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”.
In the midst of the ongoing postal strike, it’s easy to feel disheartened. The pressure of public opinion, financial strain, and relentless pushback can make even the most steadfast among us question this fight. But this is the time to pause and remember why this strike matters. This isn’t just about pay or benefits—it’s about fairness, dignity, and the recognition that the work you do is important to communities across the country.
Over the past few weeks, it has been an incredible experience visiting work floors and connecting with members. Hearing your experiences, concerns, and hopes for a better workplace has been encouraging. Our collective actions are truly making a difference, and the energy is evident as we continue to build momentum together.
September has been a busy month. We finalized the program of demands for the 2023-2024 round of bargaining for Urban and RSCM units, and members have already begun voting to ratify them. You should have, or will soon receive, the Perspective magazine which includes the program of demands. Local ratification meetings are being held across the country over the next month and a half, and I encourage all members to attend your meeting and vote.
It’s been a hot summer for the planet and for the labour movement.
It seems like we are experiencing once in a lifetime weather events every month – from raging wildfires across the country, to tornadoes touching down in suburban neighbourhoods, and record flooding in the Maritimes – it’s heartbreaking to see so many communities lose so much and have to rebuild their lives.
June 27, 2021 marks 10 years since Stephen Harper’s Federal Conservative Government forced postal workers back to work, stripping us of our right to free and fair collective bargaining and our right to strike. Anniversaries are most often happy occasions, marked with celebrations and gifts. Typical 10-year anniversary gifts are metals or gemstones. But postal workers will mark the 2011 back-to-work legislation with collective determination and solidarity, and a vow to keep fighting for worker rights.
For many people in North America, today is the biggest shopping day of year. On Black Friday, people search for deals, while many workers do their best to accommodate demand. I will not be partaking in Black Friday shopping. Instead, I will remember that two years ago, on November 27, 2018, Prime Minister Trudeau ordered striking postal workers back to work, without any resolution to our issues.
Negotiations have barely started and already, the public attacks on postal workers’ pensions have begun. This week, the National Post ran an op-ed attacking postal workers’ pensions. Terrence Corcoran goes beyond all sane limits, not only painting a biased picture of the pension plan, but in fact blaming postal workers for “concocting” Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s glaring conflict of interest.
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.