I'm not sure how the unions work in Canada, but here in the U.S. union leaders are paid incredible sums of money (500k/yr in some cases such as the autoworker's union) to "maintain" the rights and safety of the workers. Unfortunately for the unions, this hasn't been a problem since the 50s (in terms of safety) and has steadily become less of an issue due to increased transparency in safety practices thanks to the easy access to information. The union leaders have to earn their pay somehow, so increasing pay and benefits for their employees is how they do it, regardless of how much it hurts everyone else.
Here's an idea: privatize postal services and the prices will drop dramatically. FedEx and DHL in the US have been doing quite well in terms of profit while delivering enough of the nations packages that the USPS has actually had to create its own marketing campaigns. If I want something delivered inexpensively with no time requirements I'll go USPS, but as a small business owner, if it absolutely has to be delivered next day I go FedEx. There's just no incentive for public-sector organizations to do any better than the absolute minimum not to lose their funding.
This post could go on for pages since it mixes my two favorite subjects: unions doing dumb things and public-sector inefficiencies.
Go team, and have a good weekend all.
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