Canada Post is currently not operating. That means that no mail is being delivered anywhere in Canada. This is, of course, only the most recent development in a long running feud between CUPW and Canada Post.
For the tl;dr crowd: the lockout is justified on purely economic grounds that arise from the consequences of CUPW’s rotating strike action.
Now, I have not kept up with the precise details of the dispute. CUPW may well have legitimate grievances which Canada Post is not addressing. On the other hand, Canada Post may well have legitimate concerns that CUPW refuses to concede. Rather than focusing on the relative merits of the two sides in the dispute, I want to talk about tactics.
It used to be that when a union or employer decided that bargaining was not working, a total strike or total lockout would happen. This would be painful for both sides – the employer because operations are halted and the employees because the longer the strike continues, the more likely they can’t make their mortgage payments and other obligations. This state of affairs can be seen as a disincentive for either of these actions to be taken so they are only taken as a last resort.
CUPW’s tactics this time, however, were short localized strikes affecting one or more areas for a day or two. The idea behind it is obviously to hurt Canada Post without decimating the earnings of their members since they would still be paid their usual wage for the days worked. It also has the side benefit that mail still gets delivered if more slowly. The problem, however, is that it imposes substantial costs on Canada Post with relatively little cost on the union members. Thus, there is no incentive for CUPW to bargain in any better faith than they have been all along. In other words, it’s an extortion tactic, pure and simple.
Canada Post continued operations with this labour action going on for nearly two weeks. However, the public simply threw up their hands and said, “Why should I trust the post office to deliver things during a strike when I can use the Internet?” Thus, unlike in previous cases, the pain felt by the public is relatively minimal. In fact, a lot of people simply don’t care. As a result, because the opportunity cost of using the post office has suddenly become very high or unpredictable, many people that had simply been using traditional post because they had always done, or because it was convenient, have switched to alternatives such as the Internet. And, of course, companies like FedEx and UPS are still operating. This, of course, means that mail volumes are substantially down.
With reduced mail volumes, inability to meet delivery guarantees, and continued operating overhead, Canada Post determined it was simply not economically viable to continue operating. As a matter of fact, any well managed corporation would have made the same determination given the same equations. It would be irresponsible to continue any operation that is hemorrhaging money, crown corporation or not. Of course, I don’t think CUPW thought that Canada Post would have the guts to take the action it did simply because it is a crown corporation and, thus, has “unlimited” resources.
The end result is that all CUPW members are currently out of work and receiving “strike pay” (don’t get me started on that) and many are moaning because it’s not enough to make ends meet. That’s the bleeping point, people! Going on strike should be painful! However, all other employees of Canada Post are also currently out of work and NOT drawing any sort of strike pay! (To be fair, the same result would likely have occurred if CUPW had gone for a full blown strike in the first place due to the nature of Canada Post’s operations.)
Now, with the lockout, CUPW and Canada Post are an even footing. Nobody is happy. That means it is more likely that both sides will find a solution that does not involve one side completely yielding to the other. It also means that the longer the lockout continues, the less likely CUPW is going to get a favourable result and the more likely its members will say “Screw it! Make a deal. I need to eat!” In fact, I am reminded of the transit strike in Calgary a few years ago when the union remained out on strike for several weeks and the final deal they ended up with was actually worse than the final offer from the city before the strike. (Of course, every situation is different.)
Now, as I said earlier, I don’t know the relative merits of the respective positions of CUPW and Canada Post. Whether CUPW’s strike action is justified is not something I can comment on. Whether either side has a better case is for them to decide. What I can say, however, is that the lockout the inevitable result of CUPW’s partial strike action. It was also completely justified.
If you don’t agree that the lockout was justified, stow your emotions for a bit. Forget that Canada Post is a crown corporation. Now consider it as a stand alone entity. If that entity was losing millions of dollars due reduced work and was likely to run out of operating capital, what would happen if it continued to operate? Yes, that’s right. Bankruptcy. What good would it do the union or its members if the employer they are picketing no longer exists? How happy would the share holders be if the company did not take action to protect its solvency? Now, put that back in context. As a crown corporation, every citizen of Canada is a shareholder by proxy! We should be outraged if they do NOT take cost saving measures in this situation. And while Canada Post is unlikely to disappear due to bankruptcy, that should NOT be a factor in the decision!
So, my opinion is that the lockout is justified in light of economic realities.
As a final note, people who know me know I am vehemently anti-union. But that does not mean I always take the employer’s side in a dispute. There have been cases in the past where I have agreed that the union had a grievance and the employer was problematic. The point of this comment is to say that my opinion on the lockout has nothing to do with my views on the validity of either side of the dispute.