Canada Post workers are on strike in Lethbridge and across the country. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge Canada Post workers on strike, joining national movement

Nov 15, 2024 | 10:39 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – 55,000 postal workers across the country are hitting the picket lines, including hundreds in southern Alberta.

On Friday, November 15, 2024, members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) started job action, saying “Canada Post left us no choice when it threatened to change our working conditions and leave our members exposed to layoffs.”

Cole Morgon with CUPW Lethbridge Local 770 was among those who rallied outside of the downtown Lethbridge post office.

LNN went to the protest site at around 9:00 a.m. on Friday, and at that time, more than 50 people were carrying signs and marching around the post office. Morgon says they have split their group up into different shifts to ensure people will be there all day, and if necessary, throughout next week as well.

He tells us that it has been a difficult year of negotiations and he remains hopeful that this movement will help to inspire some positive change for workers.

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The union is asking for a total raise of 22 per cent throughout a four-year contract. In 2021, the group accepted a contract with two per cent annual increases at a time when inflation was much higher than that.

“We’re just looking for a decent raise, so it can kind of get back in line with where inflation has been,” says Morgon. “As you know, the price at grocery stores has been out of control in recent years, so that’s been a big concern for a lot of our members that have families.”

Another major concern for postal workers is the implementation of Separate Sort from Delivery (SSD).

Morgon explains that, currently, letter carriers pick up mail that they have pre-sorted and deliver it to homes and businesses themselves.

“Under the new model that Canada Post has been trying to push is, it’s a different individual who sorts the mail and a separate person will come and pick that up and [deliver] it,” says Morgon. “We have less accountability in terms of knowing which mistakes were made and when they were made, and quite frankly, it’s just a reduction in the quality of service.”

The SSD system has not been implemented in Lethbridge yet but is now in place in some other urban centres.

The union is also looking for improved benefits and protections against technological changes and contracting out across the board. Rural sites aim to secure the same levels of job security as their urban counterparts and to ensure that all mail carriers have a corporate vehicle to use.

The strike will impact the delivery of mail.

Morgon assures residents that “social and economic cheques” like government benefits will still be delivered during this time, but regular mail and parcels will not.

Even once the strike is over, he says delays will be expected as staff return to their roles and deal with a backlog of mail.

People are encouraged to sign up for online services for things like benefits and banking statements to ensure there are no disruptions.

Other courier service providers are still open.

READ MORE: Canada Post workers are on strike. Here’s what you need to know about your mail

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