RSMC Negotiations – Preparations Continue

The pre-negotiations regional conferences are underway across the country and discussions are moving along. The resolutions adopted at these conferences will be forwarded to the national office for consideration by the committee responsible for preparing demands, which will be meeting in August. The program of demands will then be adopted by the National Executive Board and submitted to members in a referendum that will take place in early fall.

A SEASONED NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE

At its last meeting, the National Executive Board selected the members of the Negotiating Committee. Our national constitution provides as follows regarding the composition of this Committee:

“6.11  The National Executive Board shall appoint such members of the Negotiating Committee, taking into account criteria with regard to experience in preparation, hearing and arbitration of grievances and experience relating to any other matter regarding the negotiation of a collective agreement. The Negotiating Committee must be composed of at least one woman, one francophone and one anglophone.”

The sisters and brothers who were chosen meet these criteria.

Sister Nancy Beauchamp is a National Representative for the Metro-Montreal Region. This is her third time as a member of the Committee. She has an excellent knowledge of the RSMC collective agreement and has prepared and pleaded cases at arbitration.

Sister Barbara McMillan, President of the Arnprior-Renfrew Local, will be sitting on the Committee for a second time. She has facilitated the RSMC collective agreement course on several occasions. She is also a trainer on the reaching device and is currently involved in the Sortation and Delivery Value Study (Letter 3).

Sister Zaimene Carter is President of the Milton Local, and will be sitting for the first on the Committee. A long-time rural letter carrier, she has personally lived through all of the changes in work methods and has faced the employer directly. Sister Carter has played a very active role in the fight against the employer’s plan to eliminate door-to-door delivery.

Brother Peter Butcher, President of the Chilliwack Local, will be sitting on the Committee for the first time. He knows the problems faced by RSMC on the job and has dealt with the employer in all kinds of union-related matters. He also has grievance-related experience.

These four members will join Peter Denley, National Grievance Officer, and George Floresco, Chief Negotiator, as members of the RSMC Negotiating Committee.

The Board has also decided to appoint Sister Manon Gagné, President of the Haut‑du-Lac Local, as Technical Assistant to the Committee.

TOGETHER, WE WILL WIN

We all know how important these negotiations will be. To effectively prepare for this round, we not only need to get involved in the debates, but also in the political struggle to protect the postal service. That means getting involved in the Save Canada Post campaign and the coming federal elections to get rid of the Harper government.

The struggle continues.

In solidarity,