Message from the negotiating committee - The National Executive Board (NEB) has decided to put the tentative collective agreement to a vote of the membership. If the membership supports the NEB recommendation, the changes will be incorporated into the collective agreement, which will remain in force until December 31, 2015 or until the parties obtain the right to lockout or strike. If the membership does not ratify the tentative agreement, the NEB will decide our course of action. After many frustrating months we have reached the point where we believe it is appropriate to put the decision into the hands of the membership. We are supporting this agreement not only because it contains some significant improvements, but also because we are aware of the level of uncertainty that exists in collective bargaining in the federal sector. Considering the experience of other unions in the rail and airline sectors, and also the experience of the CUPW urban operations unit, we believe there is no guarantee of success if we pursue the conciliation/strike route at this time. The anti-labour bias of the Harper government has only served to reinforce the hardline that has been taken by Canada Post management during the entire length of negotiations.
If the RSMC Tentative Agreement is ratified, as of May 1, 2013, route holders who are scheduled minimum of twelve (12) hours per week and all permanent relief employees* will be entitled to a corporate uniform. An employee required to wear a uniform will be provided credits, in the form of points. These points will be used to obtain the pieces needed to meet the uniform requirements. Allocation of the points will occur in the first full month after an employee becomes eligible and in each subsequent January.
CUPW/UPCE-PSAC Special Needs Project - My daughter Madison is about to turn nine years old on May 13th. Madison has Down syndrome and has been through many challenges in her young life. She has already had two heart surgeries and there will be a third in the future. The Special Needs Project has been with Madison through it all. With the help of this program Madison is able to receive the extra stimulus she currently enjoys. I want to thank everyone involved in this project for the wonderful work you do. I’m including a picture of Madison so you can put a face to the little girl you have helped to blossom.
After a card signing campaign and lengthy process at the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has been certified as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the Adecco workers at the Custom and Postal Import Program (CPIP). On July 6, 2012 the CIRB issued a bargaining certificate ordering the CUPW to be the bargaining agent for the unit comprising; “all employees of Adecco Employment Services Limited working at the Customs Postal Import Program, excluding casuals, supervisors and those above the rank of supervisor.” On July 31, 2012 the Union served notice to bargain to Adecco for a first collective agreement.
Many letter carriers are finding their new routes in Modern Post sites very difficult. There are many reasons for this, but one important reason is that many routes do not have enough time to load and unload their vehicles.
Prepared for the 20th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics May 30th to June 2nd, 2012, Brighton, U.K. <p></p>On June 2, 2011, following eight months of collective bargaining negotiations, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) initiated a series of rotating work stoppages conducted in various communities in Canada. On June 14, Canada Post Corporation (CPC) initiated a nation-wide lockout of 48,000 postal workers which completely stopped the delivery and processing of mail. Immediately following management’s implementation of the lockout, the Canadian government announced it would introduce back-to-work legislation. The government claimed that the labour disruption was causing major economic damage.
We’ll Never Stop Fighting for Social Justice - Last fall, the “Occupy” movement struck like a bolt out of a clear blue sky. After years of bail-outs for big corporations and austerity for everyone else, the discontent simmering under the surface in the United States boiled over. From the most unlikely of sources, Adbusters, an alternative magazine from Canada, came a call for 20,000 people to flood Wall St and stay there until major changes were made. Underlining the disparity between the haves and the havenots, the slogan was simple, yet powerful: “We are the 99%”
APPLICATIONS FOR CERTIFICATIONS - TNT Express The certification application of TNT Express - Ottawa is facing a lot of challenges from the employer and now we know why. United Parcel Service (UPS) will pay $6.85 billion for Dutch peer TNT Express in a deal making the world's largest package delivery company the market leader in Europe. UPS will also get access to TNT's stronger networks in the fast-growing Asian and Latin American markets, bringing the U.S. company's global sales up to over 45 billion euros.
It’s been a week since the federal budget was tabled and we are still aghast at the scope of the changes being proposed. This budget is a purely ideological and political one, ruled by the neoliberal obsession with what’s good for business. For the Harper government, the State must be stripped to a bare minimum and only provide basic services to the public. All barriers to trade and business must be removed, even at the expense of people’s health, the environment, culture and the less fortunate.
In early 1912, in the textile manufacturing centre of Lawrence, Massachusetts, over 20,000 workers walked out of the mills to protest a rollback in their already meagre pay. When the work week was reduced by law from 56 to 54 hours a week, the textile bosses cut back the workers’ wages to match. The massive walk-out, organized by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), became known as the “Three Loaves Strike,” referring to what could be bought for the amount that wages were being cut, “The Singing Strike” because the songs of the IWW were being heard everywhere, and “The Bread and Roses Strike” because young women workers carried a banner with the slogan “We want bread and roses too.” The strike was begun and led by mainly immigrant women, creating unity and solidarity across ethnic, religious and cultural lines.
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.
Tomorrow, August 20, your Negotiating Committee will return to the bargaining table to present new global offers for both postal bargaining units to Canada Post.
Unfortunately, our scheduled meetings for Friday, August 15th and Monday, August 18th, have been postponed. The Federal mediators will not be able to assist CUPW and CPC due to their current involvement in the Air Canada negotiations.
This September, CUPW joins its Malayali brothers and sisters with joy and pride to observe Onam celebrations in Canada. Onam is one of the most significant regional festivals celebrated in Kerala, the southernmost state of India.
After pressing the Employer to come back to the bargaining table early last week, we received a response from Canada Post CEO Doug Ettinger on Friday evening, just hours after we posted Bulletin 128, “CUPW is Waiting for Canada Post.” In his letter, Mr. Ettinger stuck to the lines we’ve heard from Canada Post for many months now.
A week ago, CUPW members spoke loudly and rejected what Canada Post called its “best and final” offers. The goal of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers remains negotiating ratifiable collective agreements which meet postal workers’ needs, help grow the current services provided by a public post office and to better serve Canadians with new services.