Canadian Postal Workers Are Showing Us What Class-Struggle Unionism Looks Like
From fighting contract concessions to making common-good demands like postal banking and public broadband, Canadian postal workers’ fighting unionism should be an inspiration to USPS workers.
Rank-and-file postal workers are carrying on a proud history of class struggle within the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. (Andrew Lahodynskyj / Toronto Star via Getty Images)
In 2020, the United States Postal Service (USPS) came under heavy fire from would-be privatizers, starting a fight that isn’t over yet. But contentious battles over the future of the postal service are not restricted to the United States. In Canada, rank-and-file postal workers are carrying on a proud history, both distant and recent, of class struggle within the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).
Ferment within the CUPW rank and file has coalesced around a campaign to reject a two-year contract extension with Canada Post. The offer would include a 2 percent per year wage increase. Online voting on the agreement began on August 3 and will end on September 3.
While the CUPW National Executive Board (NEB) is encouraging members to vote yes, locals in St. John’s, Halifax, Moncton, Toronto, Edmonton, and Winnipeg see the agreement as a step backward and have recommended no votes. These locals point out that none of the union’s core concerns about pay disparity, two-tier wage systems, and work rules are addressed in this agreement.
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