Every year, on April 28, we honour and remember the people who have died or been seriously injured at work by commemorating the International Day of Mourning. This year, CUPW mourns Brother Godfrey Yeung and Sister Theresa Griffith, postal workers who died after getting sick with COVID-19.
Only one year ago, we had just finished our national convention and I wrote that I would follow through with “my commitment to build a united union, to fight the attacks on all our members and to mobilize the membership” for the future. How could we have ever predicted that our members would play such a crucial and historically unprecedented role in our communities? During this pandemic, we are doing what we do best.
Every year on April 28, we take time to remember and honour the many workers who have passed away, were injured, or made ill because of the work they do. It is completely unacceptable that 1,000 workers in this country lose their lives in the workplace every year.
These are challenging and stressful times for CUPW members. The loss of normalcy; the loss of connection; the invisible, unknown health risks, and not knowing what tomorrow will bring are all testing us. The whole world is feeling worried – including me.
I want to send a message to my entire CUPW family, all of our active members and our retirees. First of all, I want you to know that during this time of crisis, our CUPW leadership is absolutely focused on protecting our membership in every way we can. We are facing the most significant health crisis in memory and I know that our families and members — and all working people— are worried, unsure of what tomorrow will bring and facing hardships and extremely difficult challenges and decisions.
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.