East Kootenay District Labour Council members joined striking members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers on the picket line in Cranbrook on today, Friday December 13, in a show of solidarity.
Most recently, Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to step into the contract dispute to get a settlement or legislate workers back onto the job.
“A lot of us are pretty disappointed. We’ve been out here for four weeks now, and it seems like the government is just kicking the can down the road to deal with later,” said CUPW Local 728 Vice President Weston Dunwell.
“We want some change and they’re just telling us they need us right now, so we have to get back to work.”
Workers went on strike on November 15, with plans to keep services running, but Dunwell says Canada Post stopped that possibility.
“This is really more of a lockout rather than us walking out. The intention of our union was to go with rotating strikes, but as soon as we announced that we wanted to go on strike, Canada Post put their lockout notice in, took away our benefits and was going to lay people off,” said Dunwell.
Dunwell says the union wants to come to the negotiating table, but the company must be willing to give some leeway.
“The union has always been willing to negotiate, but Canada Post has dug their heels in and there’s certain things like wages, the separate sort and delivery and weekend work that they are unwilling to negotiate on,” said Dunwell.
“It’s been a one-sided thing where they want us to move, but they’re not going to. You can’t negotiate that way.”
A major sticking point for workers is a wage increase, which Dunwell says is long overdue.
“We haven’t had a raise in two years now and inflation has been going crazy. We’re just asking to keep up with inflation and Canada Post wants to be well below that,” said Dunwell.
Workplace health safety is another significant negotiating point.
“There’s something called ‘separate sort and delivery’ that Canada Post is trying to push through. It involves letter carriers having to deliver for a full eight-hour shift of walking,” said Dunwell.
“They’re walking upwards of 35 kilometres on days like that, and it’s just not safe on the body in the long term. They’re also expecting carriers to deliver into the evening and after dark.”
Dunwell says the union is also negotiating against part-time who would work one to two days per week.
“They want very flexible employees who are not going to have meaningful work. The union wants people to have meaningful, full-time work,” said Dunwell.
“The way the economy is going and with all these delivery companies coming in, minimum wage and cut-rate pay is not what our economy needs. We need meaningful jobs that can support a family.”
With the strike lingering into a second month, workers have needed to seek other opportunities to make ends meet.
“I want to thank the other unions in the Labour Council. They brought food hampers with Christmas dinners for the postal workers who have been on strike for the last month. It’s very much appreciated and much needed for many of us,” said Dunwell.
“Many of us have had to find second jobs just to put food on the table and pay our mortgages.”
If striking workers are ordered back on the job, their existing contract will be extended until May 22, 2025.
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