Jeanette Maleska spent her Thursday evening working her phone and e-mail.
Maleska, president of Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Local 848, was alerting the almost-200 union members in Vernon, Armstrong, Lumby, and Falkland that they would be on strike as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, Nov. 15. Maleska was notified of the pending strike at 9 p.m. Thursday.
At 7 a.m. Friday, Maleska and the first shift of union workers were carrying picket signs outside the Vernon Canada Post office on 32nd Avenue.
"We are on strike because we have not had a contract in six years," said Maleska, a 25-year employee with Canada Post. "We did an extension after COVID. Now, they don't want to give us a wage increase.
"We want fair wages. We鈥檝e not had any increases, we鈥檝e not gone up with inflation, nothing has changed that way. We鈥檙e looking for an increase, we鈥檙e looking to protect our pensions, to protect people coming in after us and the new hires. We鈥檙e holding Canada Post accountable."
Close to 55,000 CUPW workers across Canada went on strike Friday.
Canada Post said on its that its operations will shut down during a national strike, which will affect millions of residents and businesses across the nation.
"Customers will experience delays due to the strike activity," said a release on the Canada Post site. "Mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered for the duration of the national strike, and some post offices will be closed. Service guarantees will be impacted for items already in the postal network. No new items will be accepted until the national disruption is over."
Maleska and CUPW Local 848 secretary-treasurer Shari Milne both said government cheques will still be delivered on the 20th of each month.
CUPW disputes the employers' claim that they've lost billions of dollars.
"We're trying to keep Canada Post in Canada for the public," said Milne, who has been with Canada Post for 17 years. "We're here for the public. We're not here to make it a big conglomerate for the corporation. We want to keep our public post office for the people. We don't take taxpayers' dollars to fund Canada Post.
"We subsidize taxpayers, a lot of people don't know that. When they say we have all of these losses, and it's coming out of their taxes or the government, it's not. It's Canada Post misspending."
Striking workers outside the Vernon office will be on the picket lines from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in four-hour shifts. Maleska said public support so far has been positive.
"I wasn't sure what to expect but there's been a lot of support," she said. "I think they understand Canada Post and its members, the people on the ground deliver to so many small corners of the country. If you live in a city, Canada Post might not affect you. If you're a resident in a remote area, Canada Post makes a big difference for them.
"We're going to stand strong, and keep going for the seniors and the remote communities."
Maleska encouraged residents to write, phone, or email Canada Post.
"Let them know how much the strike affects you by not having parcels or medications," she said.
Asked how long they might be on strike, Maleska said, "it's day to day for us."
Canada Post said on its website all mail and parcels in the postal network will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible on a first-in, first-out basis once operations resume.
"However, a national strike of any length will impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends," said the employer. "Shutting down facilities across the country will affect Canada Post鈥檚 entire national network. Processing and delivery may take some time to fully return to normal."
