Postal unions say pass the Employee Free Choice Act
Postal unions from more than 12 different countries meeting in Ottawa, Canada, demanded that the US Embassy in Canada pass a message to the US State Deportment that unions around the world want to see the Employee Free Choice Act brought into law. The unions that have been meeting in Ottawa to discuss how workers and unions can deal with the rush of new technology being introduced in the postal industry, asked to meet the US Ambassador to Canada to pass on their message. Much of the discussion at the conference dealt with the devastating affects the Financial Crisis was having on the postal industry and the world's economies with the need for decent industrial relations in all countries in order that workers can be properly involved in developing strategies to restore order to the economy. They expressed their serious reservations that the US labour market is out of step with other countries with widespread unacceptable anti union activities and no real commitment to collective bargaining.
The conference had planned to send a delegation to the US Embassy to hand over their letter of concern and support for the Employee Free Choice Act, but the Embassy would not agree to meeting the delegation. Instead the unions demanded that they be able to discuss the issue with Embassy staff and a teleconference was set up so the message could be delivered from the conference. UNI Head of Post & Logistics, Neil Anderson, told the Embassy staff present on the call, that unions world wide were looking to the US to make decent laws that would allow unions to be able to operate in an environment that respects union rights and workers rights to have a union of their choice and for that union to be able to bargain in good faith on their behalf., He said that the financial crisis which had started in the US, needed brave decisions by US politicians to pout industrial relations on to a proper footing as workers could work with companies to find a way back to a decent economic base."