Union of Postal Communications Employees

On March 1, 1967, the Post Office Component, whose origin goes back to the convention meeting of the Railway Mail Clerks in Ottawa in November 1966, joined the Public Service Alliance of Canada. This makes the component and the PSAC the successors to the Canadian Railway Mail Clerks Federation founded in 1889 and the oldest union at Canada Post.

At the Postal Communications Component convention in Halifax in August 1975, the delegates voted unanimously to change the name of their component to the Union of Postal Communications Employees (UPCE).

UPCE represents approximately 3,800 members in Canada Post from St. John's, Nfld., to Victoria, B.C. They are organized into 4 regions and 24 Locals.

UPCE has members in 15 different occupational groups. The largest of these is the Clerical and Regulatory (CR) group with approximately 2,200 members representing over 50% of the total membership. They are employed mainly in an administrative support role in areas of pay and finance such as revenue collection and accounts payable and receivable. In addition, they perform many clerical duties familiar to other government workers such as time-keeping, general filing and office administration. Clerks in the stamp depots are also responsible for the distribution of philatelic values (stamps) to the various post offices and the destruction of out-dated issues. The clerks in the Philatelic Centre in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, fill orders of special issue commemorative stamps and First Covers Day for collectors from around the world.

Other groups in the administration category include Secretary-Stenographers (ST), Drafting and Design (DD), Information Services (IS), and Engineering Support (EG-ESS).

The UPCE, as do the other Components of the PSAC, holds a national convention every three years at which time delegates from all the Locals establish the budget and policy of the Union and elect the National Executive. The executive is composed of: a President, a Director for each of the four regions and the Human Rights Director. All of the National Officers, except the Human Rights Director are full-time.

Revised 11/95