Canadian Postal Workers Have Hit the Picket Lines

Picket lines went up across Canada this morning as workers at Canada Post launched an unlimited strike action.

For months, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has been trying to secure a new collective agreement to protect jobs and pensions, achieve a reasonable wage increase, and address excessive workloads. Canada Post, however, has had other plans.

As a crown corporation — a public enterprise that operates like a private corporation but also serves a public mandate — Canada Post is claiming financial distress to justify cost-cutting measures. According to its spokespeople, the corporation is running at a loss and must impose deep concessions on its workforce.

Under pressure from low-wage delivery and logistics competitors, Canada Post has doubled down on its austerity narrative. CUPW has accused the corporation of “planting seeds of fear in the media about the Corporation running out of money and that taxpayers may end up having to foot the bill.”

While CUPW has faced tough negotiations before, this strike isn’t just about the contract — it may shape the future of Canada Post itself.

The 55,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers are split between two large units, the urban membership and the rural and suburban mail carriers.

The postal workers union has been bargaining with Canada Post for over a year. Throughout the employer has remained steadfast in resisting workers’ demands.

In August, after making “little progress” on key proposals and hearing calls for concessions and rollbacks, CUPW filed “notices of…