THUNDER BAY – In a show of solidarity, two local unions banded together to tell Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu they want to go back to work with a fair deal.
Postal workers and college support staff, both on strike right now, rallied outside the Thunder Bay–Superior North MP’s office on Wednesday.
“Let’s get negotiations going, or let’s go to arbitration and resolve this. I’m tired of being out here. The people are tired of seeing us out here and not getting their mail. Let’s work to fix Canada Post and go back to work,” CUPW local 620 president, Leo Favreau, told Newswatch.
Hajdu was in Ottawa on Wednesday, but Favreau, who represents about 260 postal workers in the region, said the rally is part of a larger action staged outside of Parliament Hill.
“We’ll catch her one way or the other, but it’s just solidarity, showing that we’re all tired of all this happening,” Favreau said.
College support staff representative Owen Smith, with OPSEU Local 731, said what they are seeing right now is an “attack on labour” by the upper levels of government.
“We need to be together right now. This is an attack on labour in general, whether it’s at the provincial or federal level. We need to be together right now, and we are here in support,” Smith said.
OPSEU Local 731 members have been picketing since Sept 11, when full-time support staff walked off the Confederation College campus to strike for a fair collective agreement.
The federal government recently announced changes to Canada Post’s mandate, including eliminating door-to-door mail delivery, in a cost-saving effort to keep the crown corporation afloat.
“I understand that there’s a possibility that they might put forward an offer today, which I expect to be a lot worse than the last one. It would be nice if it were better, and we could actually start negotiations. But with the minister’s report, they are seriously wanting to eliminate a lot of our services,” Favreau said.
“Now, not only are they attacking us, but they’re attacking the general public, and it’s gonna hurt. People need to realize how much this is gonna hurt more than it’s gonna help.”
Canada Post was never “built to make a profit,” said Thunder Bay–Superior North’s provincial representative, Lise Vaugeois, who joined the rally.
“We don’t ask the police to make a profit or firefighters to make a profit. Canada Post is a service and was never intended to make a profit, but we also see such an enormous conflict of interest with managing Purolator,” Vaugeois said.
Service cuts will have a deep impact on people living in the region, especially seniors and people with disabilities who can’t get to community mailboxes, said Vaugeois.
She said one solution Canada Post should implement is postal banking.
“The union has also been advocating for years that we have postal banking. They’ve had it in Europe for many, many, many years. It’s very successful,” Vaugeois said. She noted that the Bank of Montreal recently closed its doors in the Township of Schreiber, and the nearest banks are now in Nipigon and Marathon.
Newswatch reached out to Hajdu for comment on the Canada Post strike.
“The world of work is changing quickly, and Canada Post must adapt while protecting good jobs. CUPW and Canada Post need to find the right balance that secures the future of the corporation and respects the workers who keep it running,” she said in a written statement.
“Canadians depend on them to get this right. Federal mediators remain available to support the bargaining process, and I encourage both parties to continue working toward a fair resolution.”
Although the college is not a federal entity, Smith still hopes Hajdu would address their concerns with the province.
“Patty, you’re my MP. I know you’re federal, but why can’t you talk to Doug Ford about the strike for college support staff and the strike for postal workers? We are here. We go into the community, we work here. We want to go back to work,” Smith said.
