(Volume 10 • Number 1 • January 2012) A historic round of Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) negotiations is about to begin. This is CUPW’s first time going into RSMC negotiations with the right to strike. While much progress has been made since January 1, 2004 when this current agreement took effect, CUPW’s eventual goal is equality with the urban operations (UPO) bargaining unit. All three of the themes of this round of bargaining— fairness, respect, and progress—apply to our health and safety (H&S).
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.
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.”
New equipment under Modern Post - In the Fall 2008 issue of Our Health Our Safety, we published “Health and Safety and the Modern Post.” Since then, we’ve obtained more information about the type of equipment Canada Post intends to purchase to carry out its “postal transformation.” A CUPW delegation also visited the Toshiba plant in the Tokyo area to review the new mail sorting equipment. Below you’ll find a preliminary overview of this equipment.
(Our Health Our Safety • Volume 7 • Issue 1 • Summer 2009) An increasing amount of research has been published that suggests a link exists between night work and cancer. In several major studies, researchers have found that workers on the night shift show increased rates of cancer. The research Workers with atypical work schedules show a higher risk of developing cancer than people in the general population, according to research published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organization, in the December 2007 issue of The Lancet Oncology Medical Journal. A team of 24 scientists found that atypical working hours disturbed the body’s internal biological clock, which could be one cause for the appearance of cancer. They argued that more study was needed on this issue to confirm the cause and effect relationship.
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.