President's Message November 2012
The Local distributed copies of the Urban Operations and Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers tentative agreements for the members to review before the votes take place on December 3, 2012, at the Sheraton Hotel in Hamilton for the Urban members, and on December 5, 2012, at the Holiday Inn in Burlington, for the Rural and Suburban members. The tentative agreements are posted on our Local website and can be found on the CUPW National website for viewing. The Local was not provided copies by the National office for every member but will distribute as many as we have.
The Local has been asked many questions by the membership about the upcoming votes and specifically what happens if the tentative agreements get voted down. If the Urban Operations tentative agreement gets voted down the current collective agreement will remain in effect until another arbitrator is appointed by the federal government and then hears submissions from both the Union and Management taking at least three months from that date putting us into the spring and summer of 2013. It is possible for the interest arbitration to be delayed beyond three months because the parties did not agree last summer to what issues were settled as required by the governments Bill C-6 force back legislation. It is also possible for the Union to challenge the appointment of another bias arbitrator delaying a new contract further. For the Rural and Suburban members if their tentative agreement gets voted down it does not mean they will be on strike. After a no vote the Union would likely conduct strike votes across the country while continuing to negotiate with Canada Post.
Urban members need to be aware that the Locals already have had a very negative experience trying to defend the membership against Canada Post's subcontractor Great West Life. Management has been using Great West Life to question members right to their sick time regardless of the rights under the collective agreement. Many members have already received the harassing phone calls from Great West Life when off sick. Many members have already heard, and received in threatening letters from Canada Post, the term “non compliance” in spite of providing timely medical. If this contract is passed Great West Life will have the right to deny you use of your sick credits without a grievance. In every offer the employer has made before and after the strike/lockout from last year they want to eliminate sick credits and have what they call short term disability which is a massive rollback. The only concession the employer has made on the issue is to agree to an independent third party medical review if appealed.
It is difficult to understand how any Union would advise its membership to vote in favour of an insurance company deciding if you are sick or not. An insurance company who does not examine you or have any medical history with you. The Union did not agree to short term disability for the Rural and Suburban members. Arbitrator Kellar imposed short term disability plan in the last re-opener of their contract. The Union's experience with the long term disability provider, Sun Life, has been when the number of claimants increase the number of denials increase. This is no surprise because a private insurance company does not make money when claims increase. Every Urban member has used sick time in their career because of the very physical nature of our job. The previous president of Canada Post, Moya Greene, cynically advised employees to save their sick time in case they needed it.
At this critical time management has decided that intimidation and bullying will force the membership to bend to their will. Letter carriers are currently being subjected to unrelenting overtime harassment by Canada Post. Management is telling all letter carriers when they put in overtime that it is “unwarranted” no matter if the volumes or circumstances justify it. Clerks are not getting proper rotation of duties and jobs are deleted monthly. Canada Post has not settled the unsafe two bundle grievance or the removal of the fatigue matting from the mail processing machines grievance.
If you have had enough of managements unprofessional and ungrateful attitude towards us then vote no. Vote no to management bullying. Vote no to management threats. Vote no to your pay being screwed up. Vote no to attendance harassment. Vote no to over time harassment. Vote no to insurance companies deciding your health instead of your doctor. Vote no to a corpulent prime minister who answers to the oil industry instead of hard working Canadians. Everyone knows if you do not say no to a bully, they will keep bullying you. We have the power with the stroke of a pen to tell Canada Post and the federal government they do not have the right to take away our constitutional right to collective bargaining. The only thing worst then having a very bad contract imposed on us is to voluntarily agree to a very bad contract. Make no mistake, if we agree to this the bar will be lower next contract and the employer will use the government again to force it on us unless we say no and vote them out of office.
In solidarity,
Mark Platt
President,
Hamilton Local 548