Monday October 7 2019

What CUPW is doing and why

As the majority of CUPW members work in the federal public sector, we have a stake in many federal election issues. As well, the question of how to address climate change is a major issue in 2019, which means that our Delivering Community Power campaign is a good fit for introducing service expansion, postal banking, along with building a greener postal service.

Once again CUPW asked all the major federal parties a series of questions about the postal service, worker rights, public policy issues that affect us. We posed many questions this year, because the issues and our goals are broader – it’s not a matter of fighting service cuts like it was in 2015, but rather a question of vision for the future.

Numerous Issues

The first two questions focus on the environmental and service expansion components of Delivering Community Power. In some of the party’s responses, you can see the positive impact we’ve achieved with the campaign.
Question three is about restoring door-to-door service where it was cut under the previous Conservative government. We promised not to forget the people who lost this important service and we’re doing what we can to keep it on the federal agenda.

Question four is about back-to-work legislation. Liberal and Conservative governments have both used back-to-work legislation, and we can see the differences between how those two parties talk about supporting workers’ rights, as well as commitments from the other parties.

The fifth question addresses the need for postal banking. The sixth is about protecting defined-benefit pensions (like the Canada Post Corporation Pension Plan) and retirement security. Question seven is about protecting and improving postal services for rural communities. Eight is about the threat of postal deregulation and privatization – which has been unpopular lately, but we stay alert.

The Report Card

Except for the Conservatives, the parties have replied with their policy commitments. Now that we have their positions on our issues, we will make a communications push in the weeks remaining to make sure that all members know how our votes affect our life at work and the future of our jobs. You can find our report card summarizing the responses on CUPW bulletin boards and on cupw.ca

Please talk to your family, friends and neighbours about how these issues affect you and all of us as workers.

It’s not too late to get involved! Ask your local or your regional coordinator how you can help make a difference this year – for our jobs, for the planet, and for your family’s future. And make sure to vote on Monday, October 21!

AUTHORIZED BY THE OFFICIAL AGENT FOR THE CANADIAN UNION OF POSTAL WORKERS.

Canadian Union of Postal Workers • 377 Bank Street • Ottawa, ON  K2P 1Y3 • (613) 236-7238

Solidarity,

Jan Simpson
National President