Mail Handlers Contract Update: Impasse Declared, Dispute Resolution Procedures Forthcoming
As previously announced, National negotiations between the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the U.S. Postal Service over the terms of the 2011 National Agreement stalled late last week, on January 20, 2012. At that point, representatives of the Postal Service made clear that they would not agree to extend the expiration date for the current National Agreement for a fourth time, and thus the parties had no choice but to declare impasse in the negotiations.
Although progress was made during bargaining on certain issues, including Articles 12 on seniority and reassignments and Article 15 governing the grievance-arbitration procedure, the parties remain at loggerheads on issues concerning wages under Article 9, health insurance under Article 21, employee complement under Article 7, and subcontracting under Article 32. The Postal Service also has been working in Congress to undermine the bargaining process, seeking legislative changes in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program, as well as changes in the binding arbitration provisions that ultimately control collective bargaining. Read more
NPMHU Responds to USPS City Letter Carrier Position Job Posting
The Postal Service recently solicited all Mail Handlers with a message to consider transfering to a city letter carrier position. The message outlined how you could transfer to carrier and enumerated the advantages. USPS letter and NPMHU response Read more
USPS, Two Postal Unions Extend Contract Talks Again Until January 20, 2012
Outcome Critical to Postal Service, Employees, Future
WASHINGTON — The Postal Service and two of its major unions have agreed to extend separate labor contract negotiations until Jan. 20, 2012. Contracts with the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO (NALC) and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, AFL-CIO (NPMHU) expired at midnight Sun., Nov. 20, 2011. The extension will allow the parties to continue to work on the important economic, health care, workplace and other contractual issues being discussed.
The NALC represents more than 195,000 employees who work as letter carriers delivering mail primarily in urban areas. The NPMHU represents more than 46,000 employees who work in mail processing plants and Post Offices. Respectively, wages and benefits for NALC- and NPMHU-represented employees exceeded $15.7 billion and $3.5 billion last year. Should negotiations fail, a process begins which could result in a third party determining contract term s and work rules for more than 240,000 employees.
Unlike the private sector, when negotiations come to an impasse, postal employees are not permitted to strike as Congress has designated the Postal Service as an essential service to the nation. An arbitrator determines the final outcome and is not legally required to consider the Postal Service’s financial obligations when rendering a decision.
For additional background information on labor negotiations visit this link.
From the National Association of Letter Carriers
Contract talks extended into the new year: The National Association of Letter Carriers and the U.S. Postal Service have agreed to extend the current round of contract negotiations until Jan. 20, 2012. The extension will allow the parties to continue to work on the important economic, health care, workplace and other contractual issues being discussed. “We are encouraged that progress is still being made and we want to take all the time necessary to reach an agreement that serves the interests of America’s city letter carriers,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “We are committed to achieving a win-win contract at this crucial time in the history of the Postal Service.”
USPS Moves Forward its Ill-Advised Plan to Reduce Service Standards
From the National Postal Mail Handlers Union
On Monday, December 5, the Postal Service filed a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), asking for an advisory opinion to relax the service standards for first-class mail and periodicals. The NPMHU condemns this action as extremely short-sighted, and believes that substantial cuts in service like those being proposed could potentially contribute to the end of the Postal Service as we know it. Read more
USPS, Mail Handlers Continue Contract Discussions Beyond Deadline
Following marathon bargaining sessions in the days leading up to the contract expiration, both sides now have agreed to continue talks in an attempt to reach agreement over the terms of the 2011 National Agreement. The deadline for negotiations – initially set at midnight on Sunday, November 20, 2011 – has been mutually extended by the NPMHU and the Postal Service in order to make every possible effort to reach a negotiated settlement. With bargaining sessions continuing well into the evening on the 20th, the parties have agreed to extend that deadline through Wednesday, December 7, 2011, and perhaps longer. Read more
USPS and NALC, Mail Handlers Agree To Extend Contract Negotiations To Dec. 7th
Outcome Critical to Postal Service, Employees, Future
WASHINGTON — Although the contracts with the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO (NALC) and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, AFL-CIO (NPMHU) expired at midnight Sunday, Nov. 20, the Postal Service and the two unions agreed to extend the negotiations deadline until midnight, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011.
The NALC represents more than 195,000 employees who work as letter carriers delivering mail primarily in urban areas. The NPMHU represents more than 45,000 employees who work in mail processing plants and Post Offices. Respectively, wages and benefits for NALC- and NPMHU-represented employees exceeded $15.7 billion and $3.5 billion last year. Should negotiations fail, a process begins which could result in a third party determining contract terms and work rules for approximately 240,000 employees. Read more
USPS, Mail Handlers enter final week of contract negotiations
before November 20th deadline
The bargaining teams for the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the United States Postal Service have now entered the final week of negotiations, with their current collective bargaining agreement set to expire at midnight on Sunday, November 20th. The parties are meeting at both the main table and subcommittee levels, and continue to discuss a wide array of topics, concepts, proposals, and counterproposals. While it is too early to predict whether a negotiated settlement will be reached by the contract deadline, the NPMHU bargaining team will continue to explore all options in an effort to reach agreement on a contract that will serve the NPMHU membership now and into the future.
Please stay tuned to the NPMHU website for additional Contract Updates as the bargaining process continues.
Mail Handlers: USPS Submits Harsh Proposals at Bargaining Table
Bargaining between the NPMHU and the U.S. Postal Service is reaching its critical stages, as the November 20th deadline draws closer.
During the next two weeks, the parties will determine if a negotiated settlement is possible. If a tentative agreement is concluded through bargaining, that agreement would be presented to the NPMHU membership for ratification through a referendum vote. If no agreement is reached, then the parties will resolve their dispute through either mediation or interest arbitration proceedings.
As is common in these situations, prior to the November 20 deadline the parties are required to present, on the record, their proposals on both non-economic work rules and on the key economic components of the National Agreement. A party’s submission of proposals means that either the NPMHU or USPS management is prepared to put these proposals forward in interest arbitration proceedings if the parties eventually reach an impasse in their negotiations.
The deadline for work rule proposals has just passed, and before it did, the Postal Service submitted a lengthy list of proposals. These proposals could accurately be described as draconian, or even outrageous. But the bargainers on both sides understand that these are markers or place-holders, representing the most extreme work rules that might serve as a starting point and lead to a series of subsequent compromises.
Nonetheless, to this point the Postal Service has presented several work rule proposals that, whether considered individually or collectively, would effectively re-write large portions of the current National Agreement to the detriment of all mail handlers. These proposals include the following, among others:
- total elimination of protection from layoff and reduction in force
- an increase in the non-career workforce to 40% of the mail handler complement, with no contractual restrictions on their hiring or use
- an elimination of overtime after 8 hours per day, such that overtime would be paid only after 40 hours of actual work each service week
- the elimination of extra pay for the Christmas holiday
- a declaration that all current Local Memoranda of Understanding previously negotiated under Article 30 are null and void, and the requirement that the parties start local negotiations anew with only a handful of permissible subjects.
It goes without saying that these USPS proposals are totally unacceptable. They will not be accepted by the NPMHU bargaining team, and the Postal Service obviously knows that they will not be accepted by the NPMHU bargaining team. The NPMHU therefore sees no particular reason to overreact to these proposals. At the same time, the NPMHU does not believe that these proposals say anything meaningful – one way or the other – about the chances or likelihood that the parties will be able to reach a negotiated settlement prior to, or even after, the current bargaining deadline of November 20.
As more developments in bargaining occur, they will be reported, so all mail handlers should stay tuned by watching and reading their bulletin boards.
DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION OF CONTRACT UPDATE #8
NPMHU Contract Update: USPS Suggests Sweeping Operational Changes Are Necessary
In addition to the recent Finance Presentation discussed in last week’s update, the Postal Service has provided the NPMHU bargaining team with an Operations Presentation. During this meeting, the Postal Service highlighted key changes that the agency wants to make to the current operating model in order to reduce costs. Read more
Video: Save America’s Postal Service Rally in Jersey City, NJ
Filed under: NPMHU, politics, postal, postal news, usps, videos
Save America’s Postal Service Rally – Video National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), Local 300 Jersey City, NJ. Featuring: Paul Hogrogian & Terry O’Sullivan
Over 400 participated in NPMHU Local 300′s rally to SAVE AMERICA’S POSTAL SERVICE. All four Postal Unions (NPMHU, NALC, APWU, NRLCA) and the NAPS have joined forces. Also attending Local 300′s rally was over 100 members from LiUNA, including General President Terry O’Sullivan. Be sure to check out www.saveamericaspostalservice.org
www.local300npmhu.org and www.npmhu.org Read more