Postal workers issue strike ultimatum
By Michael Wirischagin
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) declared Monday that its nearly 50,000 Canada Post employees will go on strike if a deal with the crown corporation is not reached by Thursday, June 2, at 11:59 p.m. eastern time, or 8:59 local time. CUPW has presented to Canada Post what it has called its “final offer” and has given notice of its intent to strike, required by the Canadian Labor Code, which puts CUPW in a legal position to take strike action if no settlement is reached at one-minute before midnight on June 2. In a press release issued by CUPW, National President Denis Lemilin says, “striking is our only real bargaining lever with Canada Post and we have concluded that we must give notice that we are willing to use our legal right to strike to get a decent contract that meets the needs of our members and preserves public postal service.” Lemilin also said that the union is willing to bargain right up to the strike deadline to get a contract based on its final offer, which means that a work stoppage could still be averted even though the union has given notice of its intent to strike. Grand Forks CUPW local 746 President Jessica Wirischagin echoed Lemilin in saying that she still has hope that a strike can be averted. “We here in Grand Forks are still hopeful that this situation can be rectified prior to the June 2 deadline. However, it has been seven months of negotiating, so by no means are we holding our breath, but we are holding out hope that a deal can still be struck,” said Wirischagin. Canada’s Labor Minister Lisa Raitt said in a statement Monday that she had been notified of the strike deadline and was concerned about the situation. “Any work stoppage would impact Canada’s well being,” said Raitt. “We are currently going through an economic recovery which remains fragile.”
CUPW currently represents 48,000 members in its urban operations bargaining unit. They also represent another 7,000 rural and suburban mail carriers at Canada Post who are part of another bargaining unit.
