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Rally to support Canada Post workers planned for Prince George

The Saturday event will take place at Civic Centre
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Clark Rasmussen, far left. (via Contributed)

Union members and Prince George residents will stand in solidarity with Canadian postal workers this Saturday (Dec. 1) at a rally.

The 3 p.m. demonstration, set to take place at the Civic Centre, will protest the recent back-to-work legislation ordered by the federal government.

“It is time for Justin Trudeau and his Liberals to step back and look at the big picture,” says Clark Rasmussen, local CUPW president. “(Canada Post) is not bargaining in good faith. They've picked this time now — it's very busy, online shopping is through the roof, they're putting pressure on us. ... What they should have been doing is negotiating six months ago. We've been at the table for over a year, and in our opinion, they're not taking us seriously ”

Members of his local have been joining some 50,000 other members of the union in striking against what they say are unfair and unsafe working conditions.

“Health and safety incidents have been up 36 per cent this past year alone,” says Rasmussen.

He adds Canadians should care about the striking workers because their rights are being violated.

“They are taking constitutional rights away. The right to strike is a constitutional right. This is something they said they would not do in the first place and here they have done it. When you take rights away from one Canadian, it's taking it away from all Canadians.”

Rasmussen says rumours that parcels could be delayed by as long as a month are a “myth.” He says he's seen parcels from England arrive at their destination within 10 days.

“In reality, nobody knows how many packages are piled,” he says. “We are not far behind. A million parcels is a typical Monday. We do believe it's been a fabricated story.”

Ten other major Canadian cities are holding concurrent rallies as well.

— Jordan Tucker is a freelance writer for PrinceGeorgeMatters