Union Hall and Offices Contact Info

Union Hall and Offices Contact Info……….2 Mail Handlers Power...….…..…………...5&6 Injury to One is an Injury to All ..………..6&7 Let’s Vote………..…………………………..7 Stay Diligent………………………………...7 Hello from Windy Cheyenne Wyoming…8&9 Does Management Care About You?.................................................10&11

Protecting Our Jobs…………………..11 & 12 Highlights from 2020 NPMHU Convention…………………………………….13,14 , 16&17

Show Up to Work……………………..15&23 Retiree’s Corner……………………….17&18 Membership Cookout Highlights……..20& 21 Arbitration Advocacy & Article 12 Training………………………………………….22 Trahan’s Corner……………………………23

This newsletter is made possible through the dues of the our dedicated Brothers and Sisters of Local 321 In Union Solidarity, Tony Wilson

NPMHU—LOCAL 321 1833 West Elk Place Denver, CO 80211 (303) 455-6400 Hall (800) 521-5094 Hall (303) 455-5810 Fax

(continued from page 1) From The President Desk

With that said, let me update you on some of the latest equipment/machines that USPS is deploying Nationally as a part of their so call ten-year costsaving plan. This Report came directly from our CAD Oct 31 –Nov 02, 2022, reports. Sisters and brothers, you will see some of these machines in facilities in Colorado and Wyoming. According to Postal management, these machines will make our work more efficient and will save cost for the Service. But we all know that is not always accurate. For example, the HTPS machine deployed in Denver, CO, in 2016 and Queens, NY, in 2017; two separate OIG reports show that these machines did not meet expectations. Nonetheless, below are the US Postal Services' latest machines expected to be deployed or already deployed throughout the country. I will only mention a few for this article, but there are more. If you follow my FYIs, you should have already learned about them.

Small Delivery Unit Sorter (SDUS)

The Postal Service's original plan was to purchase and deploy more than 100 of these machines. They call it the "Baby ADUS." The Postal Service said that it is performing very well. They are designed to process 2250 pieces per hour, but some are doing 2800 pieces per hour. On September 22, 2022, we were notified that the Postal Service planned on installing an additional 34 SDUS by November 5, 2022, and 28 SDUS are tentatively scheduled to be installed in January and February 2023. Non-Machinable Outsides (NMO) Sortation Program

The Postal Service needs to have more NMO sorters due to volume of NMOs, which is approximately 5% of total parcel volume. There are NMO challenges due to the slow process of manual handling and lack of scanning which reduces visibility for our customers. There are three types of solutions for improvement, and which significantly reduce costs of processing. These are the Universal Sorting System (USS), the Robust Universal Sorter (RBUS), and the Manual Sortation Appliance (MSA). All improve productivity, while simplifying operations and scanning opportunities. These are all in Function 1 (Plant Operation) sites. The NMO volume for a facility is used to determine which type of solution is used. MSA

MSA currently consists of Sort to Monitor (STM) and Sort to Light (STL) as part of the Cost-Effective Overhead Scanning System for Manual Operations (COSSMO). These are used in Function 1 but are similar to the PASS system used in Function 4. COSSMO is the device to capture the scans of package and the STM/STL are visual cues for the employee for which container the package goes in. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 4)

(continued from page 3) From The President Desk

MSAs come in kits and may be installed locally. They are a relatively low-cost solution for sortation and scanning. MSAs can be used for NMOs or non-NMOs. Each monitor is considered one system. Currently there are a total of 51 systems installed but there may be multiple MSAs at each site. There were a projected 110 system installs for FY2023

Robust Bulk Universal Sorter (RBUS)

The RBUS is a mechanized, semi auto/ manual assist conveyor system primarily used for non-machinable parcel processing. It is a very low-end sorter that was invented in the Southern MD NDC as an alternate to a Spider arrangement. It is only used in facilities that have low volume NMO sorting needs. There is no key station. Some of the machines have either the sort to monitor or sort to light variations added.

Universal Sorter System (USS)

The USS is the sorter that is an evolution of the HSUS and the LCUS. It is used for large volume NMO sorting. It uses the same technology, of the smaller sorters. Configurations vary by facility. The goal for the machine is to process 1350 parcels per hour.

Enhanced Package Processing Systems (EPPS)

This is the Postal Service's largest sorter which is similar to the APPS but much bigger. It can sort up to 25,000 packages per hour to 442 destinations. It is installed in Portland and Nashville. Due to its size, the Postal Service has no current plans for additional installations

Automated Flats Casing

This project is in a proof-of-concept stage. This concept uses a barcode reading system and robotics to sort flats into a case. It has been successfully tested in the engineering lab and is now being tested in Dulles. Target goal is for it to sort 500 pieces per hour. It is currently being tested with reading and sorting 5-

digit barcodes.

Small Linear Parcel Sorter (SLPS) There is only one of these sorters which is in Tampa. It is a prototype that is being used to sort parcels into sacks. This one is being used to sort Express Mail Parcels. There are currently no plans

to deploy the SLPS to other locations.

Flex Rover Sorter (FSR)

This is an autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) Based Package Sorter which can be configured in multiple configurations, which improves mail processing efficiency and reduces operating costs. It was tested in the Suburban P&DC, then moved to the Baltimore Annex in June 2021. The next system will be installed in the Bethesda Delivery Unit in July 2021. A contract was awarded for 700 Rovers with deployment from September — November 2021. Focus was on deploying in the Peak Season Annexes. There are two different size systems that the Postal Service uses — 12 AMR system which sorts to 60 destinations and a 20 AMR system which sorts to 95 destinations. They said that a 12 AMR system can sort a minimum of 300 parcels per hour and with a good operator, can sort 500 parcels per hour. The AMRs can hold up to 70 pounds.

The 2020 NPMHU convention is finally over (much as it finally began in 2022 due to COVID) but is was a grand success. Being the hosting local union here in Denver, we received many compliments from Delegates across the country. It was great to interact with them from the outset at our Local 321 welcoming table as we gave away welcome gifts and tourist information for Denver and Colorado. There was a local flavor in the presentations and speakers too. Our own President, Tony Wilson, gave opening remarks and welcomed all of the delegates to Denver. Retiring Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter, from my 7th congressional district, spoke about the importance of supporting our postal service, reforms, and our union. Also, ex-GMF Mail Handler, and now, Denver Area Labor Federation (DALF) President, Dewey Jackson recalled his time as a Mail Handler and how important it was to him. He spoke of how DALF supports Mail Handlers and other unions together. If any Mail Handlers have some rousing old stories of Dewey, please let me know as I can pass them on to him. I’m sure he would love to hear from you. As for the business part of the Convention, several constitutional amendments were passed; primarily those being financial that would assist our National Office in reversing its trend of a decreasing fund balance. These included a 50/50 split between the National and the Locals on all future dues increases and a one-time special dues increase of one dollar (in addition to the annual $1 dues increase), which I and other delegates opposed. There was a spirited debate on these issues but, ultimately, it was for the good of the National Office. I recall attending past conventions and meetings where debate was “mandatory” or else you were just seen as rubber stamping recommended proposals. New York Local 300 President Larry Adams, and Treasurer Jeff Perry were the vocal leaders of the “old school,” and in some ways, I miss the lively discussions that would follow. There doesn’t seem to be as much of that anymore, which probably also reflects positively on the state of the union and leadership. Several excellent Resolutions were also passed which can be read about online at NPMHU.org while three of my favorites were proposed by fellow Local 321 Delegates Steve Brown and President Tony Wilson. Brother Brown proposed for other Local Unions

to join their respective AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils and State Federations. Brother Wilson (along with the NEB) proposed Resolutions protecting and supporting voting rights and the right to organize. At the end of the Convention, I felt a lot was By Jeff Morgan accomplished and even more could follow at the next Treasurer NPMHU Convention to be held in 2024 at Las Vegas. It was also great to see and hear from our National Officers and Staff who did an excellent job putting on the convention and for all the helpful volunteers and Delegates who showed up to support Local 321’s efforts in hosting. Thanks to all for a memorable convention! Mail Handler Power was well represented and served! The FSS machines have been a failure on the part of postal management. They are an example of what happens when you don’t properly maintain equipment and adequately train employees on how to run them. They also got what they paid for as, word has it, their $10 million/each price tags were the lowest FSS design that came out of the bidding process. When they were initially installed, Mail Handlers received nearly a week of training, with video and schedule changes, on how to prep flats, load, induct, and dispatch. That’s how serious the machines were looked at and treated back then by management. Today, management merely throws new employees on the machines and expects them to get the mail out quickly. When you look at all of the run down equipment in the building, like GPCs, wire-tainers, cages, etc., it’s a shame that the billions spent on FSS machines went to waste and sadly became sunk costs. All of that investment could have rather been made for employees to have better equipment to do their jobs. Management has spent more money trying to get rid of employees than in helping them be more productive and efficient. This is bad business, but this is postal management. The same thing happened with the Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) that are still sitting idle over by Mail Prep. While many PIT operators are driving around the building on old rickety tow motors, forklifts, and RPJs, these expensive machines are sitting as silent monuments to machines that do not serve their intended purpose. Why is that? Because Mail Handlers can operate their equipment more productively. The Postal Service is a service organization that is primarily based on the success of their employees. (continued on page 6)

Mail Handler Power

Management’s investments should be for the benefit of the workforce in their efforts to serve the American public. This would increase Mail Handler Power efficiently and effectively.

An Injur y to One is an Injur y to All –

My message is to all senior mail handlers that were hired before the MHA position was created and the second pay table implemented as part of the 2011 contract under the Fishgold National Arbitration Award. This change installed a two tier pay system that was designed to provide the Postal Service a reduction in labor costs. In addition, the new scale paid these mail handlers a reduced COLA payment. They aren’t eligible for a full COLA until the reach stepP. This new pay scale added an additional step to all mail handlers hired after the award and provided a system of smaller yearly pay increases that happen over a 17-year period. However, what this did is set the groundworks that drastically increased the pay inequity between newly hired career mail handlers and clerks. Prior to this arbitration award, the NPMHU had made massive gains in closing that pay gap between mail handlers and clerks that resulted from the 11/20/1990 contract in which mail handlers voted for bonus pay over pay raises. The pay raises gained by the clerks during this contact created that large pay gap. Now, let’s look into the pay discrepancy created by the Fishgold award a little more in detail and what this means over a five-year period. This is only an example. Let’s say that we had career mail handlers hired on two separate dates in February of 2013.

The first group became a level-4 fulltime regular, on February 1st , which would put them under the table one pay scale. In 264 weeks, under the table-1 step progression, these mail handlers will have reached step-D. Under the 8/22/2022 pay scale that is $31.48 an hour as a step-D mail handler. The second mail handlers were converted on February 15th, which would put them under the table-2 pay scale. In 260 weeks, under the table-2 step progression, these mail handlers will have also reached stepD. However, under the same 8/22/2022 pay scale that is $23.42 an hour as a step-D mail handler. This two-week difference in hiring date would’ve led to a $8.06 an hour difference in pay for basically the same period of time worked Mail handlers at the Denver NDC have repeatedly listened to Brother Lucas Eberhard complaints about By Curtis Grantham the pay inequities between the table-1 and table-2 Recording Secretary mail handlers. When the 8/27/2022 pay scale came out a gave a copy of it to him and he immediately became enraged. I asked him what was his problem. He explained to me that after seven years as a career mail handler he will be making $37.43 on overtime in comparison to the $34.03 that I would be making at the straight time rate. As a table-1 mail handler, he explained, that I had received a majority of my pay raises during that same seven-year period. Now you can fully understand why he feels the way he feels. 60% of the mail handlers nationwide, as well as at the Denver NDC, were once MHA Mail Handlers and are covered under the table-2 pay scale. Under the Fishgold Arbitration Award, these mail handlers were given a reduced COLA which increases with each step they progress under the table-2 pay scale. They don’t receive the full COLA payment until they reach step-P. That means it will take them 17-years to get their full share of the COLA payment. All table-1 mail handlers should understand this pay discrepancy and the hardship that this is causing a majority of your Brothers and Sisters. That means they don’t enjoy the privileges in pay that we had when we became career. Most of them don’t have the salaries that would qualify them to purchase homes. This is something that we take for granted.