Last month, the management of Canada Post announced sweeping changes that would drastically alter the public crown corporation’s delivery of services.

A five-point plan was put forward that would see, in the next few years, increases in the price of postage, the cutting of 6,000 to 8,000 jobs through attrition, and the termination of door-to-door delivery in urban areas.

A study by the Conference Board of Canada commissioned by Canada Post predicted that the postal service would lose $1 billion annually by 2020.

However, Canada Post has consistently posted profits over the last 18 years, losing money only in 2011. In 2012, the federal crown corporation posted a profit of $127 million.

A number of actions were held last week as the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) sought to resist the upcoming changes.

A discussion was held last Thursday evening, where Ben Zorn, president of the Winnipeg local of CUPW, addressed the proposed changes in front of members of the Winnipeg New Socialist Group.

“Postal workers have decided, as we have historically, that we’re not going to simply roll over and accept the decrees of the state, or the decrees of our employer, and we are going to engage in a concerted fight-back against these changes,” said Zorn.

Zorn explained that the postal workers’ union has been organizing, but will not be engaging in strikes.

“After a lot of agonizing we came to the determination that it would send the wrong message to the public. Instead we’ve decided that we need to engage the public in this campaign. It’s the public post office and the public needs to be a part of the decision-making process in terms of how their post office will look and how it will serve them in the future.”

On Saturday the CUPW held a rally in front of the provincial legislature, calling on workers to stand up to the impending changes.

Arlyn Doran, a letter carrier and education officer for the Winnipeg local of CUPW, spoke with the Manitoban about Canada Post’s decision.

“No business in the 21st century jacks prices and pulls back on services and can think that they’re going to be successful. It’s clearly a line to make the post office fail so they have justification to say that it isn’t working and that it should be privatized,” he said.

The question of ultimately privatizing Canada Post came up frequently, with many at the rally suspecting that these changes are meant to set up the crown corporation for eventual privatization.

“There are parts of Canada Post that are quite profitable, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see these carved off and sold off to corporations, while taxpayers are left to cover the cost of the remaining parts of the postal system, those routes that aren’t profitable,” said Doran.

Sharon Blady, NDP member of the legislative assembly for Kirkfield Park, was also present at the rally and spoke to the Manitoban.

“I think it goes to a larger political agenda that we’ve seen. It’s part of a conservative mindset—and I say that both with capital and small “c”—about moving towards privatization and the undermining of a public service so that you can put in on the chopping block later and sell it. We’ve seen this, for example, in Manitoba with the privatization of MTS.”

Blady is the provincial minister of healthy living and seniors, and also voiced concerns about what ending door-to-door delivery would mean for people with mobility issues.

“Think of what this winter’s been like and what the sidewalks have been like. How many more folks are we going to have falling down, breaking a hip, breaking a leg, just trying to get to their mail? And that’s really unfair and unreasonable, especially at a time when they’re also increasing the fee for the service. Other jurisdictions have found ways of modernizing their service without undermining their service,” said Blady.

Allen Mankewich, a protester present at the rally who uses a wheelchair, was concerned with how the proposed changes would affect him.

“It’s going to be terrible to be honest. I have no idea how I’m going to get my mail without relying on a friend or a family member to get my mail for me. They’re not even exploring any other options such as delivering the mail twice a week. They say they’ve consulted, but I haven’t seen any meaningful consultation.”