Category: Bulletins

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers welcomes the resignation of Judge Coulter Osborne as final offer selection arbitrator. Judge Osborne was appointed by Labour Minister Lisa Raitt to arbitrate the contract between CUPW and Canada Post Corporation following the back-to-work legislation which ended the postal lock-out in June 2011.

“Today we contacted Labour Minister Raitt and requested a meeting with her to discuss the implications of Judge Osborne’s resignation,” said CUPW President and chief negotiator Denis Lemelin. “We will encourage Ms. Raitt to appoint an experienced and bilingual mediator, to work with the parties to negotiate a collective agreement, instead of replacing the arbitrator.”

“A negotiated settlement would be far preferable for all concerned. Judge Osborne’s resignation creates an opportunity for the parties to return to the bargaining table and negotiate a collective agreement.”

Following the elections of Sister Cindy A. Lee to the position of Regional Union Representative and Mike Palecek to National Union Representative – Under direction of NEC, the above positions are now open for election.

6.5    The Grievance Officer:

6.5 A    Shall be an elected Full-Time Officer and voting member of the Executive Committee.
6.5 B    Shall prepare, arrange, and oversee the hearing of all grievances at the first level.
6.5 C    Shall maintain an up-to-date grievance filing system.
6.5 D    Shall chair at least six (6) Grievance Committee Meetings per year to deal with matters relating to the grievance procedure.
6.5 E    Shall maintain a liaison between the Local and Regional Grievance Officer.
6.5 F    Shall report to the Executive Committee.

AND

6.9    The Recording Secretary/By-Laws Chair:

6.9 A    Shall be an elected officer and voting member of the Executive Committee.
6.9 B    Shall take the minutes of all Executive Committee, General Membership and Special Meetings of the Local.
6.9 C    Shall be the Chair of the By-laws Committee.

9.3D    Candidates must be a member in good standing and must have attended at least three General Membership Meetings in the twelve (12) months prior to and inclusive of the close of nominations.  Subject to Article 9.10A.

Interim election procedures apply.  Nominations in writing, with written acceptance, may be sent to the Union Hall prior to the November GMM.  Nominations may also be made at the Sunday, November 27, 2011 GMM.

The election will be held:

Sunday, November 27, 2011  at  1:00 p.m.
at the Banquet Hall (beside our offices)

The election will take place as part of the normal order of business during the November Membership Meeting as per Article 9.7A of the Local Bylaws.

** Note:  You must be a member in good standing to vote.

For Immediate Release

OTTAWA – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has scored a significant victory in its fight against the Harper government’s treatment of postal workers.

In a decision handed down October 20th in the Federal Court, Judge Luc Martineau ordered a stay of proceedings relating to the Harper government’s back-to-work legislation (Bill C-6) against thousands of locked-out postal workers in June.  The arbitration will now stop until the union’s challenge of the government’s hand-picked arbitrator can be heard in January 2012.

“This decision shows that the union is on the right track.  We are questioning the process by which this government has forced its will on postal workers,” said Denis Lemelin, CUPW National President and chief negotiator.

Members of CUPW’s urban unit went on rotating strike in June and were subsequently locked out by Canada Post, then legislated back to work.  The union has also launched a separate constitutional challenge against the back-to-work legislation itself, which directs the arbitrator to pick one side only without any possiblility of compromise.

The Martineau decision bolsters the union’s objection to Minister of Labour Lisa Raitt’s appointment of Anthony Arthur Coulter Osborne – a unilingual jusdge without any previous experience in labour relations – to preside over the arbitration.  The merits of the union’s case will be argued in January.

Normally, arbitrators are agreed upon by the parties, rather than being imposed by the government.  Observers have noted the importance of CUPW’s challenges for the future of labour relations in Canada.

For more information, please contact Aalya Ahmad, CUPW Communications, at 613-327-1177

Noon Saturday October 15 Vancouver Art Gallery

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers supports the growing numbers of those who are peacefully and creatively occupying Wall Street and elsewhere.

We join the call to end the plutocracy – the rule of the rich – and the stark inequality it creates. As workers and as people, we demand a better and fairer distribution of wealth in our society.

When 48,000 CUPW members went on a nation-wide rotating strike this June, we struck against austerity measures imposed on us by a highly paid CEO, appointed and supported by a neo-liberal government.

• We went on strike because they want to cut the pensions of new hires.
• We went on strike because they want to cut the wages of the next generation of workers.
• We went on strike because they value profits more than they value the health and safety of our members.
• We went on strike because they are attacking the public postal service that belongs to all of us.

Management then locked us out to give the government a pretext to enact punitive legislation forcing CUPW members back to work – legislation that blatantly gives the upper hand to the executives.

This is the plutocracy in action and we have to fight them everywhere. We stand with women, the poor, first nations people, pensioners, students, environmentalists and everyone who is prepared to struggle for justice. We will never stop fighting.

Your struggle is our struggle. We are part of the 99%.

In Solidarity,

Gayle Bossenberry
1st National Vice-President
Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Urban Postal Unit Negotiations (2011) / Bulletin

Negotiations Bulletin no. 89

We have now received the ruling from Judge Osborne on the procedure to be followed by the parties as we proceed with the interest arbitration for the urban operations unit.

The Union and the Employer disagreed on the interpretation of Bill C-6 concerning the requirement of the parties to submit their lists of the issues agreed to during bargaining and the issues in dispute.

The union believes that the law requires the arbitrator to choose a date and then the parties submit their lists of what was agreed to and what was in dispute on that date. After the arbitrator determines the issues in dispute, the parties submit their final offer and the arbitrator must hear arguments and then select the final offer of either the union or the employer.

The employer took the position that only three minor issues had been agreed to and everything is in dispute. They argued that all three lists, including the final offer should be submitted at once.

The Union argued with CPC’s position that everything remains in dispute. It could result in the process taking a very long period of time as both parties entered the negotiations with dozens of issues, most of which would require lengthy argumentation and evidence.

Continue reading “Judge Osborne Decides On Procedure”