as a Mail Handler in 1979 at the Barbara Jordan P&DC. Brother Charleston became a Steward in 1984, Branch President 1990 and has served the members of Local 311 as Local President since 2014.

Edvina Tesch started her career as a Mail Handler in 2003.  Sister Tesch has been serving the members of Local 332 since 2008 when she became a Steward. She has also served Local 332 as Recording Secretary, Branch President, and Local President since 2020.

National President Paul Hogrogian has also appointed Conswela McLemore, Vice-President of Local 304 (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana) to the NPMHU’s Women’s Committee.  Sister McLemore is a proven labor leader with the experience and knowledge to contribute to the excellent work that the Women’s Committee has achieved since its formation in 2017.

Conswela McLemore has been a postal employee for twenty-seven years. Sister McLemore has served the members of Local 304 as Steward Trainer, four terms as Branch President and Local Vice -President since 2023.

Please join us in congratulating Jim, Charles, Edvina and Conswela on their appointments.

Retroactive Salary Adjustments Delayed

The NPMHU was notified that there will be a delay with retroactive salary adjustments in connection with the implementation of the 2022 National Agreement.

As a result of the ratification of the 2022 National Agreement, there was a 1.3% GWI effective November 19, 2022. That wage rate was implemented at the start of PP09-23 (April 8, 2023). Accordingly, the retroactive payment is due for the time period from 11/19/22 to 4/7/23. There is also a retroactive payment due for the March COLA for the time period from March 11, 2023 (when the COLA was effective) until April 7, 2023. Like the November 19, 2022 GWI, the March COLA was implemented at the start of PP09-23 (April 8, 2023).

These retroactive payments were to be included in PP19-23 paychecks. The Postal Service has now stated that they will be delayed. The USPS states that the reason for this delay is due to an USPS Eagan Accounting Service Center programing issue. They hope to resolve these issues soon. As soon as we receive an update from USPS Eagan Accounting Service Center, we will let you know.

For information purposes only, the amount of the retroactive pay for a top step Mail Handler who worked full time (without consideration of any changes to pay, e.g., leave without pay or overtime) is estimated as follows:

-          Level 4: $364.08

-          Level 5: $369.85