April 2024 Update
Is the implementation of the Postmaster General's 10-year plan causing the Postal Service to flounder? In many locations it appears so. The mainstream media, Postal news sources, and social media groups, are currently filled with stories detailing what can only be considered an abject failure.
Lines of trucks waiting for hours to be unloaded, delays in mail processing, and declining delivery scores have become the order of the day in many locations. Places such as Atlanta, GA and Houston, TX come to mind as some of the most often mentioned places. What do these locations have in common? The conversion of Network Distribution Centers to Regional Processing and Distribution Centers under the Postmaster General's 10-year Plan.
Unfortunately, this may be the road which lays ahead of us as the Minneapolis/St. Paul NDC is slated for conversion to a Regional Processing and Distribution Center in spring of 2025. We’ll have to wait and see whether that schedule comes to fruition. In the meantime, we’re watching the implementation or potential implementation of Mail Processing Facility Reviews. By letter dated March 26, 2024, the Postal Service announced that it would be moving forward with their plan to relocate the processing of originating mail from the Bismarck P&DC, the Grand Forks P&DC, and the Dakota Central P&DC (Huron, SD), to the Fargo P&DC. While the letter indicates that some craft positions will be impacted, when considering the large volume of cross-craft grievances being filed in Bismarck and Grand Forks, it seems unlikely that any Mail Handlers will be required to relocate. The question in Fargo is whether management will be able to provide sufficient staffing to process the additional mail.
The Postal Service has been implementing the move of originating mail from the Minneapolis P&DC to the St. Paul P&DC. The 553 originating mail was moved earlier in the year and the 554 originating mail was scheduled to move on April 20th. Although, two days prior to this date, we were informed that the movement of the 554 mail had been placed on hold. Management states that it’s still going to happen, but no one seems to know exactly when. In all likelihood, the Mail Handler complement in the Minneapolis facility will still be understaffed.
Management in St. Paul has provided us with an Article 12 notice concerning sectional excessing within the installation. Management states it is necessary to abolish jobs at the L&DC (airport) and reassign Mail Handlers back to the plant. The notice indicated an anticipated impact occurring in October; although, management may begin detailing Mail Handlers back to the plant much sooner. Management says they will be completely shutting down the sack sorter and going to two tours of operation (tour 3 and tour 1). This is a big-ticket item and we’ll be watching any developments closely.
A particularly troubling development in the last few weeks has been management separating MHA’s due to a claimed lack of work. Yet, we continue to hear reports of supervisors and managers performing Mail Handler work. If you see this, or any other contract violation, ask for a Steward and write a statement. We’ll take it from there.
We are prepared and determined to fight for the rights of all Mail Handlers and MHAs as the future unfolds. Still, everyone should be ready to buckle up because it’s it only a matter of time until we’ll be going for a ride.
JL