2025 No. 7 – September 17, 2025 (pdf)

You are reading the seventh 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.

For half a week, the NPMHU Negotiations Team has been sequestered at a Washington, DC hotel with USPS representatives working to reach a tentative agreement on a new contract for the Mail Handler bargaining unit. The three months of contract negotiations have come down to these final days of bargaining. After a long and difficult process, the NPMHU Negotiations Team remains determined to fight hard for its proposals.

The good news is that, while in prior rounds, the Postal Service was unwilling to begin agreeing to our proposals until closer to the deadline, we have already secured a number of tentative agreements. It is understood that tentative agreements reached by the parties on individual items are subject to the parties’ final and total agreement on the entire collective bargaining agreement. Those proposals are only the start though, and the NPMHU Negotiations Team will keep vigorously advocating for our remaining proposals. Where necessary, the team continues to make strategic revisions to address operational concerns that management raises without compromising the best interests of the bargaining unit.

Outside of Main Table negotiations, small groups and subcommittees, led by President Hogrogian and Vice President of Labor Relations Mike Elston, continue to meet to discuss the finer details of each proposal. These meetings are key to the bargaining process. During these sessions, both parties settle their differences and draw closer to a tentative agreement on a particular issue. As evidenced by the tentative agreements already reached, these small group discussions have been productive.

Regarding economic issues, National President Paul Hogrogian and National Secretary-Treasurer Kevin Tabarus have begun meeting with Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino. While those negotiations have not yet resulted in any concrete agreements, President Hogrogian maintains that these talks have been productive and have led to an exchange of ideas.

As the deadline for the contract grows closer and closer, it is imperative that both parties remain open to an earnest and thorough negotiations process. NPMHU representatives expect their Postal Service counterparts to approach the bargaining table committed to reaching an agreement with an understanding of the priority issues that the team has stressed since the start of negotiations.

Though the final days of bargaining are never easy, the NPMHU Negotiations Team remains resolute and determined to fight hard for all its proposed changes to the National Agreement.