CUPW representatives have been consulting regularly with Canada Post to understand and fight against the negative impact of the Modern Post project on postal workers. While Canada Post has been conducting focus groups with members at the Winnipeg plant, they are failing to provide the union with answers to important questions that will affect each and every postal worker.

List of unanswered questions

The union has repeatedly requested that the corporation answer some basic questions over the past few weeks. CUPW needs information in order to understand and analyze how the Modern Post will affect our members. Under Article 29 of the urban operations collective agreement, Canada Post is obligated to hold constructive and meaningful consultation and eliminate all adverse effects of technological change.

CUPW has repeatedly asked Canada Post for information such as:

• How many monotainers are in use in Winnipeg?
• How many injuries occur in Winnipeg for the publications and admail section?
• Will future Multi-Line Optical Character Readers (MLOCR) be able to read postage?
• Which manufacturers have been short-listed for the new equipment contract?
• Which other vehicles will Canada Post test for motorized routes?

The union will continue to push the employer to give us all information regarding the Modern Post project in order to analyze and eliminate all adverse effects on our members.

Focus Groups

While Canada Post is failing to answer the union’s questions, they are busy talking to our members. Canada Post held two separate focus groups on May 28 and May 29 to harvest worker knowledge.

The first meeting dealt with admail and publications processes. Canada Post is currently in the design stage for the new publications and admail section. There will be no new equipment. However, the current operation uses monotainers, which are supposed to be eliminated. Canada Post has not yet determined if it will use rolling stock, shrink wrapped pallets or skids.

The second focus group dealt with short and long sortation processes. The focus group was supposed to look at:

• Feeding, sweeping and video encoding stations for the MLOCR, 
• Feeding and sweeping process for the Bar Code Sorter (BCS), and
• Sortation cases, case labels, despatching etc. for manual sortation.

Union observers attended the focus group in order to ensure that discussions did not violate the union’s role as sole and exclusive bargaining agent. This was without prejudice to the union’s position against all focus groups. CUPW has included Canada Post’s attempts to bypass the union and speak directly to Winnipeg workers in the Article 29 grievance on the Modern Post which is scheduled to be heard by Arbitrator Burkett on July 9.

We demand input. We demand our share of the benefits of automation. And we demand that our vision of a public post office is reflected and respected in the Modern Post.