This autumn, the Union will begin negotiations for our Collective Agreement, which expires on January 31, 2016. Everything in the Collective Agreement between CUPW and CPC is on the line for negotiation during the collective bargaining process.

Demand Formulation:

In the spring, there were floor visits at every work location where members were encouraged to participate in the upcoming demands meeting. An open meeting was held in a workshop format where the Vancouver Local members formulated their list of demands. Additionally, members were encouraged to submit their demands via e-mail to the Local President. Following this, the Local passed a package of demands at a Special meeting in May. They were then sent to the Regional office of CUPW. At a Regional conference held from June 26-28, 2015, elected delegates from the Vancouver Local met with representatives from across the Pacific Region to debate and pass a package of contract demands. Similar meetings were held in all of the Regions across Canada. Following these meetings, the CUPW National Office published a consolidated package of demands.

Ratification Meetings:

Before commencing negotiations, our Negotiations Committee must receive a mandate from its members, therefore, CUPW members will vote to ratify the package of demands. Each Member in Good Standing may vote at one of the ratification meetings scheduled for:

September 27, 2015: Metrotown Hilton, 6083 McKay Avenue, Burnaby. 11:00 am (Prior to the General Membership Meeting)

October 1, 2015: Wise Hall, 1882 Adanac St., Vancouver. 3:00 pm & 7:00 pm

October 6, 2015:  Delbrook Rec Centre, 600 West Queens Road, North Vancouver. 7:00 pm

October 8, 2015: Richmond Olympic Oval, 6111 River Road, Richmond. 6:30 am, 8:30 am, 1:30 pm, 4:30 pm, 7:00 pm

October 14, 2015: Collingwood Neighbourhood House, 5288 Joyce St., Vancouver. 7:00 pm

We have seen an unprecedented loss of positions over the past five (5) years, coupled with acute understaffing. Deepak Chopra, who recently renewed his contract as CEO of Canada Post, has left a trail of destruction and sown the groundwork for the obliteration of Door-to-Door delivery. CUPW is preparing for negotiations with preserving Door-to-Door delivery in mind. Furthermore, the health and safety of all the workers is of critical importance as our workplaces are transformed by technological change. This past year, CPC deleted forty-four (44) Letter Carrier positions through restructuring, with eight (8 ) restructures pending and over sixty (60) full-time positions remaining vacant – when will the onslaught end? Not filling vacant positions, in accordance with Article 13, has resulted in reductions in staffing over the past four years. This has seriously compromised our health and safety by relying on incentive and force-back overtime as a means of staffing. This is coupled by routes that are unmanageable; what happened to the eight (8) hour work day?

Postal workers now experience a shift in thinking, in the past we were made to feel a sense of pride for the job we did and that customer service came at no additional expense. Now, mail and parcels are infrequently delivered on time, supervisors willfully delay mail to mitigate overtime on unworkable routes. In the past, this seldom occurred, and only in extreme situations. Canada Post currently has learned to speak from both sides of its mouth; willfully delaying the mail to reduce overtime, and disciplining Postal Workers for bringing mail back due to exhaustion or unauthorized overtime. Let’s be clear – this sort of thinking is so far removed from anything resembling customer service. Shame on you Canada Post!

The employer has created the extreme staffing shortages that put all Postal Workers’ health and safety at risk. The latest scheme to cut costs is leaving portions of routes uncovered, a violation of the Collective Agreement, as well as being a violation of the Canada Post Act. In the Pacific Processing Centre, the employer ignores safety procedures for evacuations and participates in improper staffing practices, which in turn, only harm the workers. Flagrant violations of the contract like this give rise to the need for tougher contract language. Some of the issues that will be on the table as part of the demands package will be:

• Full job security for all regular employees.
• Contract in all work that can be performed by members of the bargaining unit.
• No letter carrier shall be required to carry more than one bundle of mail while delivering on route.
• Provide for a wage adjustment for technical trades employees.
• Provide protections from CPC’s abuse of work measurement for all Groups.
• Reinstate provisions of the previous Article 24 to provide for 100% pay in case of injury on duty
• Temporary employees to see improvements to rights and benefits and include such things as pay increments and Collective Agreement protections.
• Restore five (5) minute wash-up time at end of shift.
• Employer must fill long term absences in Group 1 and be required to back fill absences under 17.06.
• Part time employees to be entitled to lieu days
• All employees to be entitled to two (2) consecutive days off.

Negotiations

At present we do not know precisely when negotiations will begin, although we will be prepared to start once we have a mandate from the membership. The Negotiations Committee will be comprised of Cathy Kennedy, Stephen Gale, Sharon Samuels, and Philipe Arbour. These four (4) members will join Chief Negotiator, Sylvain Lapointe and National Grievance Officer, Peter Denley. Sister Anna Beale was appointed as a technical assistant to the committee.

Show your support for our negotiations – it’s your future. Please make a point of attending and voting at one of the ratification meetings listed above. Let Canada Post know that you care about your future by voting on this program of demands.

CUPW wants to Preserve a Public Postal Service and Jobs

The Union wants to ensure our public post office shares the benefits of postal modernization with the public by preserving and improving the public postal service and maintain jobs in communities across the country. At the moment, Canada Post intends to use all the productivity gains from its plan to erase Door-to-Door delivery and initiate cuts to thousands of jobs in order to save millions annually. From our perspective, there is no good reason why the management of a public institution such as Canada Post should assume all the benefits of removing a service that belongs to the people of Canada.

In Solidarity,
Chris Zukowsky
1st Vice-President

ck/CUPE-3338