The Common Sense Conservative

The place for common sense conservative talk. Conservative way of thinking should not be looked upon by the masses and especially by the mainstream media as some evil. In fact most people still believe they are conservative in nature but do not align themselves with the far right agenda that has crept into our political systems. Nor do they feel they fall under the far left agenda, so a new way of thinking is emerging, called Common Sense Conservatism!

Showing posts with label Postal Union. Show all posts

Saturday, 25 June 2011

Another Union Learning That We Won't Put Up With It

Canada Post forced back to work1

BY MARK DUNN ,SENIOR NATIONAL REPORTER

FIRST POSTED: SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2011 8:29:26 EDT PM

Canada Post forced back to work — Locked out postal workers rally at a Canada Post facility in Toronto, Ont., June 16, 2011. (ERNEST DOROSZUK/QMI Agency)

OTTAWA - Mail service will resume early this week after a 58-hour Opposition filibuster ended Saturday night when MPs passed a contentious bill to end a national postal disruption.

The bill still needs to be rubber-stamped by the Senate and given Royal Assent - a process that begins Sunday. Labour Minister Lisa Raitt said in the Commons mail would begin moving 24 hours after that.

The dispute pitted worker's collective bargaining rights against the government's refusal to cow to labour and highlighted the ideological polarization of the current configuration of Parliament between the governing Conservatives and Opposition New Democrats.

The forecast of the filibuster's defeat came after the Canadian Union of Postal Workers asked the NDP to salvage what it could from back-to-work legislation after new talks between the union and Canada Post broke down to end the lockout-strike.

The Conservatives rejected amendments the union asked the NDP to bring forward and voted 158-113 to pass Bill C-6.

Meetings between federal mediators and conciliators at the insistence of Raitt earlier Saturday had also collapsed when Canada Post refused to budge from its position.

Union president Denis Lemelin told NDP Leader Jack Layton in a letter that the union was throwing in the towel because of what he described as an "intransigent" employer.

"Given these circumstances, we believe it would be appropriate for you to introduce amendments which would at least remove the most offensive aspects of this legislation," Lemelin wrote.

The union wanted an imposed wage settlement in the bill changed to reflect the better offer that was on the table before negotiations broke off last Wednesday.
It also wanted language changed that gives an arbitrator wide powers.

A spokeswoman for the corporation said no future talks are planned.

"We had a meeting with the union ... and it was clear that we remain far, far apart on several issues," said Anick Losier.

The NDP began its filibuster - a procedural stalling tactic -Thursday night to obstruct the bill. The NDP has also said it wanted to delay its passage to give the union and corporation a window to reach a deal outside of Parliament.

Mark.Dunn@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: MarkDunnSun

Typical NDP/UNION B.S.!!!

Typical NDP/union B.S. The union has to figure out that snail mail is not attractive to anyone anymore. I suggest getting rid of the legislation that allows for not competition for Canada post. I am sure most people don't realize that there is laws in place that do not allow FedEx, Purolator and UPS to match Canada Posts prices. Get rid of the legislation and let Canada post run like any other business in the land! The union will soon find out that their jobs were protected by government and that if they are to compete they would have to take cuts in wage, pension and benefits. Let competition run and all of Canada would be a much better place because of it. Maybe we would be able to have shipping costs like they do in the States and pretty much anywhere else in this world?

Posties to NDP: thanks for stalling back-to-work law

BY AMY MINSKY, POSTMEDIA NEWS JUNE 25, 2011 6:42 PM

More Images »

Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) members dance during a protest outside the building of Canada Post's Vancouver Main Post Office in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, June 17, 2011.

Photograph by: Jason Lee, Reuters

OTTAWA — Unionized Canada Post employees thanked the NDP on Saturday for delaying a vote on legislation to send the 50,000 locked-out workers back on the job.

In a letter to NDP leader Jack Layton, the president of the union said the stalling tactics bought them time, but it hasn’t been enough to end the impasse.

“During the evening of June 24, we held extensive discussions,” Denis Lamelin wrote, noting the union, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt and federal mediation services also met Saturday morning. “Despite your efforts and the support and solidarity activities of tens of thousands of people across the country, the negotiations were unsuccessful.”

New Democrat MP Yvon Godin said Saturday the party was pleased it was able to give the workers “three days’ space.

“This discussion created negotiations between the union of the postal workers and the Canada Post. Sadly, negotiations broke.”

Because the feuding sides haven’t been able to reach an agreement, the union has asked the NDP to move the process forward so amendments to the bill can be introduced.

NDP deputy leader Thomas Mulcair said his party would now begin to propose amendments to parts of the bill — specifically the wage increases government wrote into it.

The wage increases Raitt proposed were lower than the most recent offer Canada Post put on the table.

This movement brings Canadians one step closer to having their mail service back, but if the ruling Conservatives and Opposition are still not willing to play ball, the filibuster, which has tied up the House of Commons since Thursday evening, will continue.

The Liberals said they, too, will be presenting amendments to the bill, but wouldn’t say whether they would support those brought by the NDP.

Layton launched into his first stalling tactic around 8:30 p.m. Thursday when he presented the “hoist motion,” which would have put the bill to bed — as if it had been defeated — for six months.

As soon as Raitt introduced the bill on Monday — less than one week after the employees were locked out — the NDP vowed to draw out the debate to allow postal workers and their managers more time to strike their own deal instead of being bound to one written by the government.

Opposition MPs have condemned the bill’s proposed wage hikes, and the bill as a whole, saying they undermine the right to collective bargaining.

But the main sticking point over the bill is the wage settlements the federal government has written in.

Canada Post locked out its employees on June 14, after the Canadian Union of Postal Workers conducted 12 days of rotating strikes.

The Crown corporation blamed the two weeks of rotating strikes for estimated losses of $100 million.

Canada Post and the union went through seven months of failed negotiations before the rotating strikes began.

Aside from wages, changing the sick leave plan has also caused contention between the two sides; Canada Post had fought for a short-term disability plan to replace the practice of banking sick days.

aminsky@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/amyminsk

more:http://www.canada.com/business/Posties+thanks+stalling+back+work/5006806/story.html#ixzz1QKxRx782

Wednesday, 22 June 2011

My Next Rant On Unions And My Common Sense Solution

In my previous post I brought up the fact that SGEU has decided to send it's crop adjusters out on strike at the moment they are needed the most by the people in Saskatchewan. By doing so, Bob Bymoen is holding the people of Saskatchewan hostage in order to get what he wants.

The same is going on with the Cancer workers strike and of course the teachers did the same before agreeing to mediation. There are other strikes to come as the unions align themselves with the NDP going into the fall election.

Time of the unions is in the past, there is no such need for them anymore, no matter what spin the union heads want to put on it. There are labour relations boards, workers safety boards and more in place to make sure the workers are being treated fairly. This was once the job of unions, it was not to get into the political forum nor to hold the people hostage like they do today. Imagine if the members were able to keep their union dues and actually put that money to work for their families instead of going into advertising against a government or into the pockets of union heads?

What I suggest for the Sask government to do is bring in legislation ordering all striking unions back to work and then introducing right to work legislation. The unions will cry and take everything to court, further wasting their membership's dollars, but this is gaining a lot of traction in the U.S. and around the world. In today's world we have to compete against other nations who have become much more productive than us, more streamlined and cheaper labour costs. These other countries don't have the burden that unions have on our country and that gives them a huge advantage which further hurts our economy.

So what is my common sense solution to the union problems in Canada? Bring in right to work legislation which will kill the unions and then go to the workers and say you can have a collective voice from your membership to negotiate with the employers. Instead of having the right to strike, like a union does, have both sides go directly to mediation at least a year before the current contract is to expire. This can be done and should be by changing the legislation. The mediator would have to be approved by both sides and be from outside the province in order to make sure there is no influence one way or the other. If within 6 months there is still no contract then it goes to binding arbitration with the result being accepted by both sides. The fees paid by the membership would be very little as compared to today's membership dues. The labour side would hire a law firm when it comes time for negotiations instead of paying union heads and a bunch of cronies 24/7/365. The law firm would then take on direct negotiations with the employer and mediator.

By using this approach I thing the animosity between employer and employee would begin to heal and we can then concentrate on further progressing our province and nation instead of being held back by labour disputes. By changing the labour laws to allow for this type of process would allow the government and all employers for that matter to have more of a voice with it's employees, to be able to actually talk to them about where they are financially and what they need for concessions when it comes to pension reforms.

It is no secret that we as taxpayers need pension reforms from current labour contracts, the unfunded liabilities that they carry is unsustainable and if we don't do something now we may find ourselves looking at some very big austerity measures in the future. Entitlements have become the norm in this country and it needs to stop, for the better of our children's futures.

Thursday, 2 June 2011

On With Another Strike

I guess the postal union has not been told that their services are slowly but surely being replaced by economical, cheaper and more efficient methods?

Postal Union says strike will start in Winnipeg; small business scrambling

By LuAnn LaSalle, The Canadian Press – 19 minutes ago

OTTAWA — Businesses and charities were looking for alternatives and preparing for cash crunches after the union representing Canada Post workers said it will begin a series of rotating strikes late Thursday night in Winnipeg.

"Undoubtedly, there will be a lot of money caught in the system when the strike occurs that will just be basically halted and will remain in the mail," Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said.

"Cash flow issues to small businesses can be a pretty significant deal," said Kelly, the organization's senior vice-president.

Kelly estimated a postal strike will cost small businesses between $200 and $250 daily.

Both the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the Toronto-based Yonge Street Mission said they, along with other charities, will be seriously impacted by a postal strike.

The Yonge Street Mission said services it provides to Toronto's poorest people are funded through donations received in the mail.

"The strike could cost the charity approximately $56,000 each week it continues," Ann Barnard Ball, Mission development officer, said in a statement.

She said 70 per cent of the Yonge Street Mission's funding comes through the mail, but she did note that nearly $500,000 was raised last year through online donations.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation said a significant portion of donations are received through direct mail campaigns but added that donations can still be made over the phone or online.

"The postal strike will impede CWF's ability to communicate with many of its over 300,000 donors," said executive vice-president Wade Luzny.

The announcement of rotating strikes came as the Canadian Union of Postal Workers continued negotiations on a new labour contract with the government-owned corporation, as the clock ticked down to the 11:59 EDT strike deadline.

The union gave its required 72-hour notice on Monday and will use volunteers in some provinces to deliver government assistance cheques.

The union plans to hold a news conference in Ottawa on Friday morning to discuss negotiations and strike activities.

Canada Post spokesman John Caines said the Crown corporation remains hopeful that the two sides will reach a negotiated settlement.

"We are committed to getting an agreement and we're still working at it," Caines said from Ottawa.