MA I L
H A N D L E R
I
V
O
D
UPDATE NATIONAL
I S
I O POSTAL N MAIL
O F
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS: 1101 Connecticut Avenue,
-
C
I
L HANDLERS
A F A N L I U N.W. • Suite 500
UNION
• Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 833-9095
Interest Arbitration Award is Released John F. Hegarty John F. Hegarty National National President President
Sets Terms for 2011 National Agreement
O
n February 19, 2013, the threemember arbitration panel established to determine the terms of the 2011 National Agreement between the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the U.S. Postal Service released its Award. The Award is dated February 15, 2013, and is effective on that day. The panel awarded a contract which runs for four and one-half years, from November 21, 2011 through May 20, 2016. A copy of the full Award, covering seventytwo pages and including new wage and night differential schedules, new and updated contract language, and new and amended Memoranda of Understanding and Letters of Intent is available on the NPMHU website at www.npmhu.org. The Award fully protects the jobs and careers and living standards of all 42,000 career mail handlers now employed by the Postal Service. After a two-year wage freeze, it restores, starting in November 2013 and continuing through May 2016, the historic pattern of annual general wage increases and semi-annual cost-of-living adjustments for all current mail handlers. In particular, the Award contains three general wage increases for all career employees – 1.0% in November 2013, 1.5% in November 2014, and 1.0% in November 2015 – as well as seven COLAs to be paid from March 2014 through March 2016. These wage and COLA increases follow the pattern previously established by the negotiated contract governing the American Postal Workers Union, and by the arbitrated contracts governing the National Rural Letter Carriers Association and the National Association of Letter Carriers. The Award also continues the pattern, starting next year, of increasing employee contributions toward health insurance by 1% per year; and it includes, effective immediately, a small upward adjustment in night shift differential (of 7 cents per hour) and of clothing allowance. The Award also provides full no-layoff protection, consistent with prior practice, for any and all career mail handlers hired on or before November 20, 2011. At the same time, the Award substantially changes the workforce that will be allowed to perform mail handler work in the future. In the larger facilities, all part-time flexible employees will be converted to full-time regular, the number of casuals will be reduced to 5.0%, and a new category of bargaining unit employee will be created. More specifically, these changes include the following:
Please Post!!
• Within 180 days of the Award (by August
Mark A. Gardner Mark A. Gardner Secretary-Treasurer Secretary-Treasurer
pay at Step P being precisely the same of
14, 2013), all current part-time flexible em-
current career mail handlers. The wage scale
ployees working in the larger postal installa-
governing future career employees will con-
tions (those with 200 or more workyears of
tinue to be adjusted upward by general wage
employment) will be converted into full-time
increases and COLA increases, although the
regular employees. Those few part-time
COLA before top Step P will be proportional
flexible mail handlers still working in smaller
to Step P. The USPS demand for a perma-
facilities then should be able to transfer to
nent two-tier pay scale was rejected.
a larger installation and be converted automatically to full-time regular status, if they
• A lso rejected by the arbitration panel were a
so desire, although the part-time flexible
series of draconian proposals from the Post-
status will remain for mail handlers in the
al Service, including absolutely no general
smaller installations.
wage increases for career employees, no cost-of-living adjustments, and a drastic in-
• R ather than the current 12.5% casual em-
crease in employee contributions for health
ployees who are outside the NPMHU bar-
insurance to the current rate paid by fed-
gaining unit, the Award establishes a work-
eral employees. Another proposal from the
force that is no more than 5.0% casual
Postal Service sought to modify, and effec-
employees, measured and counted by in-
tively eliminate, the current no lay-off clause.
stallation. This reduced number of casuals
In addition, the Postal Service sought the
will now be authorized to work without be-
authority to hire and to utilize, without any
ing restricted by the “in lieu of” clause under
contractual restrictions whatsoever, a total
Article 7.1B of the National Agreement, with
of 25% casual employees. Finally, for new
each individual casual allowed to work up to
career mail handlers hired in the future, the
360 days per year.
Postal Service proposed that their pay rates
• The Award creates a new category of noncareer mail handler employee called the Mail Handler Assistant, or MHA. The MHA category will serve as the entry point for all future career mail handlers to be hired by the Postal Service. A maximum of 15% of mail handlers in any district may be MHAs, with a cap of 20% in any particular installation. Unlike casuals, MHAs will be members of the NPMHU bargaining unit, will be hired based on the postal exam and other routine hiring criteria, and will be eligible for conversion to career status based on their relative standing. Although MHAs will work flexible hours and may be separated for lack of work, many other provisions of the National Agreement will apply to their employment, and the Union will be able to represent them in the grievance and arbitration process. Starting pay for new MHAs has been set at $13.75 per hour at Level 4 and $14.50 per hour at Level 5, but those amounts will be increased by a total of 7% during the remaining years of this Agreement. MHAs also will have limited access to subsidized health insurance in accordance with the Affordable Care Act. • Significantly, future career employees (those hired after February 15, 2013) will be placed on a revised pay scale that reduces entry pay, but contains seventeen step increases of more than $1,300, providing guaranteed increases in pay every 52 weeks, with top
be 20% lower at the entry level and 20% lower at the maximum level.
The arbitration panel was chaired by Herbert Fishgold, a longstanding arbitrator and mediator with decades of experience. The NPMHUappointed member of the arbitration panel was Robert Weinberg, from the law firm of Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC, which also is the home of NPMHU General Counsel Bruce Lerner. USPS counsel Robert Dufek was the Postal Service’s appointed arbitrator. The Award follows fifteen months of work by the NPMHU, including its National Officers, the National CAD, its legal staff, and a series of expert witnesses and consultants who diligently prepared the union’s case for the interest arbitration proceeding. The NPMHU National Office will be moving quickly to work on all of the items that the arbitration panel referred to the parties for further action and implementation. The National Officers and Contract Administration Staff will also be working closely with the Local Union leadership to ensure compliance with the Award, and to promptly address any issues that may develop as the new contract language is implemented. We thank our NPMHU membership for its continuous patience and support during this lengthy and sometimes frustrating 2011 round of negotiations.
February 2013