Category: Publications

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MAY General Membership Meeting

Sunday May 26th, 2019, at 1 p.m.
The Maritime Labour Centre*

50/50 tickets will be available throughout, with the draw at end of the GMM.

AGENDA FOR THE MAY GMM: 

  1. Reading of new members
  2. Reading of the previous meeting’s minutes
  3. Business arising out of the minutes
  4. New Business:
  5. Nominations and elections:
    1. Organization Committee (3)
    2. Publications Committee (1)
  6. Financials
  7. Executive Committee Motions
  8. Unfinished business
  9. Correspondence
  10. Executive and Committee Reports
  11. Good and Welfare
  12. Adjournment 

In Solidarity, 

Chris Zukowsky

President

* Please note there is free parking in the rear of the building off of Pandora St. and access to the building is from this parking area.

Sign Language Interpreters have been confirmed.

 

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ARBITRATION CONTINUES

May 10, 2019

Bulletin # 077 

We have now completed 12 days of hearings on our collective agreement(s) arbitration.

Day 10 

The tenth day of the arbitration consisted of the expert testimony from Dr. Richard Shillington on the percentage of coverage for letter carrier routes. Some of the key issues about this formula are:

  • It is based on data that is over 30 years old
  • Mail volumes have changed dramatically which impacts the calculation of percentage of coverage

Click here for more

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BENEFIT RATE REVIEW

Bulletin #529

May 7, 2019

On May 1st, the Consultative Committee on Benefits (CCB) had their annual spring meeting. The CCB committee consists of three unions: CUPW, Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Canadian Post Masters and Assistants Association (CPAA) as well as Canada Post.

No Premium Increase 

At the spring meeting, we discuss the costs of our benefits and whether there will be a change in premiums. It has been decided that there will be no change in premiums for the next year. The monthly premiums will continue to be:

Benefit Single Coverage Family Coverage
EHCP RSMCs <12 hours $1.14 $2.05
EHCP all others $5.39 $9.72
Dental $1.47 $3.28
Basic Life Insurance $16.00* n/a
Disability Insurance $81.00* n/a

*based on an employee with an annual salary of $50,000

The premium holiday for Hospital Option A and B is also maintained.

Benefit Provider

 At the May 1st meeting Canada Post also informed us that they have put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for all their benefit providers. Currently Great West Life is the benefit provider for EHCP, Dental, Vision and Hearing and Short Term Disability. Sun Life is the provider for Long Term Disability and Homewood is the provider for the Employee Assistance Program.

At this moment we do not know the impact, if any, it will have on the members but we have provisions in the Collective Agreements, which prevents changes in benefit levels. Once we know more we will update you.

Solidarity!

Cathy Kennedy

Negotiating Committee Member

Joanne Gomercich

National Union Representative

Grievance & Arbitration

 

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RAMADAN! AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL

May 3, 2019

Islam is not our enemy. Faithful and generous people are not a burden. Ignorance, stupidity and hatred should be our targets, not people of faith. Whether Jews in a California or Pittsburgh synagogue, Christians in a Sri Lankan cathedral, or worshippers at mosques in Quebec City or New Zealand, this can and must stop. Keep on reading

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PENSION AND RETROACTIVITY

May 3,2019

Bulletin # 076

There have been many questions on how the retroactive wage increases will impact the pensions of those members who retired after December 31, 2017 (RSMC) or January 31, 2018 (Urban Ops) and those planning on retiring before the arbitrator’s decision is implemented. Canada Post has confirmed that the retroactivity shall apply to both wage increases and pension calculations.

Retroactive Wage Increases

Any members who have or will retire in the above mentioned period, will receive a retroactive payment, based on the wage increases for each day during this period that they received pay from Canada Post. There will be pension contributions withheld from this payment. Both CUPW and CPC have proposed wage increases for each year of the new collective agreements. However, we do not know yet how much those wage increases will be, as they shall be determined by the arbitrator.

Pension Retroactivity

  • Those who retired after December 31, 2017 (RSMC) or January 31, 2018 (Urban Ops) will have their pension entitlement recalculated based on the wage increases and will receive a retroactive payment on their pension
  • This adjusted pension amount will also be paid going forward.

We Must Protect Our Pensions!

In Solidarity,

Nancy Beauchamp

Chief Negotiator, RSMC Unit

Sylvain Lapointe

Chief Negotiator, Urban Unit

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Solidarity with the Striking Mexican University Workers of SITUAM

CUPW is proud to stand with SITUAM in their fight for respect of their collective agreement and union rights, better social conditions, and wages that enable workers to live in dignity.

SITUAM is a union of 6000 members who work at the Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico’s third-largest university. Many of its professors were activists in the student movement of 1968 and the union continues to be militant in its struggle for a better Mexico and better workplaces in the university. SITUAM represents all categories of workers in one union – it unites labourers, professors, and everyone else in common struggle.

Since SITUAM formed in 1974, real wages of their membership have fallen by 60%. The University has been misclassifying new hires in order to exclude them from membership.

They’ve been on strike since February 1 of this year. A movement – aiming to hold the Mexican government to its promises to revoke the neoliberal education reforms of the last five years – has been organized around this strike. This strike can help Mexican labour to build the strength to reverse neoliberal policies and challenge authoritarian policies in the national government.

Doctor Edur Velasco Arregui, former Secretary-General of SITUAM, visited the CUPW national office today to ask for our support. We offer our solidarity to SITUAM as they bargain a return to decent liveable wages, fight to make the university respect their collective agreement, and resist the austerity agenda in the university system.

La lucha continua!

Solidarity,

Jan Simpson

1st National Vice-President

2015-2019 / Bulletin # 525