Local postal workers prepared to hit the picket line

Local postal workers are ready to strike, they’re just waiting for the call.

Canadian Union of Postal Workers local 620 president Wendy Johnson said over 230 local employees are prepared and waiting for a call from the national union office.

"We’ll get a phone call and within a couple of hours we’ll go out," Johnson said.

Johnson doesn’t know when the call might come because it depends on the national strategy, which announced a 24 hour strike in Winnipeg Thursday with other locations to follow. After a call, Johnson would head to the local plant, inform employees and a picket would be set up.
"There will no mail that day," Johnson said adding the Thunder Bay plant easily handles over two million pieces of mail per day.

The two main issues for the strike are health and safety concerns about modernization at plants across the country and a proposed two-tiered wage and benefits system for new employees. Modernization, which has already begun in Winnipeg, would bundle mail for carriers and cause added strain.

Johnson said employees are already reporting trip, slip and fall accidents as well as repetitive strain injuries.

"When you’re walking with multiple bundles in your hand you can’t see your feet," Johnson said.
While current starting salaries are around $24 per hour, the proposed cuts would see new employees get $17 per hour to start plus less vacation time and a reduced benefits package.

"It’s not fair if we’re working side-by-side," Johnson said. "We’re both doing the same work. It’s not fair it’s not right for the next generation of postal workers."

Johnson said the local strike vote was around 99 per cent in favour, which is higher than the national 95 per cent reported. If workers at Canada Post can suffer rollbacks, Johnson said other unions are probably next.

"I’ve never seen the numbers like this before. I think it’s unprecedented across the country," said Johnson. "This is a big fight for us. This is a big struggle… 50 years of bargaining they just wan t to wipe out like that. Other unions need to take notice of that."

It’s unfortunate that Canada Post has used a campaign of misinformation to try and sway the public against its 54,000 national employees Johnson said.

"I was just delivering the route today and a lot of people were coming up yelling and screaming at me. They really don’t know the issues and it’s not really being laid out to the public and that’s not really fair," Johnson said.