Saturday March 21, 2020

Friends

I just wanted to let you all know what has been going on in the Pacific Regional office.

Local Executive members and LJHSC’s are doing an amazing job of holding local management accountable and making sure that they are adhering to national directives, and ensuring to the best of their abilities that member’s health and safety is protected. Any issues that can’t be resolved locally are being escalated to the region.

In the Regional office, Cindy, Wes, Angel, Jennifer, and Emily have been calling all the locals checking in and assisting in any way they can. They are answering emails, texts and phone calls from locals and members, and also dealing with CPC. At the end of each day they write a report on what’s going on in the areas they are responsible for, so that I am able to forward that to the National Executive Board, so that everyone is kept up to date as to what is happening in the Pacific Region. Jessica Dempster had been working on all our STDP appeals since the vacancy of the education and organization officer position, but has stepped up to assist us in these challenging times. I am so appreciative of them, they are holding the Pacific region together.

I was on a videoconference call almost every day last week. National Directors and the National Officers held two full days of discussions dealing solely with the Covid-19 crisis, making decisions that protect the health and safety and income of members across the country. The other meetings involved the regions reporting on what is going on in their regions. Our National President Jan Simpson, along with National Grievance officer Carl Girouard have also been, most days several times a day, meeting with the employer to fight for key issues like access to paid special leave for childcare issues and ensuring the health of members who are especially vulnerable due to their health condition and/or age.

I am disheartened to see personal attacks on social media against many elected Union Reps. These are unprecedented times and things are changing daily, sometimes hourly and by the second. We won’t ever be able to do enough, I understand these are troubling times with so much anxiety about how we ensure the health and safety of ourselves, our families, friends and co-workers. We are all worried about our financial security and what will happen tomorrow. To me this just reinforces how much we need to stick together and look out for each other. That’s what CUPW does.

We are the frontline workers. We are the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. We are an essential service. We are making sure that all Canadians, no matter where they live get what they require be it supplies, prescriptions, or care packages. In some cases we are people’s lifeline to the outside world.

I want to end with thanking each and every one of you for everything you have done during this declared state of emergency in BC. I am so proud to be a member of CUPW, and you are all amazing!

In Solidarity,

Coleen Jones