Friends and comrades,
It has become a very busy and confusing week, and I hope this Dispatch can alleviate at least some of that. We will be covering negotiations updates, staying informed through our Local website and texting service, Local and Regional educational opportunities, and standing with Safeway workers.
Before getting to that, I would like to draw your attention to two other things.
First, if you’d like a quick rundown of the events that occurred today with contract offers and the Corporation refusing our union’s request for a two week truce, you can find a video on our TikTok, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube accounts.
Second, there are two petitions to sign. One is through National’s Hands Off My Post-Office! campaign, which you can find HERE. The second is through our Local’s Keep it Public campaign. You can find that petition HERE.
Solidarity,
Kyle Turner, Communications Officer
Find CUPW Local 730 on social media: TikTok | Instagram | Bluesky | YouTube | Facebook
To sign up to the email list, click HERE.
Negotiations Updates
There has been a lot of action since this past weekend, but there seem to be three main questions.
First, why did our union issue 72-hours’ notice? National President Jan Simpson explains this decision in a recent bulletin: last week, the Corporation walked away from the bargaining table and the following day they threatened to unilaterally change our working conditions and suspend our benefits if new agreements were not reached. This move was taken as an attempt to undermine good faith bargaining and it had to be met with strong resistance.
The other reason for issuing 72-hours’ notice was because our strike was merely put on hold when the government forced us back to work in December. Issuing the notice was one of the steps in making it clear that our legal strike will continue. To read the full bulletin, click HERE.
Our negotiators were expecting offers from the Corporation today and they have been received. The Corporation has published its offers on its website. Once our negotiating committees and National Executive have had time to review, we can expect to see their analysis on www.cupw.ca — and this should be the first stop for the most up-to-date information.
Our union asked the Corporation for a two week truce so our representatives would have the chance to review the offers. The Corporation has refused this offer for a truce. You can read about this HERE.
Second, are we going to be on strike as of Friday? The answer is that we do not know but that any legal job action can continue as of Friday. This doesn’t mean that we will be on strike, just that we can engage in action if we need to. The Corporation will also be free to change the terms of our employment on this day, but that also doesn’t mean they have to.
Stay Informed
As we did leading up to the strike in November, we will continue to share information as we get it through this email list, on the Local website, and through our text messaging service.
If you received text messages during the last strike, nothing has changed. If you didn’t receive any and you swore you signed up, please make sure you have added the phone number 1 (833) 849-0390 to your contacts.
If you have not signed up to receive text messages, you can do that by clicking HERE.
Educational Opportunities
There are two upcoming Local educational opportunities: the pension seminar (deadline to apply is May 28th at 5 pm) and Advanced Shop Steward (deadline to apply is June 9th at 5 pm). For more information and for a digital copy of the application, click HERE.
There are also two Regional educational opportunities: Observer Training (trains members in how to be an observer for a letter carrier restructure and enhances knowledge of the Letter Carrier Route Measurement System) and Advanced Shop Steward. To read the full poster, click HERE. For an application, click HERE. The deadline to get this application into the Local office is June 9th at 5 pm.
Stand with Safeway Workers and UFCW Local 401
UFCW Local 401 is asking for support for Safeway workers after the company that owns Safeway has used a flawed court decision to clawback raises and wages that employees have already earned.
UFCW has shared a few steps for how you can show your support. Buy groceries from Safeway and let the cashier know that you support their fight for better pay. Go to customer service and ask to speak to the store manager (not a part of the union) and let them know that you support Safeway workers and the company needs to reverse this rollback.
For more information, you can visit faircheckout.ca.
Reminders
- Now is the time to get prescriptions filled. Read the bulletin HERE.
- Local Special Assessment: Our Local’s special assessment will be suspended from July 2025 to June 2026.
- Education for All!: For more information about this campaign, click HERE.
- Disability Supports: To access the Disability Supports portal, which provides a list of programs and services in your community, click HERE.
- Union Savings: To take part in these savings, you can register at unionsavings.ca/