CONTRACT RATIFICATION PROCEDURES
(As adopted by the NEB on April 4, 2003)

The following procedures have been adopted by the National Executive Board of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, pursuant to Article V, Section 9 of the NPMHU National Constitution, to govern the referendum vote that will be held to ratify the terms of the tentative two-year extension to the 2000 National Agreement between the Union and the U.S. Postal Service.
  1. All regular members who are employed by the U.S. Postal Service as of the first pay period of March 2003 shall be eligible to vote. It will take a majority of the votes properly cast to ratify the tentative agreement.
  2. The voting shall be by mail ballot in postage-guaranteed return envelopes that are pre-addressed to a Post Office Box rented specifically for the collection of such ballots. Voters will be required to set forth their name, their Local Union, and the last four digits of their social security number on the return envelope, but not on the inside envelope containing their secret ballot.
  3. All eligible voters will be furnished with the text of any proposed changes and deletions, together with their ballots and return envelopes, as soon as practicable after the tentative agreement has been reached. It is the present intention of the National Office to mail these materials to all eligible voters no later than April 29, 2003.
  4. The balloting period shall extend until May 20, 2003. The ballots will be collected from the Post Office Box, to be verified and counted beginning at 9:00 a.m. on that day. The Union shall retain the American Arbitration Association to certify the ballot count. All Local Unions may send observers to be present at the collection, verification, opening, and counting of the ballots, which is expected to take two full days.
  5. Any member who does not receive a ballot or the accompanying information must call the Ratification Ballot Coordinator at 202-833-9095, extension 1025, to request those materials.
  6. The results of the voting will be announced publicly after the final ballot count is available. Copies of the official ballot count will be furnished to all Local Unions for posting.
  7. All envelopes and ballots, together with other pertinent records pertaining to the vote, shall be maintained by the National Office for at least one year.