Canada Post Reneges on Invitation, Calls in Goon Squad and RCMP!
Canada Post’s Regional Forums at the Vancouver Mail Processing Plant (VMPP) and Richmond Delivery Center (RDC) offered CUPW members a very revealing glimpse of Moya Greene’s attitude towards CUPW members and their authorized bargaining unit representatives.
The Insults
On June 25, 2009, Moya Greene provided VMPP employees with the first of two presentations on the current state of Canada Post, with emphasis on the current economy and the need to cut costs.
Things went awry after Vice-President Doug Jones brazenly suggested that postal workers have been guilty of dishonest injury claims and malingering. To throw fuel on the fire, it was also suggested that CUPW members abuse their sick leave. Unsurprisingly, numerous employees took great exception to those comments. After breaking out the fraud brush, Ms Greene and Mr. Jones quickly discovered that employees do not like being insulted. Pulling guard, Moya Greene refused to engage in a transparent discussion regarding her future cost-cutting plans. Unable to control the response that she incited, Ms Greene also cut off questions!
Welcome to Walmart!
On June 26, 2009, Moya Greene conducted the second Regional Forum at the RDC. Prior to the 
meeting, RDC employees were told that they could not start working until Moya had completed her presentation. Perhaps to suppress any further displays of dissension, Canada Post also put in place a heavy security presence.
Although CUPW representatives had been invited in writing to attend the same session, Canada Post abruptly reneged on that invitation, without notice, and refused to allow elected bargaining unit representatives into the facility. A group of security staff were on hand to act as greeters. Immediately recognizable by their mismatched suits and brown shoes, the security staff became physically aggressive towards some of the officers who had been invited to the meeting. After unsuccessfully intimidating CUPW officers, Canada Post called in the RCMP.
Canada Post pled its case, but was unsuccessful in convincing the RCMP to remove CUPW officers from the site. Much to Canada Post’s chagrin, no CUPW officers were tasered, nor were there any arrests.
Doug Strangward, a Man of Contradictions!
Contrary to the written invitation that was provided to the Union, Doug Strangward, RDC Director, insisted that the meeting was “for employees only”. Strangward also claimed that CUPW officers had not provided notice of the visit.
Was Doug Strangward telling the truth? Click here make up your own mind!
Paving the Road to Cutbacks!
Moya Greene’s presentations during both forums made reference to negotiated employee benefits such as sick leave, IOD leave, and vacation leave.
In a controlled environment, Moya Greene is able to make representations without being questioned or challenged. For this reason, Moya obviously gave orders to exclude CUPW bargaining unit representatives from the second Regional Forum.
In a true forum, Moya Greene would not be able to hide behind a line of security goons or avoid answering questions regarding her plans to take away employee benefits.
In a true forum, Moya Greene would not be able to duck questions about her 33% personal bonus (with her personal performance bonus, Moya Greene now earns twice as much as the prime minister!).
But the purpose of the Regional Forums was not to have an open, transparent discussion; Moya was in Vancouver to pave the road to cutbacks. The real purpose of her visit was to convince CUPW members that their benefit plans are too lavish – without any opposing views.
Departing in Style!
Prior to her departure, several CUPW officers asked if they could have their photo taken with Moya Greene. To their great disappointment, she declined to make herself available for that purpose.
After addressing RDC employees, Moya Greene met privately with supervisory staff. With security staff acting as a distraction at the South exit, Moya scurried out the North exit and was driven away, but not before a security goon shoved a CUPW member off the sidewalk!
Moya Greene, living the Corporate Values!
Ken Mooney
Regional Grievance Officer
Section 74 (1) of the Election Act states that an employee who is entitled to vote in an election or who, on registration, will be entitled to vote in the election is entitled to have 4 consecutive hours free from employment during voting hours for general voting. Section 74 (2) of the Election Act states that if an individual’s hours of employment do not allow for the consecutive hours referred to in subsection (1), the individual’s employer must allow the individual time off from employment to provide those hours. Section 74 (4) an employer must not (a) without reasonable justification, fail to grant to an employee sufficient time off as required by subsection (2), or (b) make a deduction in pay for the time off or exact any penalty from the employee for the time off. 
It may be that there is more to the agenda of Canada Post than cost savings when they make decisions that seriously impact the businesses they claim to be serving. A proposition like cutting out the commercial counter service is defective because it leads to customer dissatisfaction and to employee dissatisfaction. Despite the protestations of the corporate community, as well as those of the employees at Bentall who are concerned about service to their regular customers, Canada Post is moving in a different direction. Canada Post does not want to continue providing a necessary service at its busiest corporate outlet in the region, where they served 117,000 customers last year.