2022 No. 3 – July 6, 2022
You are reading the third 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 29, 2022, representatives from the NPMHU Negotiations Team and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) met for the second session of main table bargaining at NPMHU Headquarters in the AFL-CIO building (Washington, DC). Both groups returned to the bargaining table hoping to continue the spirit of positive cooperation that had been established in the first session.
During this second substantive meeting, the NPMHU Negotiations Team presented their first set of proposed changes to the current contractual language in the 2019 National Agreement. Representatives of the USPS were given the opportunity to ask questions and to clarify any points of the NPMHU proposals that they might not have understood. President Hogrogian, acting as chief spokesperson and with the occasional assistance of CAD Representatives and NPMHU Counsel, provided USPS with details about the nature of each proposal.
The proposals presented by the NPMHU were extensive and aimed to improve the quality of work for every Mail Handler. Submitted amendments included:
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Dignity and Respect
- Updating the non-discrimination policy
- Updating the MOU regarding deaf and hard of hearing Mail Handlers
- Greater protections and privileges for Mail Handler Assistants (MHAs)
- A more efficient and effective overtime policy
- Better regulation of management’s use of 204Bs
During the coming weeks, both the NPMHU Negotiations Team and USPS representatives, acting through various subcommittees, will address these issues and further discuss these new proposals.
Who’s at the Table?
Members of the NPMHU Negotiations Team include President Hogrogian; National 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 is 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 this coming week, with other full sessions scheduled through July 29, when representatives of the USPS and the NPMHU will return to USPS Headquarters to receive the Postal Service’s proposals. At that time, members of the NPMHU Negotiations team will ask their own clarifying questions.
Both on-the-record bargaining sessions and off-the-record subcommittee meetings 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.
As talks continue, the NPMHU’s bargaining team will strive to ensure that the next National Agreement is good for the membership, consistent with the continued health and prosperity of the Postal Service, and beneficial to the American mailing public.
Future editions of this Contract Update will outline some of what is being discussed this year, highlighting developments in negotiations as they occur. Please check your bulletin boards for more bargaining information throughout the coming weeks and months.
