More than 100 members from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers gathered in Kelowna on Dec. 10 to march the streets and rally for support.
The workers gathered at 10 a.m. at the union office on Kirschner Road for a few speeches before marching down Harvey Avenue and over the Dayton Street pedestrian overpass.
Blair Bancroft is the union representative for workers in the southeast parts of the province. He travelled from North Vancouver to be part of the rally.
"All of us want to get back to work. All of us want to be out in December when we weave our fabric into the neighbourhoods and tell these folks that we're delivery Christmas gifts, we're delivering Christmas cards... And those that work in the plants and those that run the belts and all that type of stuff, for the corporation to attempt to starve us out out, no," Bancroft said to the group. "We're stronger than this."
The Canada Post strike has been ongoing for 26 days with workers demanding wage increases, more job protection, and a cost of living allowance.
Darlene Hamilton delivers mail in Kelowna and is asking people to educate themselves about the demands of the strike. "We are the face of Canada Post."
Other unions came out in support including members from SEIU Local 2 representing employees at ARC Liquor and the Central Okanagan School Employees Union Local 3523.
Calls for government intervention have been mounting from the business community, but so far the government has said it鈥檚 not stepping in.
In the meantime, mount across the country.
In the weeks leading up to Dec. 25, Canada Post typically receives close to double its daily parcel volume.
The Crown corporation says it handled 296 million parcels over the course of 2023, or nearly 811,000 per day, making up 29 per cent of the parcel market. That鈥檚 a big hole for private operators to plug.
The spillover to other shipping companies has proven too much for many to bear.
Purolator, UPS, FedEx and Canpar Express are among the major carriers to implement multi-day pauses on shipments from smaller courier companies.
With delivery demand surging, consumers and small businesses have little choice other than to opt for a pricier carrier and endure delays or hold off on sending packages altogether.
~With files from Canadian Press
