Representing the NY Metro Area of NY, NJ, & CT - The NPMHU's best and
largest local in the country
Union Plus Scholarship Program
Apply onlinefor
the 2012 Union Plus Scholarship. Deadline
to apply: January 31, 2012. This year's application isentirely
online- allowing
students to complete their application over time and save their
responses.
Since 1992, the Union Plus Scholarship Program has
awarded more than $3.2 million to students of working families who
want to begin or continue their post-secondary education. Over 2,100
families have benefited from our commitment to higher education. The
Union Plus Scholarship Program is offered through the Union Plus
Education Foundation. For
more info, click here
Contract Negotiations STALLED!!!
(January 20, 2012) National negotiations between the National Postal
Mail Handlers Union and the U.S. Postal Service over the terms of
their 2011 National Agreement have stalled, and the parties have
been unable to agree to another extension of the deadline for their
bargaining. (Two prior extensions previously had changed the
original November 20, 2011 expiration of the National Agreement to
December 16, 2011 and January 20, 2012, respectively.)
Click here for
more info
2012 Leave Chart
Local 300's 2012 Leave Chart is available by
clicking here.
USPS Agrees to Moratorium on
Plant Closures and Consolidations
(December 13, 2011) In response to growing concern among a coalition
of United States Senators, the United States Postal Service
announced today that it will delay the closing or consolidation of
any post offices or mail processing facilities until May 15, 2012.
(Click here for more info)
Local 300 Basic Shop Steward Training
Local
300 presented a Basic Shop Steward Training Program on December 5 &
6, 2011given by National Shop Steward Trainer Sam D’Ambrosio and
Local 300 President Paul Hogrogian.
Click here
The following stewards participated in the program:
Michelle Draganigos Flushing, Kimberly Parker NYC/Morgan, Calixto
Safont NYC/Morgan, Pamela Jiles-Blake NYC/Morgan, Annesia
Williams-Arnold NYC/FDR, Huey Stanley NYC/Times Square, Janet Hurdle
NY L&DC, Raymond Sheffield Teterboro, Ronald Owens Teterboro, Robert
Leishman Teterboro, Joseph Eichler Teterboro, Hector Coella
Teterboro, Mahdi Abu Abdur Rashid DVD, Melissa Irby Westchester,
Vance Jones Westchester, Lisa Taylor-Waugh Westchester, Pi Yu Chen
NJI & NDC, Lavoria Clark-Fordham NJI & NDC, Linda Yancey Recording
Secretary
The following officers also participated:
Vice President Robert Blum, Treasurer Kevin Tabarus, Connecticut
State Executive Board Member Tom Ruther, NYC Branch President Willie
Delgado, Flushing Branch President Trevor Stuart
Local
300 Newsletter
Local 300's latest newsletter is complete. All members
should receive a copy delivered to their mailbox.
This was the largest issue we have ever published. It
is jammed with information on the various issues confronting us in Local 300
and the nation. Inside this issue; Save America's Postal Service
Rally, Legislative, Political, Articles from Officers, etc.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions
regarding this newsletter; see a steward or contact Local 300
headquarters. To view the newsletter,
click here.
New York City Branch Meeting
On 11/9/11 the NYC Branch held their membership meeting. Several
issues were discussed regarding the installation, as well as issues
affecting the national level.
Click here for photos
Postal
Unions Release New Television Ad
Our nation’s veterans are real-life heroes. But when they
come home, they don’t want a parade, they want a job. The Postal
Service employs more veterans than any other civilian employer, but
Congress is debating a bill that would force the Postal Service to
fire tens of thousands of vets, close post offices, shut mail
processing plants, and disrupt mail delivery. Drastic cuts won’t fix
the Postal Service and aren’t needed. Tell your representative to
vote ‘no’ on House Resolution 2309. It’s time to deliver for our
veterans – and America.
New Bill "21st Century Postal Services Act"
A
bipartisan group of Senators from the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee have announced plans to reform and
bring savings to the United States Postal Service such as;
·Refund the FERS pension fund overpayment ($7
Billion) THIS IS NOT A BAILOUT
oUse the refund to offer buyouts or retirement
incentives to reduce the active postal workforce by 100,000 or
more employees over the next several years.
·The bill would require that arbitrators deciding a
contract dispute between the Postal Service and labor
organizations take into consideration the financial condition of
the Postal Service
·Change amortization schedule for Future Retiree
Health Benefits
·Keep Six Day Delivery for at least 2 years
·Overhaul of OWCP (Office of Workers Compensation
Program)
Postal Unions Tell Congress: "Don't Fire Our
Veterans!"
The
National Postal Mail Handlers Union joined forces with a leading
veterans advocacy group, VoteVets, and three of its sister postal
unions -- the National Association of Letter Carriers, the American
Postal Workers Union, and the National Rural Letter Carriers
Association -- to run a print advertisement in several prominent
Capitol Hill newspapers. The ad was designed to help raise awareness
on Capitol Hill of the devastating effects that H.R. 2309,
introduced by Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), would have on the
workforce of the USPS. In particular, the advertisement draws
attention to the fact that tens of thousands of military veterans
would be among the 120,000 postal workers laid off under the
provisions of this anti-worker bill.
Click here for more
5 Day Delivery is the Wrong Way
Sign the Petition. It Only Takes a Moment of Your Time to Save
U.S. Postal Service Jobs
We urged our members of Congress to support H.R. 1351. Thanks to
your support, a majority of U.S. Representatives now co-sponsor this
legislation which will put the U.S. Postal Service on a path to
fiscal solvency without costing taxpayers one cent. However, our
fight to safeguard USPS jobs is far from over. The “super committee”
in Congress, which is charged with producing a plan to reduce the
federal deficit, is considering cutting the number of mail delivery
days per week from six to five. This action would threaten thousands
of middle class jobs and undermine our nation’s mail delivery system
which remains critical to our economy.
To continue the fight to save jobs and keep our postal service
strong, we ask that you sign a petition to Congress urging them to
preserve six-day mail delivery.
You
can sign the petition online HERE. Please sign the petition
prior to November 14, 2011. Stamford Branch Meeting
On 10/22/11 a membership meeting was held for the Stamford Branch of
Local 300. This was a very special meeting there were numerous
special guests. At the meeting Congressman Chris Murphy spoke to the
membership. Also present this special meeting was National President
John Hegarty, NPMHU Legislative and Political Director Bob Losi.
Click here
L-R: CT SEBM Tom Ruther, National
President John Hegarty, Representative Christopher S.
Murphy, (D-CT), Local 300 President, and Northeast Regional
VP Paul Hogrogian, Legislative and Political Director Bob
Losi, Stamford Branch President Don Utz, Local 300 Treasurer
Kevin Tabarus
JFK
Branch Meeting
On 10/27/11 the JFK Branch held their membership meeting. Several
issues were discussed regarding the installation, as well as issues
affecting the national level. Reports were provided to the
membership from Branch President Stan Howard, Local President Paul
Hogrogian and Treasurer Kevin Tabarus.
Click here
Proposal To Revise Service Standards
The Postal Service seeks public comment on a proposal to revise the
service standard regulations contained in 39 CFR part 121. Among
other things, the proposal involves eliminating the expectation of
overnight service for First-Class Mail and Periodicals, and, for
each of these classes, narrowing the two-day delivery range and
enlarging the three-day delivery range. One major effect of the
proposal would be to facilitate a significant consolidation of the
Postal Service's processing and transportation networks.
If this is approved, major changes for the Postal Service will
result. Besides that the mail will be delayed even more, thousands
of jobs shall be impacted. The Postmaster General will have his green
light to close over 250 plants nationwide. This would also cause the
loss of thousands of jobs. It would start a downward spiral of the
Postal Service. The Postal Service has a constitutional obligation
to provide universal mail service to every US citizen.
The public should view this for what it really is, "a back-door rate
increase" They will have to pay more for either Express Mail or
Priority Mail to get their mail delivered quicker. Please make
comments of opposition.
Written comments should be mailed to Manager, Industry Engagement
and Outreach, United States Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW.,
Room 4617, Washington, DC 20260. Comments also may be transmitted
via e-mail to industryfeedback@usps.com.
***CLICK HERE***
New Contract Interpretation Manual (CIM) Ver. 3
The latest version of the CIM is available,
click here.
Postmaster General Donahoe - Visits Morgan P&DC
US Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe visited Morgan P&DC in New
York City on Monday October 3, 2011 at about 3:15PM. He spoke to the
employees of the overall condition of the Postal Service and
about what he believed was needed to address the severe financial
crisis that the Postal Service was experiencing.
Click here for more.
Local 300's Save America's Postal Service
Rallies
Local
300 participated in Save America's Postal Service Rallies all over
the New York City metropolitan area. Photos will be added to this
site in the immediate future.
Local 300's main rally location was in Journal Square, Jersey City
New Jersey at Congressman Albio Sires office. Over 400 participated
in NPMHU Local 300's rally to SAVE AMERICA'S POSTAL SERVICE. All
four Postal Unions (NPMHU, NALC, APWU, NRLCA) and NAPS have joined
forces. Also attending Local 300's rally was over 100 members
from LiUNA, including special guest speaker General President Terry
O'Sullivan.
NPMHU, APWU, and NALC
NATIONWIDE TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENT
To help raise public awareness regarding the dire financial
position of the USPS, the National Postal Mail Handlers
Union has joined forces with two of its sister postal
unions, the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and the
National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), to develop a
television ad and to purchase a nationwide media buy. This
television ad will be aired repeatedly on CNN, MSNBC, and
Fox News over the coming weeks. In this 30-second spot, we
seek to enlighten the public that it is far more than
declining mail volume that has created this postal financial
crisis – and to reinforce the message that Congress helped
create this problem, and that Congress can take action now
to fix it.
Recently
all four (4) Postal Unions became united as one to Save America's
Postal Service. The National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU),
National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), the American Postal
Workers Union, and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA)
have joined together in solidarity. The date and time of this
unprecedented rally is 9/27/11 at 4PM.
Local 300's rally
location is at Congressman Sires District office 35 Journal Square,
in Jersey City, NJ
All across the
country, in sync, on the same day, at the same time, rallies will be
held at US Congressional District Office's. We are in for the
fight of our lives. So it is imperative that everyone participates.
Much more
information is available at
www.saveamericaspostalservice.org
On 9/13/11 the
Postal Service announced studies for the closure/consolidation of
many processing centers across the country. Management has issued
service talks informing the employees of the study. It appears that
there are twelve (12) new 'Area Mail Processing (AMP) study' events
in Local 300 jurisdiction. If these AMPs are approved seven (7)
plants would be closed. The above does not include the previous
events that are pending (Staten Island, Bronx, etc...)
Local 300 will
enforce the TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE NATIONAL AND LOCAL
AGREEMENTS TO THEIR FULLEST EXTENT.
Map of new AMPs
This
image is rough draft. It contains some locations that were
eliminated in the past (West Jersey, Carteret STC, etc.
Map
Legend:
BLACK X -
already closed
BLACK
CIRCLE - Pending event
From
recent announcement...
RED X -
closure
BLUE
ARROW - movement of mail
COLA $978
The Consumer Price Index
(CPI-W) was released for the month of July. The CPI-W for the month
of July was 663.314. This last COLA adjustment will be an increase
of $978 added
to our annual salary, ($0.47 an hour) which shall be paid in
September.
This shall be the last of our
negotiated wage increases from the 2006-2011 National Agreement. Our
current contract expires on November 20, 2011
USPS Seeks
Major Changes to Network, Workforce and Benefits
There is no doubt that the Postal Service is facing a severe financial
crisis. Mail volume has decreased 20% since 2007 and the volume
continues to decline faster than expected. The USPS experienced a
net loss of $8.5 billion in FY 2010 and forecast an even larger
deficit for FY 2011. A large reason for these deficits is Congress’
inaction in not providing the Postal Service with financial relief
related to the Retiree Health Benefit Fund and overpayments to the
CSRS and FERS pension funds. The Postal Service claims that if it
were a private company, it would have filed for bankruptcy already.
In response to the financial crisis the USPS has unveiled its
“nuclear option.” The Postal Service proposed the following
changes that affect its workforce:
· -
The implementation of 5-day delivery (perhaps 4-day or 3-day
delivery in the future)
· -
The Postal Service proposes to streamline its mail processing
network. The Postal Service currently has over 500 facilities
where mail is processed. The Postal Service is proposing to cut
that number to fewer than 200 and close the rest.
· -
The USPS is asking Congress to mandate the elimination of all “no
layoff clauses” from all contracts with the postal bargaining
units.
·-
The USPS is proposing to eliminate 220,000 career positions by
2015.
· -
To accomplish this, the Postal Service anticipates a layoff of
120,000 career employees. The USPS estimates that 100,000
employees will leave through attrition between now and 2015.
·
- The Postal Service has proposed to increase its part time and
non career (casuals) by 50%.
·
- The Postal Service proposes to withdraw all its employees and
retirees from the CSRS and FERS retirement programs and establish
its own retirement system.
·
- The Postal Service proposes to withdraw all its employees and
retirees from the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHB) and
establish its own health benefit program.
Some of the proposals will require congressional approval because
they require changes in law. The Postal Service is bypassing
bargaining with its unions on these issues and going straight to
Congress to seek these changes by legislation. This is an attack on
the bargaining rights of postal workers similar to the attack on the
bargaining rights of state workers in Wisconsin.
It is not a coincidence that the Postal Service has proposed these
changes at the same time that bargaining is about to begin on our
2011 National Agreement. We will still
bargain in good faith, but we’re not so sure that USPS will.
We are going to vigorously oppose these measures. We are
developing strategies now. We must work together with the other
postal and federal employee unions in opposing these ill-conceived
proposals.
It is imperative that all of our members contact their elected
officials in Congress and urge them to oppose the USPS proposals.
Please visit the
Legislative Center at NPMHU.org to contact your congressional
representatives.
The USPS has sent
a message to Congress that they desire to break our contract.
The National NPMHU HQ
indicated,
"With National bargaining over the terms of
the 2011 National Agreement about to begin, the Postal Service has
publicly announced that management is seeking wholesale changes in
its collective bargaining agreements. In short, they are asking
Congress to override collective bargaining."
The Postal Service has announced that they have completed their Area
Mail Processing feasibility studies (AMPS) for the following
installations, the meeting locations and times are as follows;
- Kilmer P&DC1/10/12 - 7PM @ American
Legion, 4 J.F. Kennedy
Drive, Milltown, NJ
USPS Public Presentation
- NNJ P&DC (Teterboro)1/11/12 - 7PM @ Washington
Elementary School, 123 Liberty Street, Little Ferry, NJ
USPS Public Presentation
The legislation below contains important issues that affect you
and are pending in the 112th Congress (2011-2012).
Click on the bill name for more info, then be sure to enter your Zip Code to
Take Action Now.
The latest issue of
our newsletter has been published. It will be mailed to all members of Local 300.
NON-MEMBERS may have this newsletter mailed to them for $19.00 a pay
period.
A new National Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed.
Basically, if Mail Handlers are being excessed out of their
installation, All Mail Handlers in the installation will be
given priority consideration for their transfer requests.
(Click here for more)
Local 300 Scholarship
The Local Union Council and members of Local 300 of
the National Postal Mail Handlers Union are proud to announce the winners of the annual
competition for the Bernard Holloway, John A. Orchard, Edward J. Miller, Wally Merwin,
and Aaron Preston Memorial
Scholarship Awards For more
info, click here
LOCAL
300
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