CUPW Leadership at a Cross Road
By Kiri Vadivelu
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) leadership is sending mixed signals on the tentative agreement with Canada Post. A minority of the National Executive Board (NEB) urges members to vote “No” on a deal reached in December 2025. The NEB majority believes the time to fight for a better deal is over. The high stakes vote is scheduled to occur between April 20 and May 30, 2026 where members are expected to vote on the tentative agreement -- and simultaneously vote on whether to grant a new strike mandate if the deal is rejected.
Key aspects of the CUPW split arises from conflicting strategies and unresolved working conditions in the agreement. CUPW President Jan Simpson and four other NEB members are encouraging a “No” vote, arguing that the deal does not resolve key issues, despite protecting some rights. One faction within the leadership is determined to secure gains in a tough economic environment, instead of pushing for better terms through continued internal pressure. The proposed five-year contract includes wage increases of 6.5% in year one, 3% in year two, and additional increases linked to Consumer Price Index-based raises known as a Cost-of-Living Allowance (COLA) for the remaining years, with a range of unresolved working conditions yet to be addressed.
Canada Post has been given the green light by the Liberal federal government to move forward with sweeping service cuts to the public post office. Proposed cuts include ending door-to-door delivery in favour of community mailboxes, closing rural post offices and changing delivery standards for letter mail. The irony is that postal workers are defending the public service that Canadians depend on, coast to coast, while the ruling Liberal government does not seem to care. Postal workers are fighting to stop the implementation of the cuts, demanding a fully public and transparent mandate review of Canada Post that allows for input from all users, and strengthen Canada Post as a vital public service now and for future generations.
The divide highlights a fundamental disagreement within CUPW leadership over bargaining strategy. One side supports securing gains in a difficult environment, while the other is pushing for better conditions through low level pressure. Those who know the history of CUPW need not be reminded that the situation is not as bad as when postal workers won maternity leave for workers. The current vote follows a prolonged labour dispute that included escalating job action over the past two years. More than 55,000 postal workers walked off the job on a national strike in November 2024 after negotiations stalled, disrupting mail delivery across the country. The strike was later halted by the Justin Trudeau Liberal government’s intervention. No amount of privatization propaganda can hide the pain of postal workers as the pay cheque shrinks and delivery routes expand, while the government bails out big corporations every time.
Today, CUPW is at a cross road. Years of business unionism have eroded the rights of workers and the ability of union leadership to protect workers from aggressive privatization agenda of Canada Post. Precisely, the Liberal government tapped into the fears of business union leaders to undermine labour strikes by ordering workers back the work without an agreement. Present working conditions demand that CUPW bring back militant unionism and put up an all-out offense to regain the ground lost before next Conservative government completes the privatization of Canada Post initiated by the Liberals.
Decisions about Canada Post affect most people: seniors, families, workers, and entire communities. Door-to-door delivery is more than just mail. It’s a service people rely on. Postal workers are standing with our community; standing for public service. History shows that private corporations are out for themselves, at the expense of workers and the general public. When gas stations partner with banks to offer credit cards, it’s in their best interest to ensure workers need to rely on credit. If Canada Post continues to belong to Canadians, their presence will ensure that major corporations cannot charge money for the services people need.
The only public service that generates revenue is Canada Post; however, argument of Canada Post losing money is set to benefit the shareholders on the back of workers. Canada Post is reporting losses, service is being cut, and workers are being blamed yet the same board responsible for these decisions is collecting bonuses. When a company claims it’s “struggling,” the first thing that should be examined is executive accountability, not front-line workers. Why are bonuses awarded to a corporate board overseeing losses? Workers are not the problem; they are the backbone of the entire infrastructure. Leadership needs to be held accountable. Anyone who can analyze business patterns can easily spot that the gains of private corporations are simply the losses of Canada Post over the years.
A new Angus Reid Institute poll released in June 2025 found that over 70 percent of Canadians support reducing mail delivery to three days a week to lower costs, while about 60 percent oppose privatizing Canada Post. After constituting a majority in Parliament in April 2026 with three by-elections in the Greater Toronto Area, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals are now positioned to pass legislation without the support of opposition parties. The public has shown support for postal workers, while management is equipped only to draft policies. That leaves the only remaining component -- the will of the CUPW leadership. Union bureaucrats have no better time than now to find the courage, escalate the fight against privatization of public services, and win real victories for postal workers in Canada.
As a former member of CUPW, I was one of the early victims of labour bureaucratic incompetence. After two years of delivering mails and walking the picket line for one month, I received a termination letter from Canada Post in March 2025. My employment was caught between “terminated unless grieved” from the Canada Post, and “no grievance for you” from the union bureaucrats. My active role in the November 2024 postal worker’s strike was perceived to be a threat, and then exercising my civil right to a lawful assembly of Tamil Thai Pongal, a cultural celebration event organized by my Union Local was too intimidating for Canada Post management. Although, the Collective Bargaining Agreement provided multiple grounds to grieve the absurd actions of Canada Post management, the regional union officials lacked courage to defend my employment. After losing my livelihood to the systemic injustice, my belief was confirmed that the fight for socialism goes beyond union gate keepers of the status quo.
CUPW leadership may be able to find common grounds on most issues without disgrace; however, unresolved working conditions should be a deal breaker for any reasonable, class-conscious leadership. My horrific firsthand experience as a postal worker in the GTA is unfortunately too common. Canada Post uses inhumane route lengths as an excuse to harass, discipline, and abuse workers they view as problematic. Workers who take their lunch or restroom breaks are punished, expected to skip meals and to urinate in a bottle, or not at all. Workers who demand safe conditions or report injuries face retaliation. Women, trans, racialized workers, and those involved in the local union’s activities are especially isolated and mistreated. All of this is done under the guise of performance issues; my unjust termination is not an exception.
The fundamental truth about capitalism is that the right to profit supersedes all other rights. That’s an awful condition to exist in a functioning society where well being of one is connected to the well being of all. Therefore, abolishing capitalism is the priority task for socialists because we care about economic justice, freedom and democracy for the vast majority. The post 2020 COVID economy have reignited the need to fight rising social inequality. The rich got richer and the workers got poorer despite the fact that worker output is at an all-time high. Ironically, all the unpaid labour is showing up as record breaking profit for big corporate accounts. Meanwhile, bankers list residential homes for power of sale.
Labour unionism is the fertile breeding ground for democracy. To protect workers, labour bureaucrats must find the will to stand up to the bullies and then demonstrate the courage to do right under all circumstances. The present leadership split in the CUPW NEB reflects where Canadians stand today. The difference of strategies to fight for better among CUPW leadership is not to be frowned upon; it should be embraced as demonstrating the fact that an appetite for militant unionism is not out of reach. Under the profit system, barbarism is the default policy. Therefore, capitalism cannot be fixed. Workers of all stripes must find common ground, and go forward to the socialist future.