History

In Moncton the members have been united and have succeeded in forcing CPC to give us back jobs they have stolen and pay $140,000 in damages as a result of the previous bad route restructure.  Whether it be attacks to the external workers or internal workers the Sisters and Brothers in Moncton have worked to rule, filed grievances, met with the members, held days of action, set up public information picket lines, met with MPs, talked with the customers, met with the media and the list goes on.  Perhaps this is why the disaster I am about to describe has been created by Canada Post.

Route Restructure

In Moncton Canada Post has gone ahead with a route restructure and merged most of the Mail Service Courier work with Letter Carrier delivery duties.  The result has been that CPC has cut close to 30 positions when we take the loss of MSC and relief positions into consideration.

Like in other route restructures the Union observers were not given the information and forms needed to observe properly.  Modifications to routes during the restructuring exercise were made when the union observers were not present.  One union observer was suspended for insubordination when she objected to the route measurement officer’s behaviour.  Also, there are problems with the mail volume index. 

Group 1 Work

Much of the work done in the plant has been moved to St. John.  This has resulted in a loss of group 1 positions.  Many activities have been organized by the local resulting in good media coverage.

Mobilisation

Letter Carriers have reacted to this attack the best way that we can.  The routes are way too long and this has resulted in a lot of overtime.  The majority of members are coming back for lunch.  Members are keeping track of their daily volumes of letters, oversize, householders, and personal contact items.

A grievance has been filed under clause 47.11 and is now scheduled to be heard in February.  We have evidence about the faulty restructure to be presented, but the best evidence we can take to the arbitrator is that the majority of employees are not able to finish the routes within the evaluated time.

My Visit

I visited the work floors in Moncton on November 24 and 25, and an evening meeting was organized.  I met with group 1 members in the plant, RSMCs, MSCs, 1 GLT and Letter Carriers.  We also held local consultation with CPC.

I was very encouraged by the reaction of the majority of members in the local.  It became clear that the members are in for the long haul and will not let up until we force CPC to give us back jobs we are entitled to. Hard work by union observers and pressure from members has already resulted in time being added back into the routes. Many routes are now overassessed as a result. This situation must be corrected in the near future.

CPC Strategy

CPC has now supplied ball caps with built in lights and flash lights with a CPC logo on them.  They have forced 6 senior employees to retire early.  After we spend a majority of our lives working as postal workers CPC pushes us out the door before we reach our maximum pension.  SHAME ON CPC.  They are spreading rumours about temporary workers not having a future at Canada Post.  Routes are not getting delivered, both rural and urban.  They are setting up for negotiations.

Union Strategy

In Moncton we are already on the right track.  We are working safely as well as using and enforcing our contractual rights (lunch, breaks, etc.).  We are keeping the members informed and involved.  We have filed grievances.

It was suggested that all letter carriers should be getting carts to be used when needed, we should request help under appendix LL, we should file article 50 request and grievances, and we must support each other.

Other Locations

The National Work Measurement Committee has made a recommendation to the National Executive Board that we investigate all locations where we have lost more than 5 full time equivalent letter carrier positions. These locations include: Toronto Q, Vanier, Station S Ottawa, Downtown Ottawa, Barrie, Moncton 2 depots, Youville, depot 11 & station D Scarborough, depot 10 Calgary, depot 1 Victoria,  depots Charleswood, C, J, M, Winnipeg, depot 2 Surrey.

It is extremely important that the negotiators get reports from these locations and any other where CPC has created an unworkable work load.

We need to know if injuries are up, if absenteeism is up, if overtime is up (15.08 own route and 17.04 other routes), if assistance is up, if non delivery of mail and routes is happening, if early retirements are up, if temporary workers are resigning and the list goes on.

The Future 

CPC and many other employers have always tried to make us believe there is no future in the industry.  When I started in 1977 as a mail handler in Ottawa, I was told by management that I should find work elsewhere as there was no future in the post office.   Well 34 years later I’m still here.  There is a lot of work to do, and ensuring this work remains in the public sector will continue to be a struggle.  The day everything will be sent electronically, including parcels, we will all be long gone.