In response to the typically ill informed public opinion held by the majority of this country, that letter carriers are “always” on strike or whining about money.
And of course that a monkey could do the job anyway, so what are these high school dropouts complaining for?
First of all I am a letter carrier of 8 years and have a Masters degree in Journalism, so yes I can count to ten amongst other very clever things, such as “walking a few blocks” each day.
You may be surprised to know that the average foot route nowadays is between 17 to 20 km long, and several km longer in winter time due to snow. All the while carrying sometimes upwards of 50 pounds up and down stairs, opening screen doors with your hands full, trying to push mail into slots clearly not designed for such large letters, and so on.
I like my job, and the majority of my coworkers agree that the deal we have been offered, while not perfect, is a decent, fair one and we should grab it now before its too late.
It’s not to do with pay, or working less, simply keep our pension fund safe that we have paid into, and keep job security as best as possible, and most if the workforce would be happy with the agreement.
So please if it ends up with myself and my coworkers outside with signs, remember that most of us are forced there to ensure we can at least get a small paycheque each week for “strike pay”. Unfortunately we are but pawns in their game, with no say on the offer tabled, which,considering we pay union dues monthly, is an absolute disgrace.
In the most literal sense, just because we are the ”faces” of the company, on the streets talking to customers and listening to frustrations and complaints, please don’t shoot the messenger.
Sure, we will be visible on the picket line but it’s not necessarily through choice, we were made to have a strike vote before an offer had been made, so there was no basis on which to decide strike or no strike. And, people being people, tend to go with the majority which would be the ”yes” vote, to strike. To strike based on nothing, no offer, no counter offer, just an ”Us vs. Them” mentality.
So please try and look on the other side of the coin this time if a work stoppage occurs, because trust me, it hurts me, my wife and 3 kids just as much as it does you.
Adam Weight
Canada Post Letter Carrier
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