Canadians could see a disruption in their mail before the end of the month.
Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) members across the country voted in favour of going on strike by the end of the month if necessary.
Employees are ready to take action if their bargaining committees cannot reach an agreement with Canada Post. The votes were held between Aug. 9 to Sept. 9, with 93.8 per cent of Urban Postal Operations unit members and 95.9 per cent of Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMC) supporting a strike.
This comes after months of negotiations, where neither group has been able to agree on acceptable offers.
If an agreement isn’t reached by the Sept. 26 deadline, local residents could find themselves without mail delivery.
While the post office will remain open, no mail will be coming and going in town or in the communities served by mail carriers.
“Us here at the main post office, we’re a different union, so we’re still working and putting things in,” explained Suzy Laflammel, post master at the Bonnyville Post Office. “I know there’s no mail coming to us from the plants, and stuff like that. Everything’s kind of on hold until they figure out what they’re doing.”
While there are some members of the union in the area that may be affected by the strike, Laflammel noted there wouldn’t be a “huge affect” on the area if the strike occurs.
Residents with mail boxes at the post office would be able to retrieve their mail during the potential strike but only if the post office received it in time.
She said, “Whatever’s at the post office you can come and grab, people that have a P.O. boxes (at the main office), but the deliveries in town, where there’s an actual delivery person, then that would be stopped.”
CUPW will be in legal strike position on Sept. 26 if an agreement isn’t reached.
“Hopefully, it won’t get to the point,” Laflammel expressed.
“Over the last decade, the working conditions of all our members has deteriorated, leaving many overburdened, with little time for their home life,” said CUPW National President Mike Palecek in a press release. “This ends now. Our members have spoken - this is the time to address serious workplace problems.”
The Bonnyville Nouvelle will continue to be delivered door-to-door by carriers within the Town of Bonnyville, and papers will be delivered to the main post office. Readers in Glendon and the MD of Bonnyville hamlets can pick up a copy of the paper for free at their local stores, including the M&M Mini Mart in Ardmore, Iron River Store, La Corey ESSO, Northern Lights Truck Stop, Glendon Drug Mart, and Glendon Korner Mart. A street box is also located within the Centennial Centre, and outside the Nouvelle office at 5304 50 Ave.
For subscribers outside of the Bonnyville area, see the ad on page 5 for a complete listing of where to get your paper should there be a strike.
An e-edition of the newspaper will continue to be available for free online at www.bonnyvillenouvelle.ca.
