Bargaining

CUPW has had bargaining rights since 1967. The wages, benefits and job security that members enjoy are the product of bargaining. But the union’s success at negotiations comes from having an active and militant membership. Thanks to this tradition, our urban operations contract with Canada Post is one of the strongest in the country.

All CUPW contracts guarantee specific wages or wage entitlements, benefits and working conditions. They provide a clear set of rules that apply to everyone. These rules prevent managers from being arbitrary or discriminatory when they assign work, schedule vacations, grant leave for the death of a relative, etc.

Grievances

CUPW’s collective agreement with Canada Post gives the union the right to submit complaints or grievances on behalf of its members when employer representatives violate contract rules.

For more information, see Article 9 of the CUPW-CPC contract. To file a grievance for a violation of the contract, contact your shop steward or a local executive member.

Campaigns

CUPW campaigns on a variety of issues, such as child care, sweatshops and trade agreements.

Organizing

CUPW has organized workers in more than 17 private sector bargaining units. We now represent cleaners, couriers, drivers, warehouse workers, mail house workers, emergency medical dispatchers, bicycle couriers, and printers, in addition to postal workers.

Communication

The union keeps members informed about the union’s activities through the newspaper CUPW Perspective, weekly bulletins, and the website (www.cupw-sttp.org).

CUPW produces a number of newsletters: The Rose for women, the Stewards’ Action Bulletin for stewards, Our Health Our Safety for health and safety activists.

Education

CUPW offers several types of education courses to members. It offers short courses at regional education seminars, held on weekends in the spring and fall. It also offers five-day courses on topics such as health and safety, human rights, the collective agreement, route measurement, women’s issues and globalization.

The Union Education Program (UEP) is generally regarded as the flagship of CUPW’s education program. In four one-week sessions spread over several months, participants selected from across the country examine work, union and social justice issues from a working class perspective.

Much of the funding for CUPW’s education program comes from the Union Education Fund (Appendix U of CUPW-CPC contract), first negotiated in 1992 with Canada Post.

For more information on the UEP or other courses, contact your local president or local education committee (Section 9.20 of National Constitution).

Health and Safety

All CUPW members have the right to a safe and healthy workplace and the right to refuse dangerous work. The union has negotiated rights with regard to unsafe work, accident investigations, clothing, health and safety training, studies, dangerous goods, and other concerns (Article 33 and 34 of CUPW-CPC collective agreement).

CUPW has a National Health and Safety Committee, which meets at least twice a year. This committee is made up of one member from each region (elected at convention) plus other regional and national union representatives. It is responsible for preparing a report on health and safety issues, which includes recommendations to the National Executive Board. (Section 4.12 of National Constitution).

As well, CUPW representatives sit on local and national health and safety committees with Canada Post representatives. These committees provide the union with a forum for voicing concerns and pressing for solutions to problems between contracts.

For more information, contact your local president or local joint health and safety committee.

Child Care

CUPW has a child care fund that helps parents balance work and family (Appendix L of CUPW-CPC contract). The union uses the fund to help members who have the most trouble finding or affording high quality child care. To date, it has used the fund for child care and related services, information programs, needs assessments and child care research.

CUPW is currently supporting the following projects or services: child care programs for irregular working hours; supervised care in members’ homes; licensed care in the home of a caregiver; short-term emergency child care; after school and summer care or camps; child care information, referral and resources. In addition, the Special Needs and Moving On projects provide support to members whose children and adult sons and daughters have disabilities. All projects, except the Special Needs and Moving On projects, are based in specific locations across the country.

The Child Care Fund is administered by CUPW and financed by Canada Post. For more information, ask your local for the fact sheet on child care (to be issued soon). To find out more about the Special Needs or Moving on Projects, call

1-800-840-LINK or e-mail cupw-upcespecialneeds@ns.sympatico.ca (English), or

1-888-433-2885 and sttp-sepcprojetenfants@ns.sympatico.ca (French).

Staffing and Route Measurement

CUPW monitors changes in staffing such as the use of part-time, full-time or temporary workers, to ensure that Canada Post is living up to its contract commitments. The union also monitors walk and route evaluation with a view to protecting and creating jobs as well as improving health and safety.

Postal Service and Jobs

CUPW sits on a joint union-management committee that experiments with expanding services and creating jobs (Appendix T of CUPW-CPC contract). There is a budget of $750,000 per quarter, with a cap of $6 million to fund projects. The committee uses this money to finance start up costs and training for new initiatives. Money can only be spent if both the CUPW and Canada Post agree.

The committee develops and reviews project proposals from local and national representatives of the union or management and decides which projects to pursue. It also decides, through a joint evaluation, which projects are self sustaining (i.e. whether new revenues or savings cover new costs).

The committee does a great deal of training. It has placed more than 50 members in apprentice positions and trained close to 200 members who work in technical services.

To date, the committee has created over 100 new positions by contracting-in work, extending hours and services at retail counters and introducing new services that reach out to business.

Processing and Delivery

CUPW participates in a joint union-management committee that examines the project proposals that are periodically brought forth by the union or management with a view to meeting the needs of employees, the employer and customers (Appendix AA of CUPW-CPC contract). The committee decides which projects to implement and evaluate. It makes decisions based on consensus between union and management.

During projects, the union and management may temporally change the collective agreement to conduct and test a new approach, product or piece of equipment. This gives the union a forum for testing changes to collection and delivery of mail while maintaining CUPW’s right to veto changes if there is no agreement.

The committee is currently mandated to analyze the factors related to letter carriers’ injuries, study the effect of letter carriers’ workload, test new product and delivery methods for unaddressed admail and complete the development of standards for the A-62 letter carrier case.

Human Rights

CUPW has local and national human rights committees (Section 4.07 and 9.22 of National Constitution). The national committee is made up of four working groups: one for aboriginal peoples; one for gays, lesbians, and transgender people; one for people of colour; and one for disabled people. The National Human Rights Committee consists of rank and file members and members working full-time for the union who belong to any of the above groups. It meets twice a year.

The committee is responsible for investigating a variety of matters, including the level of participation of each group within the union, and making recommendations. The human rights committee submits its recommendations to the union’s National Executive Board. It also reports at national convention every three years.

The union also financially assists members of the above groups to encourage their participation in conferences and other forums related to human rights (Section 7.60 of National Constitution).

In addition, the union has negotiated a no-discrimination clause (Article 5 of CUPW-CPC contract) and protection against harassment and violence (Article 56 and Article 33.31 of CUPW-CPC contract).

For more information, contact your local president or local human rights committee.

Women

CUPW has local and national women’s committees. (Section 4.06 and 9.21 of National Constitution). The national committee is made up of one woman from each region (elected by women delegates at the union’s national convention) and all women holding national and regional positions within the union. It meets at least twice a year.

The committee is responsible for investigating a variety of matters, including the level of participation of women within the union, and making recommendations. It submits recommendations and the responses of the union’s National Executive Board to national convention every three years.

The union also provides financial assistance to encourage women’s participation in conferences and other forums related to women’s issues (Section 7.59 of National Constitution).

In addition, the union has negotiated a no-discrimination clause (Article 5) and protection against harassment (Article 56) in its collective agreement with Canada Post.

For more information, contact your local president or women’s committee.

Retired Workers

The union is currently developing a structure for retirees who wish to remain active in the union

Some CUPW locals have committees that study, educate and recommend on issues relating to pension and retiree benefits.

International Solidarity

CUPW has negotiated an International Postal Fund of $200,000 per year as part of its collective agreement with Canada Post (Appendix R of CUPW-CPC contract). The fund pays for solidarity projects with postal unions and labour organizations in other countries. Unions around the world face many of the same challenges as CUPW in dealing with employers, governments and international trade laws. The fund allows CUPW to work with these unions to develop innovative solutions to our common problems.