June marks the beginning of Pride Season – a time of community, education, and of course, celebration. But the story of Pride is so much bigger than rainbows and parades. It’s important to remember that Pride started as a riot – a rebellion against the discrimination of Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex…
Sisters, Brothers: This year, the heatwaves have come much earlier in some areas of the country. This is certainly welcomed with great optimism following the dark period we went through last winter with the virus and its more contagious variants. But while much of our attention is focused on COVID-19, we still have to face…
CUPW members across the country are deeply saddened by the attack June 7 in London, ON. There is no place for Islamophobia or any hateful ideologies in the society we are fighting to build. Our thoughts today are with surviving relatives, neighbours, and dear ones of the deceased, and with Muslims throughout our society. We…
The National Executive Board has appointed its Rural and Suburban Mail Carrier (RSMC) Negotiation Committee members for 2021–2022. Four members will be joining Sister Nancy Beauchamp, Chief Negotiator. GAYLE KLASSEN The extensive experience Gayle has acquired, mostly outside CUPW, will come in handy for her first role as an RSMC negotiator. She has worked closely…
The National Executive Board has appointed the Negotiation Committee members who will represent the Urban Unit during the 2021–2022 round of negotiations. The five members, which include a technical aid, will be joining Sister Lana Smidt, recently appointed Chief Negotiator for the Urban Operations bargaining unit, bringing diversity and a wealth of experience. Carl Girouard,…
As the Canadian colonial project continues to unfold, horrors like the mass grave found by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation continue to emerge. But to uncover and face the truth is part of the way forward, and we hear and join the call from many Indigenous leaders to find and document the gravesites of…
On this day a year ago, CUPW, and the labour movement as a whole, lost an activist, a mentor, a trailblazer, and a friend. Megan Whitfield was a long-time postal worker and labour activist who dedicated her life to improving the lives of working people. She was a dynamic and fearless leader who was at…
Commemorating this day allows us to ensure such a tragedy is never repeated again. The Tamil community in the country is one of the largest concentrations of Tamils outside southeast Asia. Tamil-Canadians have families still suffering in their homeland in the north and east of the island of Sri Lanka. They have lost their loved…
For months, CUPW has been advocating for vaccine priority for post and logistics workers to provincial governments and public health units. We continue this effort, by engaging relevant authorities every chance we get. Our persistence has paid off and mobile vaccination clinics are finally making their way to some Canada Post facilities. A mobile vaccine…
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is the largest bargaining unit at Canada Post and represents over 61,000 proud members who care about the future of the Corporation. CUPW has developed a bold and inspiring vision for the future of the public postal service, making it a source of inspiration, pride, and confidence for…
Antonia Urrejola Noguera IACHR Commissioner Washington D.C. Michelle Bachelet United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights #SOSColombia On behalf of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers we express our deepest concern for the brutal and atrocious events that have occurred in Colombia in the past days, and our utter rejection of armed violence in the…
Two years ago today, we opened the 2019-2023 CUPW National Convention, and less than a week later, I was elected CUPW National President. It has been the most exciting and amazing time, but also stressful and sometimes scary. Every day, I am reminded what an honour and a privilege it is to lead this Union…
We now know that local management, as well as a small group of CUPW members were involved in the organization and participation of at least two social gatherings in postal facilities in the GTA. These gatherings have exposed serious compliance issues of the many health and safety measures in place at all facilities. The current…
CUPW has been working with Canada Post on developing an Environmental Action Plan. Canada Post has expressed willingness to collaborate with CUPW and representatives from other bargaining agents to develop a strong environmental strategy for Canada Post Corporation. Though progress has been made in developing a collaborative Environmental Action Plan, we also cannot overlook some…
Asian Heritage Month has been celebrated since the 1990s, but the Canadian government officially recognized May as Asian Heritage Month in 2002. In 2001, May was also declared South Asian Heritage Month in Ontario, further evidence that the Asian diaspora is important to our society. For South Asians, the month of May has been a…
This is Canadian Mental health week. Yet anxiety, depression and other sorts of mental disorders are with us every day of the year. This is no less so, with this pandemic which continues to plague the working class, especially frontline workers. Under normal circumstances, 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 5 children suffer from…
Canada Post recently asked CUPW members to complete an equity survey. There is a reason for this. Historically, certain communities have been left out of Canada Post hiring. For example, the percentage of disabled and Indigenous people in our workplaces does not reflect those communities adequately or proportionally as a percentage of the population. There…
On May 5, the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, we honour the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across Turtle Island. It is chilling testament of colonialism that these sisters are taken and murdered on such a scale. Colonial tradition encourages police to look the other way…
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers condemns the Federal Government’s back-to-work legislation which undermines striking dock workers at the Port of Montreal rights to free and fair collective bargaining. “Back-to-work legislation accomplishes one thing – putting more power into the hands of the employers,” says Jan Simpson, CUPW National President. “Postal workers know this all…
Toronto – As the Toronto local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers commemorates co-workers lost to COVID-19, workers all across Peel want to know when someone will intervene in their pandemic nightmare. Preparing to lay commemorative wreaths at two hard-hit workplaces – Gateway Mail Processing Plant in Mississauga and South Central MPP in Toronto…
Every year, on April 28, we honour and remember the people who have died or been seriously injured at work by commemorating the International Day of Mourning. This year, CUPW mourns Brother Godfrey Yeung and Sister Theresa Griffith, postal workers who died after getting sick with COVID-19. Over the last 13 months, CUPW members have…
Media Advisory TORONTO – On Wednesday morning, representatives of the CUPW Toronto local will lay a wreath at the entrances of two area mail processing plants to commemorate postal workers fallen to the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers on shift will keep these co-workers in their thoughts as they observe a moment of silence on the work…
