On June 21, 2017, NPMHU President Paul Hogrogian and APWU President Mark Dimondstein delivered a clear message to Postmaster General Brennan. (pdf)
Text copy of the correspondence is as follows:
Megan Brennan
Postmaster General - Chief Executive Officer
United States Postal Service
475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, DC 20260
Dear Postmaster General Brennan:
American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO
June 21, 2017
As presidents of our respective unions representing over 250,000 hard-working postal employees, we are deeply disturbed by the wholesale and massive job cuts under way by your administration. The cutting of an already skeletal workforce will not only cause massive disruption to the workforce but will cause further degradation of postal services for the American people throughout the country.
We also note that your public commitment to abide by the respective Collective Bargaining Agreements as you address workforce complements is being violated because the ongoing job reversions and job abolishments are contrary to contractual obligations. The excessing impact statements - currently amounting to over 1500 events affecting over 15,000 employees and counting - are blatant violations of our CBAs in relation to advance notice, mandated information to the unions, meeting requirements, move dates, and residual vacancies.
Using the information that the Postal Service has provided to the unions, there also is no way to determine if the required Article 12 provisions involving part-time flexible hours or PSE and MHA/Casual employment were considered or if the staffing is based upon all available work hours.
Our contracts further require that at the Area/Regional meeting a list of residual vacancies be provided to the union for each excessing event. At the current time, there are insufficient residual vacancies to accommodate the impact of thousands of bargaining unit employees. In fact, it would take a significant amount of time to gather that number of residual vacancies.
Without the residual vacancies, there is no excessing. That begs the question of why there is a demand to excess thousands of employees if there are no 'landing spots' for the excessed employees to be placed into.
Based upon all of the above factors and concerns expressed above, the NPMHU and the APWU request that management consider and explore all other alternative options prior to the massive excessing plan currently proposed.
Without change, these management actions essentially throw any good faith efforts and constructive relationships to the wind. At a time when the parties have been working together to craft, promote, and pass constructive postal reform legislation, we wonder why the Postal Service would choose to declare war on its unions and its employees. Rest assured that, absent correction, the APWU and the NPMHU will together resist these misguided actions and violations of your agreements with, and commitments to, our members.
We are both available early afternoon on Tuesday June 27th or late morning or early afternoon on Wednesday June 28th to further discuss these matters in person.
We await your response.
(Signed) Presidents Paul Hogrogian and Mark Dimondstein
*Bolding Added
