You are reading the first Contract Update produced and distributed by the NPMHU during the course of 2025 negotiations. These updates, along with the Union’s magazine and monthly bulletins, will keep mail handlers throughout the country informed and involved in the issues raised during this round of bargaining.
Bargaining has officially begun! The opening session happened on Wednesday, June 25, and representatives from the NPMHU Negotiations Team and the U.S. Postal Service met the following day (Thursday, June 26) for the first main table session.
February’s Field Negotiating Committee and this month’s convening of the National Executive Board have produced a final series of proposals—the majority of which were submitted by members from across the country—to amend or create new provisions throughout the NPMHU National Agreement. We hope that these improvements will be considered, understood, accepted, and implemented by the USPS for the betterment of all mail handlers. Over the next three months, our bargaining team will present each of these proposed changes during negotiations.
During Wednesday’s session, National President Hogrogian and Acting Postmaster General Tulino gave opening statements creating the foundation for this year’s bargaining process. The NPMHU statement will be available on www.npmhu.org, in the coming days.
Who’s at the Table?
This year’s Negotiations Team will consist of President Paul Hogrogian; Secretary-Treasurer Kevin Tabarus; Manager of the Contract Administration Department Teresa Harmon; National CAD Representatives Neil Ryan, Thomas Ruther, and Eugene Horton; and our legal team from the NPMHU General Counsel’s office. The USPS will be represented by Vice President of Labor Relations Michael Elston, chief spokesperson Michael Faber, and legal counsel.
BARGAINING OVERVIEW
Our current National Agreement is scheduled to expire on September 20, 2025. The goal is to obtain a tentative National Agreement, subject to membership ratification, by that date, but previous rounds of bargaining have often been extended to allow the parties to continue meeting to finalize their collaboration. However, if no final agreement is reached, there are alternative dispute resolution procedures that would determine the changes to the National Agreement in final and binding interest arbitration.
Looking back on prior rounds of negotiations, the Union has presented its non-economic proposals first, followed by the Postal Service’s non-economic proposals. That often leads to a series of reactions and counter-proposals that will be drafted during the bargaining process.
While those subjects are being fully discussed, the Union will then develop and present its economic proposals: those which directly impact wages, benefits, premiums, and differentials. These discussions will include Articles 9 and 21 as the key economic provisions (with a specific emphasis on problems resulting from the 2013 proportional COLA provision), as well as parts of Article 26 (clothing allowance) and Article 8 (night differential and Sunday premium pay).
On Thursday, June 26, both parties entered the first session of main table bargaining at the AFL-CIO Headquarters in Washington, DC with sincere optimism for positive and productive negotiations in the coming sessions. The purpose of this first meeting was to schedule upcoming sessions and establish ground rules to ensure an efficient and productive round of contract negotiations.
On-the-record labor-management bargaining sessions will occur regularly throughout the summer. Behind the scenes, the NPMHU Negotiations Team will be meeting constantly to ensure that all of the issues and proposals being prioritized in this round are carefully considered. Future editions of this Contract Update will outline some of what’s being discussed this year, highlighting developments of negotiations as they occur. Please check your bulletin boards for more bargaining information throughout the coming weeks and months.
