To the Members of the Parliament of Canada,

I am writing today to ask that you oppose all back-to-work legislation in Canada, which effectively removes the right of Canadian workers to collectively bargain as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

My Canada Post letter carrier, (a member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers), Has had some experience with back-to-work legislation. Successive governments have imposed back-to-work legislation on Canada Post workers: the Harper government in 2011 and the Trudeau government in 2018. This has led to a worsening relationship between the CUPW union and Canada Post, which increases the likelihood of labour disruptions. In turn, this has a negative impact on me, all Canadians, and your constituents.

The CUPW has not been able to negotiate a contract with their employer since 2007; instead the government has imposed regressive contracts on them. This has allowed Canada Post to spit in the face of one of the most important values of CUPW, and of all Canadians: equal pay for equal work. 

The government-imposed contracts have resulted in new workers/CUPW members being forced to accept a two-tier wage and benefit contract, where they're not treated equally despite doing the same work. Now, with a profitable pension fund, it seems the employer is trying to go after new members' pensions, which will widen the gap between the two tiers of Canada Post workers. It should be apparent just how unfair this is.

My letter carrier has also told me about a disturbing pattern of discipline, intimidation, suspensions, and even dismissals happening to members of CUPW under the guise of health and safety protocols. I've seen people in unmarked cars follow my letter carrier (including doing illegal  u-turns in the middle of the street and follow them). My letter carrier tells me the management in these unmarked cars follow them until they make a mistake, pull them over and then search the vehicle until they can find an infraction to suspend them from (1-5 days WITHOUT PAY). My letter carrier told me that Canada Post has installed something they call “telematics” in their trucks that monitor their every move as if they were criminals. They use the data from these "telematics" to hunt them down. This is shameful of Canada Post!

On television I have heard that Canada Post management is planning some major changes to how my mail will be delivered to me. It sounds like I will no longer have a dedicated letter carrier to deliver my daily mail. Parcels, important mail from the government, passports, etc. It also sounds like because of these changes the chances of my letters, magazines, parcels, important mail from the government, passports, etc, could easily be delivered to someone else or lost. This may even happen daily! There will be someone different delivering my mail everyday and I will never again be able to get to know the person that delivers my mail and important documents. It seems like my  service will drastically plummet and not improve with these changes.

Canada Post says they are losing money, but I think more money will be lost from insurance claims from my lost, stolen and incorrectly delivered parcels and important mail.

So please commit to standing up to protect the rights of Canada Post workers and all Canadian workers' rights as guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Please oppose any efforts to impose back-to-work legislation on CUPW members and ALL Canadian workers.

A concerned Canadian and customer of Canada Post