by P.J. Harston
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 21/97) - All 17 Yellowknife members of the postal workers union hit the picket line Wednesday at 3 p.m., an hour before Canada Post was set to lock out all 45,000 of their members.

"Everyone gabbed their jackets and went out right at 3," said Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 858 shop steward Cindy Prawdzik.

"The national executive faxed us at 2:45 that we would walk at 3, so we didn't have much time."

Prawdzik and less than a dozen other union members braved -21 C temperatures with a biting windchill while walking the picket line in front of the Yellowknife post office on Franklin Avenue.

Union local president Dale Bouchard, meanwhile, was with a number of other union members at the mail-sorting plant near the airport.

Prawdzik said it was far too early to tell how long the strike might last.

"No idea. We'll have to check back with the president and the national executive. But I hope not too long, it's too cold."

The strike, which has been hanging over the nation's head for weeks, was called after negotiators failed to agree on a number of issues, said Prawdzik.

Those issues include job security, use of temporary workers while not filing permanent positions, letter-carrier position cuts and wages.

"Up here one of the big ones is the use of temporary employees," said Prawdzik.

"Some have been working for over four years and the corporation isn't filling any of the vacant permanent positions. This means they can't get benefits or anything like that."

The post office was locked tight and no one was answering its telephone Wednesday afternoon.

Canada Post and the union have been trying to negotiate a new contract since April.

Talks, which have been rocky, broke down again Tuesday and mail service all but came to a halt Wednesday in Toronto and Montreal as unionized workers there joined dozens of wildcat strikes that halted central-Canadian mail service.

Although talks resumed soon after the strike was called, Canada Post said it was prepared to lock out workers nation-wide, as the mail was no longer moving properly.

And this all comes at the beginning of the Christmas rush.

Prawdzik said the strike wasn't planned to coincide with Christmas and agreed that it was an inconvenience for many people.

"It probably sounds that way, but we really didn't mean for it to happen now -- we've been negotiating since April."

Her advice to those who desperately need to get Christmas presents out to loved ones on time is to use a reputable courier.

"That's really all you can do at this point. This is all across Canada," she said.