The Council of Canadians stands in solidarity with the more than 55,000 postal workers represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) on nationwide strike. We unequivocally support the workers’ demands for fair compensation, dignified retirement, stronger workplace protections, and improved public services at Canada Post offices across the country.
CUPW members have been at the forefront of struggles for economic, social, and environmental justice for decades. In 1981, Canadian postal workers won 17 weeks of paid maternity leave after a 42-day strike. That victory soon spread to workplaces across the country, popularizing the view that all workers should benefit from paid parental leave. A fair contract for unionized postal workers raises the bar for all working people.
It’s no secret that Canada Post has been under intense financial pressure in recent years. Faced with increasingly stiff competition from low-wage private delivery companies, the crown corporation has been losing money since 2018. In response, privatization hawks like the Fraser Institute and its Bay Street allies have been calling for Canada Post to be stripped for parts and sold off to private investors, in a move that would undoubtedly result in major job losses and reduced delivery service in non-urban areas.
At the Council of Canadians, we have a different vision. Instead of balancing budgets on the backs of working people and selling off public assets to global corporations, we call for strengthening public services by increasing taxes on windfall corporate profits and wealthy CEOs. We passionately support CUPW’s vision for a transformed Canadian postal service described in the union’s Delivering Community Power plan. Instead of another private delivery service that pays poverty wages, Canada Post could become a climate and community hub offering inclusive postal banking services, low-cost electrified food delivery, high-speed internet in remote communities, and more.
As life becomes increasingly unaffordable and uncertain for Canadians from all walks of life, working people joining together in solidarity represents our best path forward to a collective future that works for everyone. All power to the posties!
Want to help striking postal workers? Here are three things you can do:
- Tell Canada Post CEO Doug Ettinger that you support CUPW in negotiations, that the post office cannot cut its way to growth, and that it must agree to solutions that benefit everyone – including workers.
- Print posters and download social media graphics to show your support.
- Learn more about the proposals for new and expanded postal services through the Delivering Community Power campaign.
