Comrades and friends,

I am filling in for President Roland Schmidt this week while he and our other full-time officers are busy with the Regional Resolutions Committee. The committee, comprised of regional officers and representatives from locals all across the prairie region, are compiling upwards of 300 resolutions sent from prairie locals to be presented, debated, and voted on at this weekend's Prairie Regional Conference. This is an important step in our union's democratic process, as all resolutions that pass at regional are sent to our National Executive Board (NEB). The NEB will then compile the resolutions from each of the eight regions across the country and use them to draft our list of demands for next year's contract negotiations!

As reported last week, we have lost a member to Covid-19. Sadly, Brother Ernie Sywolos passed away on April 18th. As per his family’s wishes, there will be no funeral service outside the family.   I’ve heard great stories about Brother Ernie and know he will be missed. It is always tragic to lose a friend and co-worker, but let it be a reminder, especially on this Day of Mourning, to stay vigilant regarding all COVID protocols to keep ourselves and others safe.  

We received further sad news this week that Sister Claire Service passed away on Thursday April 22nd. Claire was an active, hardworking RSMC and union member out of the Morinville post office. 

Other important updates in this dispatch include: April 28 Day of Mourning, our May newsletter is out now,  a link to a Virtual May Day Ceremony, and May GMM registration details.

In Solidarity,

Day of Mourning  

Every year on April 28th, we take a moment to remember workers who were killed in the preceding year as a result of their jobs. For many, this may seem to be the opportunity to see the very real human cost of COVID-19 on working people – the people who have worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic to keep our economy strong and allow others to stay safely at home without losing any of the luxuries they've come to expect. 

- Greg Mady, President Edmonton & District Labour Council

EDLC Hosts Day of Mourning: Read more >>

Day of Mourning InsideOut Article (page 10): Read more >>

Local Newsletter - May 2021 Edition 

Our local’s stellar Communications Committee has released the latest issue of the Inside Out. Our network of volunteers should be distributing them this week. You can also find a digital copy on our local’s website.

Highlights for this edition:

1. Local Elections - A (Near) Historic Candidate Win to Reform CUPW
2. Officer Reports - Updates from Grievance & A New 2nd VP
3. Day of Mourning - April 28 
4. New Comic - Will "No Relief" Change its Bullying Ways?

Full digital edition: Read more >>

(Virtual) GMM: Saturday, May 8, 2021 11:00 am 

As per the direction given by our CUPW National Executive, locals can hold GMMs via video conference as long as quorum is met and all participants have registered with all the required information by the specified deadline. For our full virtual GMM guidelines, please see the accompanying document below the GMM notice.

Register: www.cupw730.ca/home/calendar or LINK

Deadline: Friday, May 7, 2021, Noon. Registrations are confirmed after the deadline.

(Virtual) May Day Rally 2021!

Ongoing Reminder: Local Office Access

To stay aligned with the newest health guidelines, our office remains locked and available by appointment only. We are trying to conduct all meetings with members over the phone or via video conferencing. Exemptions can be made for unique circumstances. In either case, please call (780) 423-9000 to arrange an appointment with the appropriate officer. We are extremely busy in the office trying to put out a thousand different fires, so please leave a message if you’re unable to catch us on the phone.