On December 16, 2024 two members of the 1919 Workers Collective-Worker Outreach Committee attended the CUPW picket line at Winnipeg’s Canada Post Distribution Centre. 1919 had been notified that there would be an announcement in response to the Labour Minister’s utilization of Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to force the Posties back-to-work.
Under Division VII, Section 107, the Minister may, “where the Minister deems it expedient, may do such things as to the Minister seem likely to maintain or secure industrial peace and to promote conditions favourable to the settlement of industrial disputes or differences and to those ends the Minister may refer any question to the Board or direct the Board to do such things as the Minister deems necessary.” After Federal Labour Minister Steve MacKinnion invoked the clause, two Cabinet ministers resigned their positions, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, and Minister of Housing, Sean Fraser.
The constant refusal to abide by labour-industrial bargaining norms has exposed a vast weakness in the current government. The union is debating the optimal course of action to take in response to the apparent disunity of the government. All of the major political party leaders have also called for the Prime Minister to resign.
The announcement that was to be made was postponed because the National Committee’s debate and discussions were extended. The union is facing the question of whether or not to defy the orders to return to work.
Essentially, there are four potential options.
- Abide by the orders, and return to work, with the strike being postponed until May.
- Defy the orders nationally, and order the workers to remain on strike.
- Delegate the decision to union locals on whether or not they will defy the order.
- Take legal action to prevent the order from going forward.
As of the time of writing this report, the decision has not been made public, but the union has taken polls of workers across the country to gauge their appetite for the fight. Between 70-90% of those polled said that they wanted to defy the government orders, with only one of the major-city locals preferring to return to work.
Dave, who was the main speaker at the picket today, was making sound arguments for defiance. The offer of 5% and $1000 to return to work won’t even pay for the time the workers have been out on strike, 5 weeks. In addition, if an election is called, negotiating with a Conservative government will be even more difficult. Therefore, the best course of action is to take action now. Dave’s general line was added to by another worker who said that if the National Committee places the decision in the hands of the locals, that Winnipeg, or any city with a distribution facility, could be a spark to get the other less enthusiastic locals to also defy the orders and return to the picket lines.
There was almost unanimous agreement that if placed in the hands of the local, the workers of Winnipeg would take on the burden of defying Federal orders. Of the dissenters, it was almost entirely financial stress that was leading to the uncertainty through the threats of potential fines or job loss. Another worker voiced their opinion that the National Committee should stop getting bogged down and emotionally invested in the stories or situations of individual members and instead take broad action, ‘act more like generals’, to reject the back to work order.
There needs to be unity in action, the National Committee should defy the order and influence its membership to take on this fight. The workers are ready. They know that this might be their best (or only) opportunity to put pressure on the company, and the government.
