More or less anyway.

On Friday the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) announced that they were ending their two-week long nationwide walkout in favor of rotating strikes. I guess they realized most Canadians hadn’t noticed they weren’t getting any mail the past couple of weeks.

You would almost think they didn’t want their jobs. I think that was the third strike in a year, but postal disruptions are beginning to blur.

At issue this time was the announcement by the federal government that Canada Post will be allowed to drop home delivery for the four million Canadians (ten per cent of the country) who still have it. The service lost $1.5 billion last year, and just isn’t sustainable under the present model.

Instead of mounting a campaign to protect their workers by showing how indispensable they are, CUPW walked off the job. Most people didn’t notice.

The postal service is a vital link in rural communities. In cities there are alternatives, frequently better ones. Most of the population lives in cities – there isn’t much sympathy for postal workers.

Times have changed. Technology has changed the way we communicate. I don’t think I have sent a letter yet this year. The 200 names on my Christmas card list 30 years ago might be four or five people now.

CUPW doesn’t seem to have fully grasped that. The government announcement was an opportunity to show that they cared about ensuring Canadians still have mail delivery. Instead they walked off the job.

If Canada Post does shift those last door delivery customers to community mailboxes, the process will take a few years. During that time, and afterward, there will still be a need for people to sort and deliver the mail.

Privatization of the service might be possible in urban centres, with Amazon or one of the food delivery companies adding it to their repertoire – but they aren’t going to do so unless they can make a profit. That means no service to rural areas. (I have a friend whose Amazon packages are delivered by Canada Post – no couriers where he lives.)

It seems therefore there will remain a need for some sort of government run service. But given CUPW’s commitment to Canadians shown by the current walkout, maybe the task should be given to someone other than Canada Post.

Rotating walkouts means the workers will get paid. It won’t do anything to help their cause. I wonder when they will realize that.