Introducing your Delivering Community Power campaign coordinators

CUPW’s Delivering Community Power campaign has for many years shared big ideas to change not only the post office, but the world. Our ideas attracted not only fellow postal workers, but we gained supporters in government, within community, social justice and environmental organizations, and in hundreds of municipalities.

The latest phase of this campaign, Reimagining Canada Post with services to support every community, was born out of our desire to connect Delivering Community Power more significantly to ours jobs and working conditions. Our ideas reflect not only our desire to protect the environment and help communities, but in a way that creates new, sustainable, unionized jobs.

To meet our newest goals, new coordinators were brought on to attract even more support and create a post-COVID-19 just transition!

Lydia Tabard P0-4, Léo Blanchette Plant, Montreal (National Coordinator)

This campaign is about our future as postal workers and as Canadians. At stake are our jobs, our working conditions and the quality of service we should be offering. We must make our voices heard and, above all, make Canada Post listen to reason. We want to stop the destructive model they have set in motion, and make them see that we must stop thinking about cost savings and consider expanding services if we want to survive. I joined this campaign because I sincerely believe in it, and I know that with everyone’s support, we will win this new battle.

Scott Gaudet Atlantic, P04 retail clerk, Summerside, PEI (Atlantic Region)

I would like to reach as many members as possible and empower postal workers. To be successful, we need to build support in every community, organization, groups and municipalities to pressure the governmnet to initiate the many great ideas proposed in the campaign to help us in our goal to become champions of a post-covid just transition. This campaign belongs to CUPW and its members should take a lot of pride in the forward-thinking approach of the idea proposed within it.

Kate Holowatiuk Letter carrier, Victoria (Pacific Region)

Delivering community power is a model of how to connect where we work, live and play with priorities of worker solidarity, climate action, and the preservation of public services.

I am passionate about furthering the strength of our membership through education and community engagement, and it’s with this passion that I will bring the campaign to the success it deserves.

Hugo Charette Montreal, letter carrier, Chabanel (Metro-Montreal Region)

The climate emergency cannot be ignored; inaction is not an option. More than ever, unions must mobilize to be part of the solution in this struggle that affects us all. We must ensure that we have a long-term vision for the public postal service. Diversification will put us in a better position and will make us more resilient in the face of the many changes to come. As a coordinator, I am motivated by my deep belief that Delivering Community Power is directly linked to the sustainability of our jobs and the future of our planet, and that service expansion must be at the heart of our demands.

Laurie Toms P0-4, Brockville (Ontario Region)

This campaign is member driven and community driven. Delivering Community Power is a campaign that has been around for quite some time. We continue to work on the issue of expanding financial services with Postal Banking. We plan to reintroduce our Seniors Check-In service. We need to create community hubs where people can access the services they need from Canada Post, such as access to Internet services and financial services. We also need to ask Canada Post to do their part in helping to clean up our environment, greening their fleet with electric vehicles. The key to this campaign is “service”, while working to expand services to our communities we are working to keep Canada Post financially sustainable and in return creating more jobs and securing the future of all our members.

Derek Richmond PO 4 YDC Scarborough (Ontario region)

We have been promoting Postal Banking, Community Hubs, greening our Post Offices and Delivering Community Power to Canadians over the past few years and need your support so we all can have a secure pension, job creation and a clean environment and a secure future working at Canada Post. We were successful in 2015 against Harper Government, we will succeed again.

Brahm Enslin RSMC Depot 4 Saskatoon (Prairies region)

I will leave no stone unturned with unique methods of engagement to ensure the campaign has the best chance at success and that we have a lasting roadmap to continue this good work as time goes on. We have the power to change how Canada Post operates into an environmentally sustainable, profitable service for all of our communities and the time is now!

Michel Côté Letter carrier, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Quebec Region)

I am conducting this campaign for those who have their whole future ahead of them, the young people who, among other things, have an environmental vision and who are astonished to see the employer’s inaction with respect to the electrification of our fleet of vehicles. Moreover, I have always believed that Canada Post must evolve and build on its strengths and offer more in our communities. We must fight to consolidate our role as a leader in parcel and mail delivery and that means sustainable and reliable innovation.

It is not acceptable for leaders to sit back and do nothing. I have long noted that many of you have been calling for CUPW to explore these avenues and I believe it is the right time to do so in order to reach out to all workers who are the ultimate force of the labour movement. Our vision for the future makes sense, and just as we did with the "Save Canada Post" campaign, we will win! Our jobs and working conditions depend on it!