The National Executive Board has declared a vacancy in the position of National Union Representative – External Organizing. The successful candidate will be expected to immediately relocate to Ottawa. If necessary, as per the provisions of section 3.35 of the National Constitution, an election will be held by means of a virtual platform at simultaneous meetings on Friday, May 6, 2022.
Sisters, Brothers and Comrades, We are excited to present you with the next phase of Building Power to Win. Our power as a union is our members, and that is the starting point of this campaign. Our objective is to provide a series of training sessions to spur the next generation of organizers, activists and strong union advocates.
On September 13, 2021, CUPW and the employer signed a Memorandum of Agreement to establish a committee responsible for the transition to an hourly rate for RSMCs. We need union representatives to sit on this committee.
Canada’s unions have fought for generations for the right to protest. This is a cornerstone of our democratic system. But what we have witnessed on the streets of Canada’s capital over the past thirteen days is something different altogether. This is not a protest, it is an occupation by an angry mob trying to disguise itself as a peaceful protest.
Canada Post Corporation has advised CUPW of an intention to discontinue access to High-Risk Leave provisions for members starting February 21, 2022. The Corporation advised members in writing in January; some members may have already received a letter. CPC’s position is that members who have a condition preventing them from coming back to work should apply for other types of leave. CUPW disagrees with the Corporation’s intent to unilaterally cancel the leave and recommends that members who may be affected file grievances, both for the cancellation of the High-Risk Leave and/or the denial of other forms of leave.
Due to recent increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) for RSMCs will generate a COLA payment for the period of October 1 to December 31, 2021.
On January 18, the second arbitration hearing was held on the merit of our grievance against Canada Post Corporation’s (CPC) mandatory vaccination practice. On January 10, we filed all our evidence in 10 affidavits. One affidavit was from the undersigned, one from our expert witness, one from our National President, Jan Simpson, and there are seven other affidavits from members who have experienced hardship because of the vaccination practice.
The National Executive Board has passed a motion to reimburse Locals for half the cost of providing N95 or equivalent masks for members to wear at work. Following the recent conflicts between members who wish to provide their own N95 masks and their supervisors, CUPW has decided to be more proactive about face coverings. We must continue to do all we can to prevent spread of the Coronavirus-19 in our workplaces.
In addition to the United Nations recognition starting in 2015 to 2024, the Internal Decade for People of African Descent, we will be celebrating across the country the 34th Black History month. The theme is February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day.
CUPW firmly believes that protest is a legitimate means of expressing opposition to governments and bosses, and advancing demands for justice. It has a long history of demonstrating that by way of strike, rallies, demonstrations and marches. There are several elements that distinguish the type of civil disobedience that CUPW activists take part in, and the convoy that descended on unceded Anishnabe land (Ottawa) over the weekend of January 29, 2022.
Support Postal Banking - Download and Sign the Petition
Canada needs a postal bank. Thousands of rural towns and villages in our country do not have a bank, but many of them have a post office that could provide financial services. As well, nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders. A postal bank could be that alternative. Download and sign the petition urging the Government of Canada to instruct Canada Post to add postal banking, with a mandate for financial inclusion.
Today, January 27, CUPW and Canada Post presented their first in person submissions to the Industrial Inquiry Commission in front of Commissioner William Kaplan regarding the questions Minister MacKinnon asked under Section 108 of the Canada Labour Code.
On Monday, January 27, the first hearing of the Industrial Inquiry Commission will be held in Ottawa. This Commission was convened by the Minister of Labour Steven MacKinnon under section 108 of the Canada Labour Code.
On January 20, Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier has had his life sentence commuted by outgoing US President Joe Biden. For nearly 50 years, much of it in solitary confinement, Peltier has been imprisoned for murder following a 1975 confrontation between the FBI and American Indian Movement (AIM) at the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota.
Deadline to apply: March 9, 2025
Labour College, the Canadian Labour Congress’ (CLC) flagship trade union leadership development program, is a unique learning opportunity for union leaders and active members to learn new skills and take on the challenges that face the labour movement. It provides university level courses on issues related to work and the rights of workers in Canada. It gives graduates the necessary tools to be effective leaders in their union, their labour council, and the wider labour movement for the benefit of all workers.
As you may be aware, on December 13th, 2024, Minister of labour McKinnon ordered under section 107 of the Canada Labour code for the CIRB to determine if the parties were “likely” to achieve a collective agreement by December 31st, 2024. If the CIRB was to answer negatively to the above question, they were to order the Corporation and its employees to resume and continue their operations and duties until May 22nd, 2025.
On Wednesday, January 15th, the first of three scheduled days of bargaining between CUPW and Canada Post took place with the intent of achieving negotiated collective agreements for both the Urban Operations and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers units.
Canada Post deducted union dues on your December 31, 2024 pay, representing the dues from pay period # 27 (December 2024). Your January 16th pay will include dues owed for pay period # 1 (January 2025). These two pay periods represent dues at the 2023 rate of $90.61.