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Postal strike affects valley

Mail services in the Elk Valley will be affected after 4,000 postal workers in Calgary and Edmonton hit the picket lines on Tuesday night.

Mail services in the Elk Valley will be affected after 4,000 postal workers in Calgary and Edmonton hit the picket lines on Tuesday night.

Workers in Calgary began strike action at 9 p.m. on Tuesday and Edmonton joined them an hour later. The strike was set to last 24 hours, and workers were still on strike as The Free Press went to print Wednesday afternoon.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said the locations were chosen to highlight the adverse impact on postal service resulting from inadequate staffing.

“Both cities have experienced service problems as routes have not been delivered due to staff shortages,” said John Bail, from CUPW. “Since Elk Valley mail comes through both Vancouver and Calgary, residents there will be affected.”

A Canada Post spokemsan confirmed the strike action. “The Canadian Union of Postal Workers locals in Calgary and Edmonton started 24-hour strikes last night,” they said Wednesday.

“Our mail processing plants in both cities are being picketed. Although the full extent of the union’s picketing activities won’t be confirmed until later this morning, the effect of the rotating strikes in previous cities over the past week has included letter carrier depots and some corporate post offices. Mail acceptance and delivery will likely be affected in and around both cities.”