Gwyn Morgan: Strikes divide Canadians into haves and have-nots
One annoying characteristic of Canadian unions is timing strikes to when they will cause the most harm and stress. Twelve days ago, as the busy holiday season approached, Canada Post workers went on strike, leaving small businesses scrambling to make alternative arrangements. Not an easy task, as the cost of FedEx and UPS is prohibitive for many. Purolator, which Canada Post owns, has lower rates, but Teamsters Canada has prohibited its members from handling packages identified as an alternative to Canada Post. As a result, according to the CFIB’s Corrine Pohlmann, “People unsure about delivery timelines are staying away from shopping altogether. It’s just the next big obstacle our members must deal with.”
Service Canada had to hold off mailing out 85,000 passports, forcing many Canadians to cancel travel they’d already paid. On-time delivery of pension and financial assistance cheques is also hit.
Canadians have had to endure a continuous series of work stoppages in 2024. In August, after nine months of negotiation failed to produce an agreement, the country’s two largest railroads locked out unionized workers, disrupting a railway system that moves $1 billion-worth of goods per day. The federal government issued a back-to-work order a week later.
Port strikes are even more damaging in dollar terms. Earlier this month, Port of Vancouver officials locked out union workers after they rejected a 19.2 per cent wage increase over four years. That disrupted $800 million/day in shipments. A week later, Port of Montreal dock workers walked out, disrupting another $400 million/day, bringing the total port shutdown toll to $1.2 billion/day. After another few days, Ottawa issued a second back-to-work order.
Measuring the impact of
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