Letter from the National President to all CUPW Members

Sisters and Brothers:

Since my election to the office of National President of the Union in April 2008, this is the first time I’m writing you a personal letter. I want to speak directly to each and every one of you.

During the first year of my mandate, I toured every region of the country, attended meetings and all sorts of activities, and probably met with many of you during work place visits. I can truly say I’m proud of our great CUPW family. Everywhere I could sense the solidarity and warmth that defines us as workers.

Today, I want to talk to you about the struggle we face to keep our jobs and protect our universal and public postal service. As you know, this is a struggle we’ve been waging for several years, and I know you have been part of it. Thank you.

This struggle requires each one of us to get involved. To do that, we’ve developed an action plan for the coming months. I want to share it with you. It is based on the union’s vision of a postal service. You’ve heard about this vision, but here, once again, are the highlights.

In our opinion, Canada Post must:

• remain a publicly-owned enterprise, responsible to the public and Parliament
• retain the exclusive privilege for letters
• provide door-to-door delivery in urban areas and rural delivery
• promote the expansion of services to the public
• keep jobs in ours communities
• provide employees with safe, decent, well-paying jobs.

In short, Canada Post must remain a postal service that really serves all 33 million citizens of this country.

As you might expect, this vision is not the vision Canada Post intends to implement. Canada Post’s vision is based on job flexibility and productivity. It’s one where workers are appendages to machines and the Corporation is there mainly to service its 200 or so large postal users. We can’t accept that. The CUPW vision is the right one, and it absolutely has to win.

We shared our own plan with Local Presidents at our meeting with them in Ottawa, on September 19 and 20, 2009.

There are three important issues I’d like to discuss:

1. The Action Days scheduled for October;
2. The follow-up to the Strategic Review of the Canada Post Corporation commissioned by the Harper Government; and
3. The Modern Post.

 

1. OCTOBER ACTION DAYS

From October 7^th to 16^th, we’ll be holding a series of activities aimed at building awareness about the struggles ahead of us. They’ll be starting on October 7^th, which is World Day for Decent Work. At that time, we’ll be sending out information on the need for rural and suburban mail carriers to improve their wages and working conditions as part of the third reopening of their collective agreement.

An action day is also planned on another issue, which is to answer the question: Does Canada Post really deserve its being qualified as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers? We’ll challenge this by talking about the problems and issues we face on the work floor: automation, health and safety, discipline and discharges, cheap labour, as well as issues of concern to RSMCs.

On October 16, which will be Canada Post’s 28^th anniversary as a Crown Corporation, we’ll talk about the struggles through which we have been able to maintain a universal public postal service. I urge you to get involved in this day of action.

 

2.         FOLLOW-UP TO CPC’S STRATEGIC REVIEW OF THE POSTAL SERVICE

In April 2008, the Harper Government appointed an independent committee to review the mission of the postal service in this country. As a union, we got directly involved to make sure we got across our own vision of what a postal service should be. To support our vision, we consulted municipalities, the public, the labour movement and various lobby groups. We met with elected officials and made postal services an issue in last fall’s federal election. All this work paid off. In its report, the independent committee recommended maintaining a universal public postal service. This represents a major victory for the Union.

However, we knew very well the government wouldn’t leave this issue alone and would keep pushing. It has since taken two major initiatives.

First, it tabled Bill C-44. If this bill is passed, international mail will no longer be considered as lettermail. It would tear a 100-million dollar market away from the post office and hand it over to the private sector. We can’t let that happen, so we need to put some pressure on our MPs.

Second, the government recently introduced what it calls a “Canadian Postal Services Charter” that stakes out the government’s expectations for Canada Post. We agree with the concept of a charter, but we want one that’s developed in consultation with stakeholders and the public. Again, we’ll have to make sure this Charter ensures the survival of a public postal service.

Pressure will have to be exerted from every corner.

 

3.         MODERN POST

As you know, Canada Post has announced a plan to invest nearly two billion dollars to replace its current equipment and introduce mail sequencing. This isn’t the first time the employer has tried to replace us workers with machines. We’ve always resisted these attempts.

Our position is simple enough. Everyone must get something out of this investment: the public, through expanded services, and we, the workers, in keeping our jobs and improving our working conditions, including work safety. These changes will affect everyone, from mail clerks to letter carriers, to mail service couriers, to rural and suburban mail carriers.

After several months of consultation, we’re now entering a crucial phase – negotiating each and every one of these changes. Even if the employer has a duty to eliminate the adverse effects of these technological changes, we know it wants to cut jobs.

That’s why we’ve presented it with a series of demands aimed at protecting our public postal service, including:

• Expand door-to-door delivery
• Carry out health and safety studies
• Expand services at retail corporate outlets
• Contract in work that is currently contracted out
• Allow letter carriers to carry only one bundle at a time
• Ensure 100% coverage for householders or grant delivery time values
• Align MLC parcel delivery with the MSCs' delivery system
• Have all new machines installed by Technical Services
• Have maintenance on all machines and related equipment done by CUPW members
• Have all fleet work done by VHE9 members
• Assign plant maintenance work to our members
• Abide by its duty to accommodate injured workers.

 

As you can see, Sisters and Brothers, we have to get involved on all fronts, including a political fight to protect our postal service and a battle with Canada Post to protect our jobs and working conditions. This action plan will only be effective if we can count on the collective strength of the Union’s 54,000 members. That’s why I’m calling on each and you to personally get involved in the fight.

Because our vision has to win out!

The struggle continues.