Members of multiple unions staged a solidarity rally outside Yellowknife’s downtown post office on Friday as a postal strike crossed into a third week of action.
On the picket line outside the post office, members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said time was almost up for any hope of moving northerners’ mail before Christmas.
“I almost think it’s already too late but, worst-case scenario, come Monday morning, we should be back to work if we’re going to save anything at all for the Christmas period,” said Loretta Kaminski, who works at the Yellowknife post office.
“In my mind, even just for Yellowknife to the south? Monday.”
Kaminski said she had little optimism that anyone would be returning to work that day.
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Talks between Canada Post and the union collapsed this week, with each side criticizing the other in a series of statements. Officials said there was no point in negotiations continuing for the time being as the sides remained so far apart.
“I hope they can get back to the table and just figure it out,” said Danielle Hawes, who works at the mail processing plant near Yellowknife’s airport. “Hopefully they can reach some sort of agreement that both sides can agree on and makes everybody happy.”
Hawes thanked the public for their support on the picket line in this week’s frigid temperatures. Members of the Union of Northern Workers, Public Service Alliance of Canada and Northern Territories Federation of Labour joined CUPW members for Friday’s rally.
For Kaminski and colleague Julie Thibault, this is the third time they have each experienced a postal strike.
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“We all ought to be at work right now. There’s a lot of northern communities getting access to nothing because we are their main hub,” said Thibault.
“Other than that, we’ll just keep trying to wait it out and hope for the best.”
Kaminski said she is due to retire in five months’ time after a quarter of a century with the organization.
“This is not the way I wanted to go out,” she said, accusing Canada Post of “playing more hardball now than they ever did before” in previous labour disputes.
Canada Post began issuing records of employment and temporarily laying off workers this week, which Kaminski said was a tactic not seen before, questioning its legality. (“Due to CUPW’s ongoing national labour disruption and the significant impact on the company, we have made adjustments to our operations,” a spokesperson for the company said earlier, confirming the layoffs.)
On Wednesday, the CUPW said on its website: “Canada Post refuses to drop its proposed rollbacks that will create a second class of worker and undermine good, full-time jobs. As a Crown corporation, Canada Post needs to lead by example, not engage in a race to the bottom with multinational corporate giants.”
In an emailed statement on Thursday, Canada Post wrote in part: “We understand the impact CUPW’s national strike is having on so many Canadians. We remain committed to negotiating new agreements that let all employees focus on the future, without adding new fixed costs that will hamper our future.”
