National Postal Mail Handler Union, Local 316

A DIVISION OF LIUNA - AFL-CIO

The 2024 tax season begins on Monday, January 29, 2024, and the deadline to file is Monday, April 15, 2024.

IRS Free File  

Taxpayers who made $79,000 or less in 2023 can file their taxes for free using the IRS’s Free File program. You can access both free, guided tax preparation services (for those whose income totaled $79,000 or less) and free file fillable forms (for those who made more than $79,000).
Access IRS Free File here.  

2022 National Agreement

Agreement Between the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and United States Postal Service for September 21, 2022 – September 20, 2025

Uniform and Work Clothes Annual Allowance Carry Over

Re: Uniform and Work Clothes Annual Allowance Carry Over (pdf)

Effective March 13, 2024 the following provision of Article 26, Section 26.3 of the 2022 National Agreement will be implemented:

Unused portions of an eligible employee’s annual allowance for uniform and work clothing will be carried over and available for use beginning twelve (12) months after the end of each anniversary year. An eligible employee’s uniform and work clothing allowance balance may not exceed the sum of two (2) years of the employee’s annual allowance entitlement. This uniform and work clothing program adjustment will be implemented no later than twelve (12) months from the ratification date of the 2022 Agreement. 

Any unused portion of an eligible employee’s annual allowance starting 3/13/2024 will be accumulated and will be reflected in the employee’s uniform allowance accounts starting 03/13/2025 at the end of each of their anniversary year. 

MOU: Sorting and Delivery Centers (S&DC) Staffing

RE: MOU: Sorting and Delivery Centers (S&DC) Staffing (pdf)

Enclosed is a copy of a recently signed MOU on the Staffing of the Sorting and Delivery Centers (S&DCs) between the USPS and the NPMHU. The S&DCs are a new facility from the Deliver for America Plan that will create large carrier stations by consolidating smaller offices.

As set forth in the MOU the parties agree to allow management to exceed the MHA and/or PTF cap for a period of 120 days from the activation of an S&DC. During this period a jurisdictional inventory per the RI-399 process should be completed. At the end of the 120 days the USPS and NPMHU will discuss the staffing of the S&DC.

Should you have any questions about these appeals or implementation of the MOU in any particular facility, please contact the National CAD.

Retroactive Salary Adjustments Delayed

Re: Retroactive Salary Adjustments Delayed (pdf)

We were just notified that there will be a delay with retroactive salary adjustments in connection with the implementation of the 2022 National Agreement.

As a result of the ratification of the 2022 National Agreement, there was a 1.3% GWI effective November 19, 2022. That wage rate was implemented at the start of PP09-23 (April 8, 2023). Accordingly, the retroactive payment is due for the time period from 11/19/22 to 4/7/23. There is also a retroactive payment due for the March COLA for the time period from March 11, 2023 (when the COLA was effective) until April 7, 2023. Like the November 19, 2022 GWI, the March COLA was implemented at the start of PP09-23 (April 8, 2023).

These retroactive payments were to be included in PP19-23 paychecks. The Postal Service has now stated that they will be delayed. The USPS claims the reason for this delay is due to EAGAN programing issues. They hope to resolve these issues soon. As soon as we receive an update from EAGAN, we will let you know.

For information purposes only, the amount of the retroactive pay for a top step Mail Handler who worked full time (without consideration of any changes to pay, e.g., leave without pay or overtime) is estimated as follows:

–          Level 4: $364.08

–          Level 5: $369.85

The $978 COLA scheduled for PP19-23 will continue to be implemented in PP19-23. 

2024 NPMHU NATIONAL CONVENTION “WE’RE ALL IN”

The 2024 NPMHU Quadrennial National Con-
vention convenes on Monday August 19, 2024 at 9AM at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will be a five (5) day Convention with the business session scheduled to conclude on Friday August 23, 2024 at 12PM. The theme for the 2024 National Convention is “Betting On The Future
We’re All In”.

There will be a total of three hundred forty-five (345) Delegates attending the 2024 National Convention, representing the thirty-six (36) Local Unions.
The Local Unions are currently in the
process of electing their Delegates.
The deadline for the Locals to complete and notify the National Office of the certified results of their election is March 28, 2024.
Any questions, please contact your Shop Steward.

 

Plan for Retirement

You’ve decided to retire! 

NORTHWEST PASSAGES

THE OFFICIAL NPMHU LOCAL 316 NEWSLETTER FOR MAIL HANDLERS OF ALASKA AND WASHINGTON

October 2023

local 316 image

Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) set at $353

Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) set at $353

Effective March 9, 2024 (Pay Period 07-2024), all career Mail Handler craft employees are scheduled to receive a cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment as outlined in Article 9.3 of the 2022 National Agreement. This is the third of six possible COLA increases under the terms of the current agreement. This COLA increase is based on the upward change in the relevant Consumer Price Index (CPI) following release of the January 2024 Index, using the July 2022 CPI index as a base.  The resulting calculation provides an annual increase of $353 for all Steps in Table 1 and for Step P of Table 2. The remaining Steps in Table 2 will receive the proportional COLA increase percentages as outlined in Article 9.3 of the National Agreement.

https://www.npmhu.org/resources/body/Wage-Chart-11-18-2023.pdf

Combined Federal Campaign / Postal Employees’ Relief Fund

Overseen by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the official workplace giving campaign for Federal, Postal, Military employees and retirees. Since its inception, the CFC has raised more than $8.5 billion for charities and people in need.

The CFC 2023 contribution solicitation period runs from September 1, 2023 through January 15, 2024.

USPS Issues Craft Determination, High Output Parcel Sorter (HOPS)

As set forth in the attached letter, the Postal Service has determined that all jurisdictional assignments on the HOPS will be awarded to the Mail Handler craft except for the function of Keying or Facing on the Reject Lane.

RE:  Craft Determination, High Output Parcel Sorter (HOPS) PDF 

Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program

The PSHB program is new. It’s separate from other programs and administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The OPM will provide health insurance to eligible Postal Service employees, annuitants and their eligible family members. The PSHB program coverage will start in 2025.

These Fact Sheets are available on,
LiteBlue.usps.gov and KeepingPosted.org.

USPS issues updates for User Guide and FAQs to Enroll and Sign in to LiteBlue with Multifactor Authentication (MFA)

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Please find enclosed a copy of the above-reference USPS issues updates for User Guide and FAQs to Enroll and Sign in to LiteBlue with Multifactor Authentication (MFA) According to the Postal Service, maintaining the privacy of the employees’ personal data is a shared priority of the Postal Service. Your private information stored online is a target for criminals who seek to compromise this data for their financial gain. As an additional safety measure, the Postal Service has deployed multifactor authentication (MFA) on LiteBlue.

This means that, in addition to providing your Employee Identification Number (EIN) and Password, you will be required to provide a second security factor (MFA), such as Push Notification approval from Okta Verify, Google Authenticator, One-Time Passcode (OTP) SMS Text, One-Time Passcode (OTP) Phone call or E-mail verification (default).  After January 15, 2023, employees are required to set up MFA to access LiteBlue.  After March 20, 2023, employees must have MFA enabled to access LiteBlue and their Self­ Service Profile (SSP).

  • _Employees who have already set up MFA can sign in to both LiteBlue and SSP. No additional action required.
  • _Employees who have not set up MFA will receive a letter by U.S. Mail. Follow the instructions to enable MFA.
  • _New employees should follow the instructions in their USPS welcome letter or email to set up MFA.

The objectives of this document are to provide detailed instructions for users who are establishing a security method (or methods) to sign in to LiteBlue with multifactor authentication and to provide detailed instructions on how to access your Self-Service Profile.

Please disseminate this information as you deem appropriate. Should you have any questions contact the Contract Administration Department.

MFA-FAQs (PDF)

MFA-USER-GUIDE (PDF

Annual Leave Carryover for Leave Year 2024 and Annual Leave Exchange Option for Leave Year 2024

Update on PostalEASE

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

The Postal Service has provided us notification that effective today, they are re-activating the ability to make allotment and net-to-bank changes in PostalEase via Liteblue.

The following actions have also been taken to safeguard employee information.

–        Established MFA for all Lite Blue applications including the Self-Service Profile

–        Continued monitoring and reporting of fake liteblue websites

–        Automatic password reset for anyone observed interacting with a known fake site

–          Strict configurations and controls on the MFA application

        • New device/new location blocks login
        • Impossible travel, example login from CA and another from FL within an impossible travel timeframe
        • Known blocks for international IP address attempts

–        Developed algorithms to determine patterns of fraud and prevent automated bot attacks

–        Delivered Stand Up Talk with best practices for interacting with websites on the internet

An educational video will be available for all employees on the Cybersecurity website in the coming week.

Attached is the Stand-Up-Talk that will be given focused on CyberSafe when addressing these latest changes to PostalEase. (pdf)

Link to text of Stand-Up-Talk

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Fall 2023
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