Our Collective Strength – Learning from the Past to Build the Future

Happy New Year! Together, our collective strength has seen us through another year.

Looking back, as the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, we’re proud of our accomplishments in 2022 especially given all the challenges of still being in a pandemic world, global injustices, growing inequality. We continue to think globally and act locally. We put pressure on Canada Post Corporation to improve their climate action; negotiated improvements for Bee-Clean workers in the Atlantic region and TForce workers in B.C.; launched the new Disability Supports resource network (https://www.disability-supports.ca/); saw the first community hubs at post offices; acted as part of a groundswell of support and solidarity for CUPE Ontario education workers with the Ford government’s assault on free collective bargaining; and achieved a hold on the unsafe Publisac delivery in Québec.

Looking ahead, in 2023 we see the need for another year of mobilizing our members and building solidarity, so we are ready to face the challenges we know are ahead of us.

As part of our action strategy, last fall we appointed eight regional organizers for the “Building Worker Power” campaign.  They’ve been trained and are, in the field, , organizing work floors, listening to our member’s concerns and suggestions to co-create with members action plans to demand improvements in our working conditions. This internal organizing and mobilization are the foundation of our success now and in future bargaining and local actions. We invite and encourage you, if you haven’t already, got involved by going to https://bwp.cupw.ca/ to contact your Regional Organizer. (George Nickerson – Atlantic, 902-483-6237; Richard Martin – Québec, 581-459-1024; Thomas David-Bashore – Montréal, 438-462-7021; Cristina Ionescu –  Central,  343-597-0361; Asim Malik – Ontario, 519-476-6921; Mary Hylton – Toronto,  437-425-1156; James Ball – Prairie, 431-336-6627; Ellen Bowles – Pacific, 778-228-1864)

We also built momentum last year on the Delivering Community Power campaign (https://www.deliveringcommunitypower.ca/) – to reimagine the post office with services for every community. Some of the elements of this vision are coming into place – electrifying the fleet, financial services, and community hubs. Other Union initiatives to strengthen the campaign will soon be on the bargaining table with Canada Post Corporation.

Negotiations are on the horizon for all our bargaining units, so planning has begun. The Urban and RSMC units have less than a year left in the renewal agreements, therefore we’ll be serving notice to bargain in late 2023. We will keep you informed as the process will soon get underway to formulate demands for bargaining with CPC and appoint our negotiators.

Another very important event in the life of CUPW coming up May 1-5 is our National Convention! Once again delegates will gather in Toronto from every local across the land. National Convention is the highest decision-making body in our union, where, after much discussion and debate we democratically set the agenda and action plan for the next 4 years. Regions have already held pre-convention conferences, preparations are in full swing, and we are excited to finally be able to come together to set the CUPW agenda.

We are pleased to announce we have resumed the in-person Union Education Program and other forms of communication to engage and stay in touch with members across the country that had to be modified or interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We know we aren’t “out of the woods” yet, but we have been resilient in how we have faced the challenges of the last three years, demonstrated by our accomplishments, and collectively we are ready for 2023!

I wish each member peace, health, and happiness in 2023. Thank you for being engaged in our struggle, and your generosity of spirit adapting, as we quickly had to adapt to address a pandemic world we had not experienced before. Please stay informed and reach out anytime, as we approach bargaining.

In solidarity, 

Jan Simpson