WRITE TO PM & MP ABOUT EFFECT OF POSTAL STRIKE ON YOU

[momcqueen]

I would like to encourage all eBay users (or at least anyone who comes to the boards) to follow my lead in taking 15 minutes today to compose an email message to the Prime Minister’s Office (ccing your local MP) to explain the effect the prolonged postal strike is having on you, your family, and/or your business.

Even if you can say you don’t care how long the strike lasts and you think free beach houses in Belize should be granted to CUPW leadership, fine. You may write too.

But I, as an online seller, with a meager budget for my own family can endure this no longer and I WILL NOT sit idly by as my livelihood and holiday plans are held hostage.

Forward your message to at least one local media outlet as well. If you dare; they might just want to speak to you about your feelings and think what a great opportunity that’d be to flog Local Pickup.

Thank you.

[marnotom!]

You seemed relatively sanguin about this a couple of weeks ago, @momcqueen.  What caused the change of heart?

[femmefan1946]

The email address (since somehow I think the postal address may be less than useful) is:

pm@pm.gc.ca

[momcqueen]

“You seemed relatively sanguin about this a couple of weeks ago, @momcqueen. What caused the change of heart?”

A couple of weeks ago there wasn’t 1.5 million parcels in backlog; it wasn’t a month left to Christmas, and there was still time left for posturing on the part of the sides involved in this dispute.

Time is up.

[momcqueen]

Also, there’s this webform but an actual email address makes it easier to cc people. Thanks.

https://pm.gc.ca/eng/connect

[femmefan1946]

And to rain on your parade, answering those letters was what I did for the Minister of Indian Affairs when I was working.

He won't see it.

He won't sign it.

Any (snail mail) response with his signature will be auto-penned.

At best his Chief of Staff will get a report on how many messages he gets daily on the subject.

The PMs Office - or Departmental Secretariat which is where the day to day bureaucracy happens-- has a form letter response prepared.
Depending on what is in the incoming letter, paragraphs will be pulled from the template and dropped into the response, making it sound more personal.

[momcqueen]

Oh, don’t worry, you’re not raining on my parade. I know, I worked for the governing political party in Manitoba after leaving journalism. I get it, that is where Ccing local media comes into play.

[marnotom!]

---

@momcqueen wrote:

A couple of weeks ago there wasn’t 1.5 million parcels in backlog; it wasn’t a month left to Christmas, and there was still time left for posturing on the part of the sides involved in this dispute.

---

But how is having 1.5 million parcels in backlog having an effect on you? 

[momcqueen]

Every shopper who hears there are 1.5 million parcels backlogged at a rate it will take 30 Days to clear WILL NOT be buying their toys online from me for Christmas. Does Santa come Dec 25? Or does he comes Jan 25?

I think you’re asking this question only to get my goat.

The answer is obvious.

[marnotom!]

---

@momcqueen wrote:
Every shopper who hears there are 1.5 million parcels backlogged at a rate it will take 30 Days to clear WILL NOT be buying their toys online from me for Christmas. Does Santa come Dec 25? Or does he comes Jan 25?

I think you’re asking this question only to get my goat.

The answer is obvious.

---

Then I think what you mean is how the actions of the union and of management (yes, it's not just CUPW gumming up the works) are affecting users, because those 1.5 million parcels in limbo aren't destined for you and they aren't being sent by you.

[momcqueen]

No, what I meant is what I said but thanks for mansplaining it for everyone else following along.

[marnotom!]

What you meant is what you said where?  Your thread title is quite different than the post you made a few posts back.

[momcqueen]

Which post did you presume to tell me what I really meant? Therein lays your answer.

[momcqueen]

A better question is whether you have written to your MP or the PMO. Have you? What effect is the labour disruption having on YOU as a seller and your ability to pay the bills? 

[marnotom!]

@momcqueen

You wrote: "A couple of weeks ago there wasn’t 1.5 million parcels in backlog; it wasn’t a month left to Christmas, and there was still time left for posturing on the part of the sides involved in this dispute."

I'm no mind-reader and I have a tendency toward lateral-thinking. With no context to that statement, I had visions of someone watching TV news reports or having dreams of a backlog of parcels. It seemed a bit far-fetched to me that someone with visions of backlogged parcels would consider themselves personally affected by Canada Post's labour woes.

Thank you for your elaboration in a later post.

[femmefan1946]

@momcqueen

Does Santa come Dec 25? Or does he comes Jan 25?

Well, actually.....

 January 6 if you're Orthodox.

But it would be Grandfather Frost.

My family tend to marry a lot of Ukranians. Those sexy sexy Ukrainians.

[momcqueen]

Every year, I have a Big Fight on my hands to see the tree left standing until Orthodox Christmas in January. Christmas pickle ornaments with 12 meatless dishes and Santa In January would make me perfectly happy. Although we’re a mix of everything in Europe/Russia except Ukrainian, I’ve always identied with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters; I like to reflect a bit of everything. Still, my partner has some kind of weird superstition about trees up after the end of December, and he just starts taking it down, there’s no stopping him short of throwing myself on the tree and tying myself to it. Sad but true.

[femmefan1946]

Our (artificial) tree goes up on SantaClaus' birthday (Dec 6- St Nicholas Day) and comes down on Epiphany (Jan. 6) (and coincidentally my late mother's birthday).

DH thinks I'm nuts, but that's been his opinion for the past 50 years so.....

[momcqueen]

I've composed a real masterpiece of a letter which I sent to the PMO and my MP as well as the MP who I met when testifying at the hearings on Canada Post a few years ago.

I don't want to expose myself to media attention but I will if I must.

Small business owners are the people who are suffering from these rotating strikes. And the Canadian shoppers that we serve. We're all being treated like we don't matter in any of this and I won't sit on the sidelines and quietly or obediently take this kind of abuse without at least complaining vigorously about it. I will do what little I can to halt it. 

[momcqueen]

I have been singing this song for days. 

Overnight Tuesday, I emailed the Prime Minster's Office, my local MP, the federal Minister of Labour and the NDP MP who attended the Canada Post hearing in Winnipeg two years ago. 

Then I sent a Letter to the Editor at the Winnipeg Free Press yesterday morning.

All detailing not my opinion on the labour disruption at Canada Post but the bare bones of how it is affecting me. I set aside my pride and my discomfort at drawing negative attention to myself and I laid bare my personal facts on how the rotating strikes are hurting me. I am one of the thousands of little people being squeezed in this fight between big guys.

The Winnipeg Free Press did not publish my letter, they called me for an interview. 

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/canada-post-501042732.html

I share this not to draw even more attention to myself (which I do genuinely find appalling) but so that you can see that even insignificant players like me and you can make a difference when we speak out for ourselves.

Don't judge me, please. Thank you.