My fellow CUPW members:

It’s an honour to be able to write my first monthly Presidents bulletin. The beginning of the New Year has presented many challenges for me in my new role however with the help of many and the tremendous support of the Local the steep learning curve is surmountable.

First and most importantly let me comment on the ongoing URBAN collective bargaining negotiations. The early indications are that some minor progress has been made however it’s essential the local prepare itself for any job action. The local is well underway in its strike preparation including identifying and training of Picket captains and preparing picket lists.  Matters such as the timing of a strike vote and strike pay will be worked out in co-operation with regional and national Union wings. I and the other full time officers will be attending a national meeting in Toronto on the first weekend of February to discuss many of these issues.

It should be noted the current collective agreement will remain in Effect after the January 31st expiry date until the two sides are in a legal strike or lockout position.

In regards to a couple of specific topics which have come out of the talks I would like to briefly explore three of the most contentious.

• Don’t be fooled…The Corporation’s offer of a corporate team incentive is simply a poor substitute for a meaningful wage increase.
With regular wage increases, your hourly rate grows year by year,
With the so-called CTI your base salary doesn’t grow.
Calgary’s inflation rate is the highest in the Canada and our members need a significant wage hike not a modest “lump sum” paid at Canada Posts Discretion.
• The employer is proposing a small cash incentive for workers who use less than 10 % of their sick-time over the course of the contract.
This in not just bad economics for our members it’s also socially irresponsible. At a time when Public health officials around the world are warning of the dangers of flu pandemics and such it’s unacceptable that Canada Post would be offering a monetary incentive to show up for work sick. Sick time was a hard fought
Victory for organized Labour, this is no time for a step back.
• Letter carriers are facing heavier workloads as a result of increased volumes of unaddressed admail. Carrying more weight and delivering more mail to more households is having a devastating Impact on the health of our members.  To address the problems of over-burdening due to unaddressed admail, CUPW is demanding increased time values. This will ensure that, over time, a letter carrier’s route will be adjusted in response to increases in admail volumes.
This contract round is highly important for all of us however it’s especially critical for groups 3 and 4. After years of watching the numbers of CUPW members in these positions decline because of the Employers determination to contract out the work and not keep up with pay rates in the private sector its crucial that these issues be positively addressed.
RSMC’S:
The local is currently aggressively involved in trying to deal with the multitude of issues facing our RSMC members. We are working with regional on a plan to delay route splits until a route measurement system can be developed. I recently wrote Tom Dixon requesting a suspension of route splits until these and other issues could be meaningfully consulted however as of this writing no response has been received.
Finally, these next few weeks will be somewhat stressful and frustrating for all of us, but it’s important to remember the many people in our union who have gone before us and the huge personal sacrifices they made to bring about what we enjoy today and often take for granted. We owe it to ourselves as union members to model our personal behavior in a matter consistent with goals of the trade union movement worldwide. What we wish for ourselves let us desire for others. Respect each other and work together for our shared well being.
I hope to meet many of you in the near future and remember my door is open to all members.

In solidarity,
R. Scobel
Robert Scobel, President, CUPW-Calgary Local
 

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