Nobody likes a strike.
They're costly, they're demanding, they take a lot out of the participants, and they always seem to happen at the worst possible times.
Take the current one happening right now in our everyday Canadian society.
Canada Post employees have been on strike since the middle of November. According to Wikipedia, discussions and negotiations for a new contract began a year prior to the strike, on November 15, 2023. On August 2 of this year, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers filed with the federal Minister of Labour to get conciliators to help mediate. After continued impasse in negotiations and a cooling-off period, the Government of Canada appointed mediators to assist in negotiation that, ultimately, was also unsuccessful. The nation-wide strike began after CUPW issued a 72-hour strike notice and Canada Post issued a 72-hour lockout notice.
As of November 2024, CUPW represents approximately 55,000 striking workers. Its list of demands includes:
wage increases of 24% over four years, which it says will keep wages up to inflation;
enhancements to group benefits, such as coverage for fertility treatments and gender-affirming care;
improved protections against technological change;
enhancements to paid medical leave;
paid meal and rest periods; and
increased short-term disability benefits.
Canada Post has offered workers wage increases amounting to 11.5% over four years as well as increased paid leave.
That's apparently the latest info available on the strike. No end seems to be clearly in sight, though the union has reportedly lowered their wage demands as of this past Monday.
The timing just couldn't have been any worse for any of this, huh? Right before Christmas, when relatives and close friends who live far distances from each other are depending on the postal service to safely transport their cards and gifts to each other. But alas, that isn't to be for the 2024 holiday season, at least not at the moment.
Such an occurrence that cuts sharply through the daily fabric of our everyday lives may beg the question of where one might stand on the subject of unions.
From my perspective, they can be a bit of a mixed bag.
On one hand, a union is considered to be the 'central collective' as it pertains to thoughts and beliefs when it comes to workers' rights and benefits. Many staff members who may belong to a union believe them to be working on their behalf and sleep comfortably knowing that others are making the right decisions with workers' best interests in mind.
On the other hand, some people consider unions to be too controlling and too preoccupied with what certain leaders or figureheads may believe is best for workers, only for the true reality for workers to be vastly different than what union leaders believe is actually happening. Some don't like the control that unions have over their workers, and some don't like the decisions that are made because they may not be in the best interest of ALL workers.
I remember a number of years ago, I was invited out to Barrich Farms just outside of Outlook because they wanted to speak out on finally getting its staff members OUT of their union. Heck, they even had a BBQ steak lunch to celebrate it! I guess I showed up on the right day because after conducting a number of interviews with staff, I was invited to stay for lunch. It's certainly not every day that I get invited to stay after interviews and dine on a steak lunch, complete with baked potatoes, Caesar salad, and even a cold beer. That was one particular Friday that I'll always remember on this job!
Regardless of where you might stand on unions, there's no changing the current situation that Canada finds itself in when it comes to the postal strike.
So then, what does it mean for the holiday season?
Well, I think it means that we have to look down the main streets of our respective communities and appreciate the brick-and-mortar businesses that we have at home. It means that we stop pretending to watch TV when all we're REALLY doing is playing on our damn phones and looking up page after page of products on websites like Amazon or Best Buy or any other mega consumer giant store, and instead we look up what local business owners have in the ACTUAL stores we can ACTUALLY visit at home or elsewhere.
It means supporting your local business sector at a time when they need it the most. It means buying from places like Home Hardware, or AG Foods, or the local Co-op. Or it means scanning social media for community events designated for home business owners, like the Last Stop Shop Christmas event that was just held at the Outlook Civic Centre this past weekend, and then attending those events and handing over real money for any interesting products, as opposed to racking up a line of credit card debt online.
In the end, a postal strike right before Christmas means that Canadians in towns and cities everywhere need to get more vocal about local, and perhaps no other time is as important as right now to do so.
Your local business owners, whether in store or at home, are going to be grateful for the support.
And doesn't it just feel better knowing you've bought something from someone right here at home instead of forking over hundreds of dollars online to some consumer giant that just looks at you solely as a number?
The dollars are in the details, friends.
Happy shopping this holiday season.
For this week, that's been the Ruttle Report.
