Negotiations continue between CUPW and CPC for 48,000 members in urban operations. These negotiations reflect the deep division which exists between the parties. While both parties agree that Canada Post faces future challenges because of the erosion of mail volumes, there are vast differences in the solutions being proposed by management and the union.
On September 20, 2010, mechanized sequencing of lettermail to line of delivery was implemented at Depot C and Charleswood Depot in Winnipeg. Mechanized sequencing is the part of Modern Post that has the biggest impact on letter carriers. Jobs Lost Depot C lost 3 full time (FT) and 1 part time (PT) routes, and Charleswood lost 1 FT and one PT route. Because parcel deliveries were taken from Mail Service Couriers (MSCs) and given to motorized letter carriers, 4 FT and 1 PT MSC jobs were lost as well. The new routes are significantly longer than the old. Every new letter carrier route in these two depots is motorized.
The National Work Measurement Committee (NWMC) meeting was attended by 2 members from every region, except for the Québec region. Brother Sylvain Lapointe, who is the regional grievance officer from Montréal as well as a negotiator for the urban collective agreement, was present for the entire meeting.
Everywhere we look these days, bad news is hitting us hard. It’s easy to get discouraged when workers’ struggles all over the world are being met with fierce resistance.
Spring is here, and with it an increased risk of dog bites. Every year, hundreds of mail carriers across the country report dog-related incidents. Unfortunately, many mail carriers are permanently scarred by dog attacks that could have been prevented.
It takes guts to be a RSMC. It takes guts to be a RSMC if you’re a woman. I am a RSMC and, like 66% of RSMCs, I am a woman. I know the highs and lows of this job.
The Union continues to move forward with our ambitious plan to unite all postal sector workers into one strong postal union, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
We all know the chant. Unfortunately, it is not that easy to stop Manulife from intruding on our medical affairs. Depending on the nature of an employee’s illness or injury, employers do have legitimate rights in terms of the disclosure of medical information. But employees also have a right to privacy.1 As an agent of Canada Post, hired to “manage” our injuries and illnesses, Manulife has no more right than Canada Post does to harass us. Medical status is best determined by a physician rather than someone without any first-hand medical knowledge. But Canada Post follows the recommendations of Manulife rather than the advice of doctors. That is why members should always contact the Union to help them with what is often referred to as the “Manulife nightmare.”
One of the main elements of Modern Post is mechanized sequencing of lettermail. With this change, the vast majority of short and long mail will be sequenced by machine in the plant and sent to the letter carrier depot in order of delivery. Canada Post (CPC) proposed a number of changes to the Letter Carrier Route Measurement System (LCRMS) and Manual to facilitate their introduction of Modern Post (Postal Transformation).
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.