Postal strike hits Niagara
Workers walk off job Monday as job action rotation comes to region
Postal workers in Niagara walked off the job Monday as they partook in Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ rotating strikes against Canada Post.
The action saw no mail delivered in Welland and affected Port Colborne, Wainfleet, Pelham, Cayuga and Dunnville, as well.
The strike action also hit St. Catharines and Fort Erie, which operate under different locals. Niagara Falls was affected last month.
“The national executive board of the union decides which cities go out on which days,” said Gennaro Tullo, president of CUPW Local 628, which represents 120 postal workers in the Welland and surrounding areas. “You might go out on strike one day and be back (to work) the next.
“We think we’ll be back Tuesday,” he said in an interview alongside vice-president Kevin Girolametto in the union’s office just a few doors down from Welland’s post office.
Both men said the strike is mainly about the health and safety of postal workers.
“The weights are getting heavier and we have one of the highest injury rates, even higher
than industries you’d expect to be high,” said Tullo.
Girolametto said postal workers are prone to slips, trips and falls, in addition to strains and back injuries.
Said Tullo, “It’s because of the nature of our work and the different conditions we face.”
While the local union members may be back on the job Tuesday, Girolametto said based on what’s being heard at the local level it doesn’t appear there will be an end to rotating strikes anytime soon.
“There’s been no movement, even after two mediators … the second one a specially appointed one,” Girolametto said.
He said another contentious issue is the cancellation of workers’ short-term disability plan which leaves them with no choice but to come back to work or face having no pay.
Tullo said Canada Post had time to settle the issue before the rotating strikes started but refused to do so. He said rotating strikes were chosen to minimize the impact on customers.
“The mail will still be delivered, it will just be delayed,” said Tullo, adding workers don’t want to be on strike. “We just want an agreement.”
Girolametto said based on what he saw at the other post offices in Local 628, the public seems supportive of the strike. A passerby even dropped off Timbits in Welland as postal employees stood at the corner of King and Division streets.
“People are still using Canada Post,” he said.