Ratification Vote Over Terms of 2022 National Agreement Underway

Ratification procedures to certify the terms of the tentative 2022 National Agreement between the Union and the U.S. Postal Service were adopted by the National Executive Board of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and widely distributed in November 2022. All regular members who are employed by the U.S. Postal Service as of Pay Period 26-2022 are eligible to vote and were furnished with the text of the proposed changes and deletions to the National Agreement, together with ballots and return envelopes. This ratification material was mailed to each eligible voter on January 31, 2023. Any member who does not receive a ballot or the accompanying information must call the Ratification Ballot Coordinator, Neil Ryan at 202-833-9095, extension 1029, to request replacement materials.

The balloting period began on January 31, 2023, and will conclude at 9:00 a.m. on March 13, 2023, with verification and count, to be overseen by the American Arbitration Association. All members are encouraged to vote yes, in favor of ratification. The highlights of the 2022 National Agreement between the NPMHU and the U.S. Postal Service are as follows:

WAGE IMPROVEMENTS:

Continuation of COLA payments (6 during the term of the Agreement)
3 General Wage Increases of 1.3%
Additional 1% increase for Steps BB, AA, and A
Over $2,700 in wage increases for Mail Handlers at top step (not including COLA) 

CHANGES TO SALARY SCHEDULE:

Elimination of Step BB; new career employees start at Step AA
Shorten waiting period between all steps from 52 to 48 weeks
Overall reduction in more than 2 years to reach top step (will be less than 15 years to reach top step) 

MHA IMPROVEMENTS:

Additional 1% wage increase each year
Additional $0.50 increase retroactive to November 2022
Creation of MHA Step B (additional $0.50 after 6 months)
Automatic conversion to career position after 24 months 

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:

Consecutive days off for career employees in 200+ man-year facility
Guaranteed nonscheduled day each week for MHAs and PTFs
Layoff protection for career Mail Handlers employed as of September 20, 2022
New MOU on Dignity and Respect for all employees
Annual clothing allowance increases of 2.5% with new carry-over provisions

PROTECTING LITEBLUE FROM CYBERCRIMINALS

POSTALEASE NET-TO-BANK AND ALLOTMENT FUNCTION REMAIN DISABLED

On December 29, 2022, the USPS disabled the external link to LiteBlue due to cybercriminals creating fake websites that resembled LiteBlue to capture employee’s username and password, which was used to access PostalEASE that contains employee’s direct deposit and payroll information.   In Pay Period 26-2022 there were 368 instances of employees accessing the fake LiteBlue websites resulting in their username and password being compromised. In Pay Period 01-2023 the number dropped to 195. The USPS has recovered approximately $322,000 in funds which will be refunded to the impacted employees. However, the USPS has taken the position that they will not refund any employees whose funds have not been recovered due to this criminal act. The National Postal Mail Handler Union will be filing a national grievance on this issue.

On January 15, 2023, the USPS deployed multifactor authentication (MFA) to protect LiteBlue from cybercriminals. MFA is a verification method requiring users to provide their username and password and an additional factor such as a onetime passcode being sent to your mobile phone prior to being allowed access to the application. Banks and other institutions use MFA when dealing with sensitive personal information to prevent cybercriminals from obtaining your information. Postal employees are now required to sign up for MFA to gain access to LiteBlue. The following are the steps you need to take to sign up for MFA:

• Reset your Self-Service Profile (SSP) password.
• Verify the last four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN).
• Set up your multifactor authentication preferences.
• After set up, you will be required to confirm your credentials each time you log in.

The instructions to enroll and sign into LiteBlue with MFA User Guide is available on the npmhu.org and liteblue.usps.gov websites.

Even with the implementation MFA, the net-to-bank and allotment function in PostalEASE remains disabled.  As of January 29, 2023, 398,685 (62%) of employees have established their MFA preference. However, until a greater number of employees establish MFA preferences, the net-to-bank and allotment function will remain disabled online in the PostalEASE application when accessed externally through LiteBlue via a personal computer. You do however have the option to cancel allotments, establish net-to-bank or make changes to net-to-bank through the PostalEASE Interactive Voice Response system (IVR). IVR is a telephone-based system and may be accessed by calling Human Resources Shared Services Center (HRSSC) at 877-477-3273, menu option 1. You will need to have your employee identification number (EIN) and personal identification number (PIN) to access IVR system.

The NPMHU continues to meet with the USPS and will disseminate additional information as it becomes available.