CUPW buckled down and made a strong showing in our 2019 federal election campaign. We mobilized workfloors and engaged locals and members with the Delivering Community Power vision. Our coordinators did all they could to inform our members on the issues that affect our work, and get out the postal worker vote. Now we have the results!
AUTHORIZED BY THE OFFICIAL AGENT FOR THE CANADIAN UNION OF POSTAL WORKERS. - cupw.ca - Sisters and Brothers, I am sharing with you these facts from the Elections Canada website (www.elections.ca). Remember: your vote in this election is crucial to elect progressive and worker friendly Members of Parliament.
AUTHORIZED BY THE OFFICIAL AGENT FOR THE CANADIAN UNION OF POSTAL WORKERS. As the majority of CUPW members work in the federal public sector, we have a stake in many federal election issues. As well, the question of how to address climate change is a major issue in 2019, which means that our Delivering Community Power campaign is a good fit for introducing service expansion, postal banking, along with building a greener postal service.
It is now official; Canadians will choose their new federal representatives and next government on October 21, 2019. CUPW has been preparing for weeks to make sure our voice is heard, and that candidates and parties address the postal issues that matter to the public during this important democratic process.
CUPW is looking for coordinators in the Pacific and Quebec Region to carry out union work around the upcoming 2019 federal elections. The coordinator positions are open to MIGS only. From now until late October, the Union will be working with thousands of organizations and individuals to protect and expand postal services. It will place particular focus on concrete actions the postal service can take in the fight against climate change. The coordinators will play a crucial role in ensuring the success of CUPW’s plan.
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.
Last week, postal workers decisively rejected Canada Post’s “best and final offers” in the government-forced vote. With a turnout of over 80%, nearly 70% of our members told Canada Post, “No, these offers won’t do it!”
Every employer in the Federal and Provincial sector has been watching us. Rejecting these offers was a victory not only for our Union, but for the labour movement as a whole.
To all CUPW members,
Thank you for showing up, for standing together, and for participating in the government forced vote. Regardless of how you voted, your participation was an act of solidarity and strength. And for those who voted to reject the final offers, your decision sent a powerful message: “We know our worth, and we deserve better”.
After almost two weeks of voting, the results are now in: CUPW members in both bargaining units have spoken, and they have rejected Canada Post’s global offers.
We’ve now entered the second and final week of the government-imposed forced vote on Canada Post’s “final” offers. As of July 28, 69 % of Urban members and 71.4 % of RSMC members have already casted their vote. Voting continues until 5 pm EST on August 1.
On March 24, 2021, the House of Commons voted to designate August 1st as Emancipation Day to commemorate the slavery abolition act of 1833, which took effect in 1834 and paved the way for the liberation of over 800,000 enslaved Black people across the “British Empire”, including parts of the Caribbean, Africa, South America and Canada.