For Immediate Release MILTON, ONTARIO - Postal workers delivered over 12,200 postcards of protest to Lisa Raitt, Minister responsible for Canada Post, today at her constituency office in Milton, Ontario. The postcards were signed by Canadians opposing postal downsizing and closures prior to the corporation's recent announcement that it intends to cut delivery and raise rates.
OTTAWA – Canada Post’s decision to end door-to-door mail delivery and dramatically increase stamp prices is short-sighted and foolish. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is extremely alarmed at this rash decision to gut public postal service for millions of Canadians. “If this happens, it would be the end of an era for Canada Post,” said Denis Lemelin, CUPW National President. “We recognize that Canada Post needs to change, but this is not the way!” CUPW has consistently advocated for innovation and service expansion to create a financially viable and service oriented postal service for the future.
Volume 15 Number 2, December 2013 Help us learn more about the impact of domestic violence in the workplace. When workers experience domestic violence at home, the workplace is impacted. To date, no Canadian research has been done on the scope and impact of domestic violence in the workplace. A new research study being launched December 6, 2013 will help fill this gap.
On November 27, 2013 the Union was notified by Canada Post management that they are once again implementing a unilateral increase in pension contributions for employees. According to the notice the employee contribution rate will increase another 0.6 per cent of pensionable earnings. This is in addition to the 0.7 per cent increase that was unilaterally implemented by CPC effective July 1, 2013.
The time has come to ensure workers have more financial security when they retire. An expanded Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) would do just that. Small increases in contributions would effectively double CPP/QPP benefits upon retirement.
Brussels, Ottawa and Quebec City – As European and Canadian trade officials meet again in Brussels today to continue negotiating an investment protection chapter in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), transatlantic civil society groups are demanding that this chapter be removed entirely as an affront to democracy, an attack on the independent judiciary, and a threat to climate change and our shared environment.
Volume 41, Number 4, November 2013 - Postal unions and groups stood before a giant piggy bank emblazoned with the words “Banking on a Future for Canada Post” and called for financial and banking services at post offices during a media conference on October 16th.
Larry Rousseau, Regional Executive Vice President, Public Service Alliance of Canada - Last week, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) publicly launched its campaign to have Canada Post pursue banking services as a future area of business. The proposal to expand Canada Post into financial services is an important opportunity to innovate by providing quality financial services for Canadians while ensuring the crown corporation's financial success over the long term.
The federal government has reached an agreement with the European Union (EU) on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). A leaked document indicates that CETA only partially protects postal services. Reports to date indicate that the agreement may also: • Unfairly restrict how local governments spend money and ban “buy local” policies. • Add up to $3 billion to the price of drugs. • Increase Canada’s trade deficit with Europe, leading to significant job losses. • Undermine protections for health care and culture. • Create pressure to increase privatization of local water systems, transit and energy. • Allow European corporations to challenge our laws, policies and programs through investor-state provisions, including environmental and health measures.
For Immediate Release -- OTTAWA – An inflatable piggy bank stood 12 feet tall behind Denis Lemelin, National President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), as he urged Canada Post Corporation to include postal banking services in its future. October 16th is Canada Post's 32nd anniversary as a Crown corporation. "We thought Canada Post's anniversary would be a good time to talk about what our public post office needs to do to survive and prosper in the future," said Lemelin. "We postal workers understand Canada Post's challenges, and have been advocating service expansion for many years. Our union has recently worked with the corporation on the same-day merchandise delivery trial project in Toronto. We are hoping the corporation will now work with us to add lucrative postal banking services."
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.
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.
On July 23, Canada Post shared some information about its “final” offers and the vote that is currently underway with members. Information was shared via email as well as distributed in some workplaces.