Author: CUPW Vancouver

“A Term’s Perspective…”, “Call the HALL!”, “Here are Some Things You Can Do to Prepare Yourself for a Strike.” and more…

A Term’s Perspective…

– Submitted by a Term Letter Carrier

With several depots in the Vancouver Local moving to Postal Transformation (‘PT’) and Canada Post filing for conciliation, we are in pressing times. Times of change and times where we need unity on our work floors. As a term letter carrier, often I find myself caught up in the demands of a changing work environment.As bulletins come up on the Union boards and days pass by, it’s easy to forget we are a ticking clock.

Continue reading “Vancouver Local Update: May 24, 2016”

Canada Post has applied for conciliation. That application now means that we need to take a vote and decide whether to give our National Executive Board the mandate to call a strike. A strong Yes vote does not mean we will be on strike. A strong Yes vote means that we support our negotiating committee. A strong Yes vote means Canada Post will know that we are united in achieving a fair Collective Agreement. A strong Yes vote shows that we are willing to fight for our demands.

• We want more full-time and permanent jobs
• We want the Corporation to consider options such as postal banking.
• We want to not just maintain, but expand, services.
• We want our sick days, our Injury on Duty pay at 100%, our benefits kept.
• We want our defined benefit pension plan kept.
• We want our wash up time, our holidays, our comp time, and our pre-retirement leave.
• We want a decent Collective Agreement!

Come show CPC that we are standing together united, to maintain the working conditions for all postal workers. Send a strong message with a strong Yes vote!

Wednesday, June 8, 2016	North Shore Winter Club 1325 E. Keith Road North Vancouver	7 P.M*
Thursday, June 9, 2016	Maritime Labour Centre 1880 Triumph St. Vancouver	5 P.M. * 7 P.M. *
Saturday, June 11, 2016	Metrotown Hilton 6083 McKay Ave. Burnaby	11 AM * 1 PM *
Wednesday, June 15, 2016	Pacific Gateway Hotel 3500 Cessna Dr. Richmond	8:30 A.M. * 10:30 A.M. * 1:30 P.M. * 5 P.M. * 7 P.M. *

In Solidarity,

Heather Andrews

secretary-treasurer

* Sign Language Interpreters have not yet been confirmed.

ck/CUPE-3338

HERE IS THE TIME FRAME:

April 4, 2016 — Canada Post applies for Conciliation

April 11, 2016 — The Federal Government appoints two Conciliators to assist in CUPW/Canada Post bargaining. They are: Sheri L. King and Audrey-Mélissa Therrien.

April 11- June 10, 2016 — Intensive bargaining between Canada Post and CUPW. The Conciliators will work to try and assist CUPW and Canada Post to come to a fair Collective Agreement. The Conciliators are also obliged to write a report during this period. The Conciliators submit this report to the Federal Minister of Labour.The Federal Minister of Labour has to immediately release this report to both CUPW and Canada Post.

June 11– July 1, 2016 — there is a mandatory cooling off period. Intensive bargaining can continue during this period, and in the last number of rounds of bargaining between CUPW and Canada Post, there has always been bargaining during this period.

July 2, 2016 – CUPW is in a legal position to strike and Canada Post is in a legal position to lock us out.

Continue reading “Conciliation –What Does it Mean and How Does it Work??”

Canada Post reported a profit, before tax, of $63 million in 2015. Canada Post says that much of this profit is due to the hard work of their employees.

The report stated, “Solid efforts by our employees to improve service and convenience for online shoppers and retailers led to record Parcels growth. This helped establish Canada Post as the largest parcel company in the country and contributed to a profit before tax of $63 million for the Canada Post segment in 2015. Since 2011, Parcels revenue has grown by $429 million.”

So, on the one hand Canada Post is acknowledging that some of this profit is due to the hard work of CUPW members.

Continue reading “Canada Post’s 2015 Annual Report and their Negotiations with CUPW— thanks but…”

The Canada Post Annual Report for 2015 showed that Canada Post made a profit of $63 million before taxes! Despite this, Canada Post is still demanding rollbacks in bargaining with CUPW.

An earlier bulletin, “Canada Post’s rollbacks what they mean for me”, outlined a number of rollbacks. This bulletin will discuss the implications of some of Canada Post’s other “proposals.”

Continue reading “Canada Post’s demand for rollbacks – What do they mean for me? Part 2”

Canada Post is demanding many rollbacks in this round of bargaining. These rollbacks will have a direct impact on your health, your family and personal life, and your working conditions.

Here are some examples of what Canada Post is demanding and how they will affect you. They are in no particular order:

Continue reading “Canada Post’s demand for rollbacks – What do they mean for me?”

When back-to-work legislation cut off our collective bargaining in 2011, after the NDP filibuster in the House of Commons, after a frustrating round of bargaining with Canada Post Corporation, we knew our rights were being violated. We knew we were signing a collective agreement under duress, accepting conditions that we would have rejected if not threatened with such legislation.

As members, we all faced a difficult choice: ratify an agreement with diminished wages and working conditions, or submit to the Final Offer Selection arbitration process. This position was entirely created by the Harper government’s back-to-work legislation – free collective bargaining could not have brought us to such a moment.

So in October 2011 we filed a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge with The Ontario Superior Court, claiming that the Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act violated our right to free expression. The decision was issued today: the court found that it did violate our rights, and was unconstitutional.

Sisters and brothers, we won – we are vindicated! Continue reading “Big CUPW Win in Court — 2011 Back-to-work Legislation Struck Down”