Canada Post union head in Hamilton warns of 'race to the bottom' after back-to-work order ends strike
CBC
For postal worker Tracey Langille, the end to a roughly one-month strike has been a "roller-coaster" of frustration.
About 55,000 union members returned to work at Canada Post on Tuesday after the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered an end to their roughly one-month strike.
"I was in shock," Langille said, adding she did not expect the government to force union members back to work after so long. This was her third strike at Canada Post.
The Burlington, Ont., letter carrier is also president of Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Local 548, which represents about 1,600 members across 16 workplaces in the Hamilton area. Most members she's heard from are "angry and upset" with the federal government, she said.
Canada Post agreed to give workers a five per cent wage increase retroactive to when their collective agreements expired. Otherwise, workers returned under their existing contracts, which were extended to May so bargaining can continue.
For its part, CUPW called the board's order a "clear violation" of members' rights, and plans to challenge it at the board and in court.
"We have waited far too long for our issues to be resolved, in collective bargaining, but, once again, the government has stepped in, tipping the scales in the employer's favour," CUPW national president Jan Simpson said in a statement on Tuesday. "Their interference will make us wait longer and add other issues to the table."
Whenever the government intervenes in a strike, issues are left unsettled, Langille said.
"Canada Post always negotiates with us like the government is going to give them what they want.
"Postal workers aren't just looking at this as an attack on postal workers," she said, but as "an attack on labour."
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon appointed a commission to review issues that prevented a negotiated agreement and make related recommendations.
"Our commitment has always been to reach negotiated agreements with the [CUPW] that would help us better serve the changing needs of Canadians and provide good jobs," Canada Post said in a statement on Dec. 13. "We remain committed to doing so within this new process while also meeting the postal needs of Canadians."
Across Canada, CUPW members expressed displeasure with being forced back to work. Some picketed as long as possible while certain locals considered defying the order.
That was a discussion in Langille's local, she said, but they agreed to follow the directions of the national union and return to work.
The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation had a 24 per cent increase in thefts across all retail stores in the province during the first quarter of 2025, according to numbers provided by the Crown corporation.
Nine years old might seem too early to retire but for Marielle the poodle — New Brunswick's first court service dog — that's 63 in human years.
Toronto police are investigating after Jewish prayer scrolls were removed from three condos in North York on Thursday.
Scott Gillingham is entering an election year. Wab Kinew has another full year to prove he can govern effectively before he faces voters as well.
A 23-year-old single mother from Prince Albert says she has been living in pain from her wisdom teeth for more than three years.
Doreen Freeland used to be what's known as a “land girl” in Britain during the Second World War. She was one of thousands of women recruited to work in orchards and on farms to help keep food production going while men went off to fight.
According to McMaster researchers on aging, walking speed could be considered a vital sign of sorts for seniors.
The Windsor Public Library’s most-borrowed books of 2025 reflect the growing popularity of celebrity book clubs and a growing interest in “romantacy,” according to one public service librarian there.
An election, a Blue Jays World Series run and a plane crash.
Summer clothes. Shoes for children. Baby diapers.
For Islanders looking to get outside more this winter, trail groups say the colder months are actually one of the best times of year to explore Prince Edward Island’s outdoor spaces.
Updates to the air passenger bill of rights appear stuck on the tarmac more than two years after the federal government promised changes — something that may come as unwelcome news for Canadian air travellers facing their own delays.
This First Person article is the experience of Kristine Thoreson, who lives in Calgary. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.