October 10, 2025
to: All Locals – Pacific Region
from: Stephen Gale – Regional Grievance Officer
re: Respectful Communication and Our Struggle
The past two years have been very difficult and frustrating for all CUPW members. This round of negotiations has been the strangest and longest that I have experienced in my over 26 years with CUPW. As many of you know, I served on three Negotiating Committees, and I have seen a lot of anger and frustration from our members. We all have the right to our own opinions and the right to disagree with decisions of our elected representatives including our National Executive Board (NEB). We do not have the right to publicly and personally attack any member of our Union.
There are many ways to express your disagreement with the decisions made by our NEB including letters and emails to the NEB. Going on social media and personally attacking individual members of the NEB is not one of those ways. Remember, all decisions are made by a majority vote of the NEB and not one individual. When writing to the NEB or members of the NEB, there is no need for foul or abusive language.
Everyone in elected positions in our Union is a postal worker that came from the work floor. We all do our best to represent the members that elected us and to make decisions based on what we think the members want and what is best for our members. We may not always get it right and some members will always disagree with the decisions made.
We need to remember who we are fighting against and focus our energy on that fight. We are fighting against both Canada Post management and the Federal Government. The interference in our negotiations by this Government is unprecedented and we need our full collective power to fight back. When we all stand together, we are unbeatable. We showed that strength and determination in 2014 when we all stood together and engaged the public to ‘Save Door To Door’ delivery.
Now 11 years later we must take on this same fight again, plus the fight to save our Rural Post Offices. This is our primary fight now and not trying to negotiate with an employer that refuses to negotiate. We need to win this battle to save thousands of our jobs, and then we will be in a better position to negotiate the Collective Agreements that will protect our working conditions and allow us to afford to live in our communities.
I know some of you will not agree with what I wrote here, which is fine. These are my opinions and like all of us I am free to express my opinions in a reasonable and respectful manner. I have disagreed with many NEB decisions over the years, and I have let them know that by sending letters and emails. I never personally attacked the individuals in these positions. Please treat every member of our Union with respect and focus your energy on going after our real enemies, Canada Post and the Government.
The Struggle Definitely Continues!