NATIONAL OFFICE CONDUCTS TRAINING
ON ARTICLE 12 OF NATIONAL AGREEMENT

Mail handlers from around the country gathered in Washington, DC on March 14 and 15 to participate in a comprehensive training program concerning the provisions of Article 12 of the NPMHU National Agreement. The importance of this training was made evident by the huge turnout, as the seminar clearly produced the largest number of mail handlers ever to gather at the National Office for a contract-based training program.

Article 12 - which covers the principles of seniority, posting, and reassignments - is correctly considered by many mail handlers to be one of the most complicated parts of the National Agreement. It occupies twenty-five pages of the current contract booklet, as well as a host of related Memoranda of Understanding. It also governs a plethora of issues crucial to the day-to-day work lives of mail handlers, including: the rules governing probationary periods for all new employees; the principles of seniority; the requirements for posting bids, bidding, and awarding bids; the principles and requirements for reassignments; and the rules governing potential transfers by employees. With recent plans to downsize the postal workforce, these issues have become more important than ever, and therefore this training program was especially timely.

Mail handlers representing virtually all of the Local Unions studied all of these issues, and discussed strategies to protect the rights of mail handlers and to minimize any potential disruptions or inconvenience that might accompany the excessing of employees or the closing or consolidation of postal plants. Special attention was paid to complicated seniority rules, and the options presented by Article 12 when reassignments of mail handlers are made by postal management.

At the conclusion of the training, National President John Hegarty - who also served as one of the primary trainers - paid special tribute to the Contract Administration Department of the National Office and to the mail handler advocates who helped to present the training. These advocates included Sam D'Ambrosio of Local 322, who also serves as National Shop Steward Trainer and Eastern Regional Vice President; Arthur S. Vallone, President of Local 309 and Northeastern Regional Vice President; T.J. Branch, who serves as a National CAD Representative; Paul Hogrogian, President of Local 300 in New York; James Bell, President of Local 304 in Cincinnati, OH; and Bill Flynn, Manager of the NPMHU Contract Administration Department.

In the coming weeks, a NPMHU Handbook on Article 12 will be circulated to all Local Union officers and representatives. Please watch your mail for these important materials.