Canada Post wants CUPW to button up

Canada Post issued an intercom bulletin on December 1, 2005 which objects to CUPW's public campaign to stop the corporation from closing post offices and the Québec Mail Processing Plant.

The corporation is particularly upset by CUPW's letter to community newspapers and our campaign button Your public post office delivers-for now.

The button is not designed to be derogatory nor damaging to Canada Post's reputation. It is designed to raise public awareness about post office, outlet and plant closures so that people can take measures to protect their public post service before it is too late.

If you are given a direct order to remove your button, or if you are disciplined for wearing this button, see your shop steward immediately about filing a grievance.

Management's bulletin says "By drawing the public into the debate by asking employees to wear buttons, the union is sending the wrong message to our customers as we enter our busiest time of the year"

It says, "In order to defuse the campaign, the corporation is responding to every Union letter printed in community newspapers and will communicate with employees the negative affect their actions could have on our business and their jobs."

The bulletin completely ignores the fact that closures destroy public postal service and jobs and that the public has every right to be part of the debate about what happens to their post office.

CUPW thinks that an election is the perfect time to be debating the problems of public institutions like our post office. Elections are a good reminder that we enjoy certain rights in a democracy.

However, our rights go beyond merely checking a box on a ballot once every four or five years. One of our most fundamental democratic rights is the right to express our opinion about the decisions that governments and crown corporations make on our behalf - decisions like closures.

Community support for CUPW's vision

Thanks to our letter-writing campaign, over 3,000 municipal councils across Canada and Québec are debating the proposed closure of the Québec City plant, the maintenance of a public postal network and the demand for a uniform and democratic process for making changes to the Canada Post network.

To date, over 500 communities have democratically adopted resolutions in support of CUPW.

These communities have made it clear that they rely on the postal service and they do not wish to lose their post office. This debate is a good thing. What is Canada Post afraid of?

· We will continue to share our views with the public.
· We will continue to show that we support a public postal service.
· We will continue to fight for our jobs.

You can see how communities have responded to our campaign at www.publicpostoffice.ca