Lillooet’s Post Office is open for business, even though the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) began a series of rotating strikes on Friday, June 3.

Canada Post says rural post offices (non-CUPW) will operate as usual. They will continue to accept and deliver mail and perform their regular daily tasks. This will only change if a nationwide strike is declared.

“If there’s a general strike, nothing will be moving, nothing at all,” Lillooet Postmaster Michelle Graham said June 3.

Employees at rural post offices like Lillooet’s are not CUPW members. Instead, they belong to a separate union – the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association.

A series of rotating strikes began in Winnipeg on June 3, continued in Hamilton over the weekend, followed by Montreal on Monday, June 6.

Canada Post says strike activity can change the status of a postal facility and the level of service at any time.

The corporation has indicated that in the event of a nationwide strike, government pension and social assistance cheques will still be delivered.

For the past seven months, Canada Post and the CUPW have tried to negotiate a new collective agreement for the Urban Postal Operations Unit.