Don’t demonize postal workers looking for fair contract
Christmas-parcel delivery is now an essential service? Government-issued cheques are essential, not parcels, but the postal workers’ union was refused by management to give cheques priority for delivery.
People shouldn’t demonize workers trying to negotiate a fair contract. Wages have fallen in this country for decades. The right to strike is a cornerstone of labour unions — the last tool workers have when an impasse is reached in talks.
In imposing back-to-work legislation, what happened to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s pledge to work “for the middle class and those working hard to join them?”
The union is fighting for pay equity between men and women, safe working conditions and the right to refuse overtime so parents can raise healthy children.
An election is on the horizon, something Trudeau and the Liberals should keep in mind. Jo-Anne Berezanski, North Saanich
Be kind to first-responders
I was so happy to see the front page Sunday, reminding everyone to think about first-responders who have helped so many people.
Once upon a time I worked as a nurse on the burn unit at Vancouver General Hospital. Now, decades later, I still get shivers when I hear a siren and weep when I watch reports on TV about fires.
No one can possibly know how first-responders truly feel. They have learned to be stoic in public.
At all times B.C. paramedics, police officers and firefighters are asked to handle the most dangerous situations.
These wonderful men and women risk their lives daily. Now, they must witness firsthand the terrible toll of increased opioid overdoses.
I can only hope that more people reach out to say thank you to first-responders and their families, to help those who suffer PTSD, and to be kinder and more considerate to anyone who is stressed out. Lavinia Treliving, Vancouver
Email issues differ
Letter-writer Jerry Steinberg assumes that Ivanka Trump’s use of a private server is on a par with Hillary Clinton’s many transgressions. However, when Republicans shout “lock her up,” they’re aware that Clinton, as Secretary of State, sent classified material using her own server situated in her private residence, deleted 33,000 emails that had been subpoenaed by Congress in an effort to cover up correspondence related to the Clinton Foundation’s “pay-for-play” scheme, acid-washed her hard drive using BleachBit and had her aid take a hammer to her personal BlackBerry. That is different from Trump’s correspondence, all of which is recoverable. Glen Brooks, Vancouver
Referendum complaint irony
Letter-writer Ken Hawthorne expressed concern that potentially 20 per cent of eligible voters — 50-per-cent-plus-one of voters in a 40-per-cent electoral reform referendum turnout — could determine the outcome of the electoral reform referendum.
It’s ironic that Hawthorne wishes to retain first-past-the-post voting while simultaneously asserting that a decision made by such a small minority would be unfair and undemocratic. With FPTP we have had almost uninterrupted rule by the minority of active voters and continuous rule by a minority of eligible voters during the past 30 years.
Proportional representation offers the only alternative for restoring real democracy in our democratic institutions by engaging voters and ensuring that those who are governing, in a coalition or otherwise, have the support of the majority of voters, active and eligible. James Gill, North Vancouver