By Curtis Goodrum

CANADA POST TENATIVE VOTE

Local CUPW leadership says members should make their own decisions on tentative Canada Post deal

Feb 12, 2026 | 5:08 PM

KAMLOOPS — Canada Post and CUPW have reached a tentative agreement on a contract with the national CUPW board. There still needs to be a vote from membership, which could happen at some point in May, although timelines are difficult to predict. 

Locally in Kamloops, employees were striking for seven weeks in 2025, affecting mail deliveries across the community. The national CUPW board has suggested members vote ‘yes’ on the tentative deal.

The contract itself is controversial for many members, despite the amount of recent job action.

“Yes, having the security is a nice feeling for them. It was a stressful couple of years. I mean, it is still stressful. We were on strike for a total of seven weeks within the year, and that’s hard on a lot of people. But I would say the other side of that is having a contract rammed down our throat that we do not agree with. That’s not easy either,” said Aaron Arseneau, the vice-president of CUPW Local 758. 

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Arseneau says there is fear from employees that job cuts will be coming from Canada Post if this contract moves forward. 

Meantime, CUPW says part-time weekend workers will be eligible for the defined benefit pension plan immediately upon hire and extended health benefits after six months of continuous employment.

“Canada Post, as part of this contract, can close down 100 post offices. That’s a lot of full-time jobs out there. They’re essentially saying they’re willing to get rid of those members. They might be able to go work somewhere else. But if you’re in a small community, the next closest post office might be 100-plus kilometres away. You can’t make that distance every day and work,” said Arseneau.

The national CUPW board has recommended that members vote yes on the contract, but there is a chance it won’t pass the vote and that could lead to more job action from CUPW members.

“I’m not willing to recommend my members in Kamloops to vote ‘yes.’ I’m also not telling them to vote ‘no.’ Everybody has to make up this decision for themselves based on the contract and the language that comes out. It’s going to be very divisive and if it does pass, it’ll be pretty close. Even the national executive board was very divided when they passed this on to the membership,” said Arseneau

If this contract is passed, there’s a high chance of job action in 2029. Canada Post declined an interview with CFJC News but sent a statement saying,

“Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have now finalized the tentative agreements for the Urban and RSMC bargaining units. After reaching tentative agreements in December, the parties recently worked to finalize some outstanding contractual language.”

“The tentative agreements include higher wage increases, enhanced benefits and a weekend parcel delivery model. Both agreements are for five years and would be in effect until January 31, 2029.”

“The next step is a ratification vote for CUPW-represented employees, a process that will be managed by CUPW. During the ratification process, the parties have agreed not to engage in any strike or lockout activity.”

Negotiations for the current contract have been ongoing since 2023.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story indicated that were were concerns about part-time workers not being eligible for full benefits and pension. CUPW contacted CFJC Today Friday (Feb. 13) morning and provided a statement. The story has since been corrected.