August 16, 2012) As announced at the 2012 NPMHU National Convention last week, after the parties were done striking names from a list provided by the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, FMCS Director George Cohen has appointed Herbert Fishgold as the arbitrator for the NPMHU/USPS bargaining dispute.  Mr. Fishgold is an arbitrator of nationwide reputation and professional stature, who is also a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators.  Indeed, Mr. Fishgold has served as a third-party neutral for more than thirty years, during which time he has mediated and arbitrated bargaining disputes in a wide range of industries at the national, state, and local levels.

Arbitrator Fishgold is generally familiar with many of the basic facts and issues presented by the Postal Service, the mailing industry, and postal employees generally – based on, among other things, his service as an interest arbitrator in the 2006 dispute between the National Rural Letter Carriers Association and the Postal Service.  And, Fishgold most recently served as the mediator in the last stage of the process to try and settle the NPMHU/USPS impasse.

The parties must now each select one additional member to serve on the three-person arbitration panel, and that process should be concluded shortly.

As the arbitration moves forward, the National Office will keep you updated, to the extent possible, during what is expected to be a lengthy arbitration process.