Good day,

My name is James Ball and I am the acting president of the Edmonton Local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and I am writing to you on behalf of the membership.

A little bit of history: 1981 was the last time for CUPW members where there was a strike or a lockout and the government did not interfere in the form of back-to-work legislation. The Corporation has come to rely on this kind of legislation as a tool to limit worker gains and impose rollbacks. This has even impacted those few times where we had a “negotiated” deal done under the fear of legislation.

Since 1944, labour peace has been maintained by an agreement – a law – between workers, employers, and government. This law guaranteed fair negotiation in good faith from both parties. I would argue that it has never been in good faith in my lifetime. Government interference has always been present and it has never benefited the workers.

We can see this in the recent CN/CPKC lockout situation. CPKC was on a lockout and there was a strike mandate. Teamsters, who represent the CN workers, chose not to issue its strike notice. This meant that only half of the rail system was compromised by these activities. But CN Corporate chose to lockout its employees, putting the very well-being of our nation in jeopardy.

When Minister Steven Mackinnon used Section 107 of the Labour Code, he had a choice to make. He could have issued an order that CN remove its lockout condition and allow the CPKC negotiation to play out. The Minister's decision was made swiftly and without consideration for both the employees, as the CPKC employees were only out for 17-hours, and a prior Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ruling that stated neither CN nor CPKC are essential services.

The CIRB declared they did not have the authority to make such a decision and that it must be investigated by the courts. These courts also do not have a history of benefiting working people. In a recent court decision, the Supreme Court determined that the CUPW challenge of prior back-to-work legislation was “moot” because the union chose to extend the contract afterwards. Little-to-no consideration was given to the fact that CUPW chose to extend the contract in the middle of a pandemic – choosing to serve our country and its people rather than have to go on strike during the greatest medical strife our generation has seen.

Since 2006, government interference in legal collective bargaining has resulted in a loss of 49% of the purchasing power for new employees based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This round of bargaining, the workers are not asking for a raise but to maintain their purchasing power. Workers are sympathetic to the Corporation's struggles, but aren't willing to shoulder the burden of any further pay cuts through losses to inflation.

With government interference, we stand to lose more than just wages: pensions, medical benefits for our retirees, job security and compensation for new hires. And we stand to receive a system of work that puts the members at significantly higher risk of injury, in a job that already has the highest rate of injury in the federal sector.

The intention of the Corporation is to gut our collective agreements based on their “losses” -- losses that no one should believe. If the Corporation is taking such losses, then how can they afford a $500-million processing plant that automates-away our jobs? How can they afford hundreds of new vehicles, research programs for automated forklifts, retrofitting of existing vehicles with telematics systems, and bonuses for supervisors that are masked as “at risk pay”? How can they afford Doug Ettinger? Doug's plan has been to spend $4-billion over five years, “investing” in the Corporation since 2022. He's using it in the media to hurt hardworking Canadians.

Just to be clear: labour costs are decreasing, while spending is increasing.

For all this and so much more, our members are asking you to stand with ordinary Canadians – Canadians who serve the public. Negotiate, don't legislate. To see our union's plans for self-sustainability, visit deliveringcommunitypower.ca. 

This is your post office at work.

James Ball,

Acting President of CUPW Local 730 Edmonton

Send a Letter to Your MP

Would you like to send a letter to your MP? You can find your MP by clicking HERE.

You can also use the following form letter:

To [MP Name]

I, [NAME], am writing you today to ask for your support. As a member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and an employee of Canada Post, I am very concerned about the future of this institution.

We see a future where Canada Post is a leader in community services including Postal Banking, elder care check-in services, community hubs and more. This expansion of services is required to maintain Canada Post as not only a profitable enterprise but to maintain the public trust in its government.

It is more important than ever that the CUPW and Canada Post negotiate an agreement without government interference for the future of Canada Post and the people of this great land.

Negotiate, don’t legislate.

Sincerely,

[Name, Postal Code]