On March 10, 2010, a CUPW delegation visited the future Winnipeg, Manitoba, mail processing plant, which is located near the airport. All levels of the Union were represented during this visit. The union members of the NJHSC were accompanied by the Prairie Region’s National Director and REOO, the Winnipeg Local’s President and Health and Safety Representative, and by the union members of the Winnipeg Local Health and Safety Committee. Caspian, the company contracted by Canada Post to build the plant, sent a representative to guide us through the building. Representatives of Canada Post, including some of its members on the NJHSC, also took part in the visit. The Union was able to tour the entire inside of the plant and walk around the periphery of the building. Although 70% of the layout is complete and the mail sortation equipment is still being assembled, and, though there are about two months left before the building opens officially in May, the Union had an opportunity to provide input on some aspects of the building and its layout.

MECHANIZED AREA

After getting a briefing on the applicable safety rules for the site and putting on the required safety equipment, the Union’s representatives entered the plant. The main entrance lead to the cafeteria, locker rooms, offices and mail processing area and to the second floor of the building. Entering the mail processing area on the immediate left, we went into the VES area, which is a glass-enclosed room. The work stations, tables, and screens had been installed, except for connections to the computerized data management systems.

We then went back to the mail processing area, where most of the mechanized mail processing equipment has been set up. This 250,000 square foot open area takes up most of the building space and is only separated from the shipping area by a wall. As for the mechanized sortation equipment, at the time of our visit, a few two-tiered 304-stacker Toshiba MLOCRs, with a handling capacity of up to 42,000 mail items per hour, had already been completely installed, as well as one Alcatel flat sorting machine. Five ODC tables and adjacent conveyors had also been installed. However, the single-tier packet sorter was far from finished and they were still assembling the metal frames of the conveyors. In the middle of the plant, near the parcel sorter was an “open-air” rest area, which is to say a room with eight-foot high walls but no ceiling where air and dust get in.

SHIPPING AND RECEIVING AREAS

The receiving and shipping docks will have the truck or trailer loading components located on the outside of the building. The doors, which are equipped with trailer anchoring systems, and the dock levellers, were operational. The receiving area was at the embryonic stage, and the conveyor systems hadn’t been installed. In the shipping area, the frames for the loose parcel loading conveyors were in place. Parcel chutes to facilitate sortation and scanners had also been installed, along with railing and lights. However, other chutes and conveyors had yet to be installed. We also toured the outside of the building to see the dock-related facilities in the two areas.

TECHNICAL SERVICES

The main mechanical shop, where technical service members will be working, is adjacent to the receiving area and has two distinct loading docks. At the time of our tour, equipment was being installed in the area.

However, the battery room located at the back of the building was already operational and was equipped with a battery bull. We also visited the furnace room, electrical panel room, and the computer room where data processing will be done.

LOCKER ROOMS AND CAFETERIA

After the mail processing area, we visited the men’s and women’s locker rooms, which were at the finishing stage. We noted that the showers and washrooms were operational and adapted for differently-abled users. The only elevator in the building was located at the main entrance; along with the stairs, it provided access to the second floor, where administrative offices and a gymnasium are located. We continued our tour, looking at the cafeteria kitchens where food is prepared and kept, and then went on to the eating areas. The cafeteria will also have an outside terrace. Since this will be a no-smoking building, there is an unheated shelter for smokers near the building that is accessible using the outside door of the cafeteria.

UNION CONCERNS

This visit was requested by the union members of the NJHSC. Its purpose was to allow us to see how the postal transformation process would concretely impact the work floor. We were also able to identify health and safety issues and resolve them before the final roll-out. During the visit, the Union identified several problems that were reported to the employer at the NJHSC postal transformation meeting that took place that same day. Our first concern was with the MLOCR, but that day, the Union did finally get the chance to see the entire machine, with its two tiers of stackers and two tiers of containers. On examining the machine, we noted that the lower tier for containers was very low. At the NJHSC meeting, the Union again asked the employer to have comprehensive ergonomic and health and safety studies carried out before rolling out the equipment and implementing new work methods.

The union raised other concerns, such as the wide open canteen in the mail processing area. This and other health and safety issues will be dealt with at the NJHSC or LJHSC level depending on their local or national repercussions. The union members of the Winnipeg Local Health and Safety Committee will be involved in the discussions on emergency procedures, noise- and light- level readings, to ensure that the

Canada Labour Code standards and collective agreement provisions are followed. The Union will ensure Canada Post meets all of its health and safety obligations.

The Union will continue to monitor not only the development of new equipment but also the roll-out of the new Winnipeg plant. It will do everything it can to ensure that members are not negatively affected by either the new equipment or the postal transformation process.