PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – Mail headed to Canada from the U.S. is on ice as Canadian postal service workers strike. Now, a holiday crisis is brewing in the North Country as some people are unable to send gifts to their families across the border.
“I think we are going to resort to as far as bringing Christmas cards and gifts of the like, we are just going to drive them up,” said Christopher Kirkey, the director of the Center for the Study of Canada and the Institute on Quebec Studies at SUNY Plattsburgh.
Holidays are on hold as the Canadian Union of Postal Workers or CUPW authorized a strike against Canada Post. They are asking for better wages, pension plans and for Canada Post to address automation, according to Kirkey. It’s a strike he says is one of many that have been called this year in the country.
“There has been a series of key labor unions who opted to go out on strike. Port workers are perhaps the most noteworthy group,” Kirkey said.
The strike has led to a backlog of mail which has led the United States Postal Service to issue a notice asking people not to use them for mail heading to Canada.
Garry Douglas of the North Country Chamber of Commerce says the strike is costing Canada more than $76 million a day, but that businesses in the United States likely are turning to third parties to get their packages shipped out.
However, he says there is some concern for those with family to the north.
“Coming up on the holiday season with a lot more package delivery through various channels and Christmas cards and messages and communications that people traditionally start to go through at Christmas time– it certainly will impact that,” Douglas said.
At Titus Mountain in Malone, staffers say it’s impacting roughly 15% of their season pass-holders.
“We have had a lot of pass-holders reach out and say you know, please do not mail us our pass, our pass won’t get here in time, we do not know when it is going to change. So, it is just one of the things that really affects our business and our pass-holders,” said Bruce Monette, the director of operations at Titus Mountains.
CUPW says they likely will not reach an agreement until Canada Post has addressed “health and safety concerns” and “job security.” A spokesperson with CUPW also told WCAX News, “While we understand the challenges caused by the ongoing strike, the temporary suspension of international mail by the U.S. Postal Service highlights the urgency for Canada Post to return to meaningful negotiations.”