Canada Post LOCKOUT to begin Friday Morning if no settlement.

[fergua3]

No rotating strikes this time.  Straight to a lockout.  This will help prevent  a backlog of zillions of packages in the system, i suppose.   International mail and packages will not be coming into Canada for sure now.....not until an agreement is reached or the gov't steps in with back to work orders.   

Any packages being sent to Canada will be turned away by the post offices of their respective country of origin, so you may want to delay purchasing anything from outside of Canada or ask the sender to use a means other than the postal system....just watch out for courier brokerage fees.

Buckle up.

[marnotom!]

Strange how there doesn't seem to be any mainstream media reports about this.  The only place I've found this information so far is on the CUPW website.

[fergua3]

really?   i've found news about it all over the place.  It was on CBC before 5pm and i Googled it and saw plenty of news outlets with the story.....mind you the all said pretty much exactly the same thing.

Probably the port strikes news and Trump are taking the bulk of the news cycle right now, though.

[dinomitesales]

Canada Post's official statement on the matter: https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/our-company/news-and-media/corporate-news/negotiations...

Note that they do not use the word "lockout" at any point. They're basically giving 72 hours of potential lockout notice to the union in response to their 72 hours of strike notice.

"Canada Post has notified the union and CUPW-represented employees that unless new agreements are reached, the current collective agreements will no longer apply as of Friday. The Corporation will then be in a position, using the means provided in the Canada Labour Code, to adjust operations based on its operational realities and business needs."

Canada Post doesn't want to lock anyone out (yet) so I would brace for rotating strikes beginning Friday.

I don't know how the union descides whether or not it will be a rotating strike or a full-on strike.

[byto253]

That is what I saw as well, they have matched the strike notice with a lockout notice.  Not good news for us either way. 

[reallynicestamps]

I'd rather have rotating strikes, where the mail moves slowly, than a lockout where the mail cannot move at all.

[marnotom!]

---

@fergua3 wrote:

really?   i've found news about it all over the place.  It was on CBC before 5pm and i Googled it and saw plenty of news outlets with the story.....mind you the all said pretty much exactly the same thing.

Probably the port strikes news and Trump are taking the bulk of the news cycle right now, though.

---

And now the passing of former BC Premier John Horgan, at least out here on the left coast.

Just checked the CBC News App and the article on Canada Post was updated about two hours ago, so probably just before you saw it at 5 pm EST. The mention of the lockout notice was buried pretty deep in the article that was mostly about CUPW giving strike notice.

[chicweb]

I just removed Canada Post alltogether from my shipping. At this point, I don't take any chances. 

At worse, I will have less sales (just got one with UPS already, so it's looking good, customers around the country knows what is happening). Let's hope we will get many combined shipping to help. When it will be resolved, everything will go back to normal.

At best, friday they will have a solution without any disruption (I highly doubt it, to be honest... They are arm wrestling).

Let's take this time to add even more items so we sell more stuff when it's coming back.

[teenytrinkets]

I'd much rather have a complete stoppage. Those rotating strikes are a complete PITA... I remember from the last time stuff going missing, and lots of work to rule type of service (no scans, no home deliveries for days) and it just dragged on.

In the case of a lockout notice, what happens to mail currently in the stream? Will it continue to move until Friday?

[brettjet38]

Canada Post intends to continue operating as strike notices received from CUPW

Canada Post has received strike notices from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), for both Urban and RSMC (Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers) bargaining units. The notices indicate that CUPW will be in a legal position to begin strike activity on November 15, at 12:01 am ET.

We know you need certainty at this critical time of year and understand the implications for your business. We value the trust you place in us to deliver and we are committed to providing you with timely updates and the details you need to make informed decisions.

Company provides notice to adjust operations while continuing to deliver

Canada Post has notified the union and CUPW-represented employees that unless new agreements are reached, the current collective agreements will no longer apply as of Friday.

The Corporation will then be in a position, using the means provided in the Canada Labour Code, to adjust operations based on its operational realities and business needs. A labour disruption would affect the millions of Canadians and businesses who rely on the postal service. It is critical that both parties focus their energies on resolving issues to reach negotiated agreements.

Working to minimize service delays

In the event CUPW initiates rotating strike activity, Canada Post intends to continue delivering for Canadians and Canadian businesses while working to reach agreements. The Corporation will work to minimize service disruptions, but customers may experience delays.

Mail and parcels flow through Canada Post’s highly integrated national network each day to get from sender to receiver. Shutting down facilities or regions with rotating strikes can cause immediate and prolonged ripple effects throughout the network.

Evolving to better meet your needs

To secure the future of the business and better serve our customers, the Corporation needs a more flexible and affordable delivery model that allows it to offer seven-day-a-week parcel delivery, with more competitive pricing and other important service improvements that meet the evolving needs of the market.

Stay up to date

We’ll notify you if there is a labour disruption of any kind, and keep you updated as the situation develops. We’ll post regular updates at canadapost.ca/negotiations.

https://m.communications.canadapost-postescanada.ca/nl/jsp/m.jsp?c=%407CZuzPK7GuutONXyVW7EZQCvlr9WIM...

[fergua3]

mail and packages will continue to move normally until there is an actual strike/lockout, but at the pace the workers will decide it is going to move at.  Once a full strike/lockout happens all packages in the system are secured and just sit until the labour situation is resolved.  Post offices will not accept any packages or mail of any kind until resolution of dispute.

[reallynicestamps]

and lots of work to rule type of service (no scans, no home deliveries for days) and it just dragged on.

Remember that "work to rule" means that the worker was doing MORE than they were paid to do before the labour action, and now during the action is doing exactly their job.

You could think of it as refusing a form of unpaid overtime. Even compulsory unpaid overtime.

And "work to rule" actions can be nationwide without costing the workers anything. Since they are at work and doing exactly what they are supposed to do, they don't lose any pay.

[fergua3]

which is why CP will lock them out....that, plus the ever decreasing package volumes due to all the uncertainty.  Then the workers make no wages and CP loses less and puts more pressure on the workers to settle; especially at this Christmas time of year.

As i recall last Christmas strike, most of the workers were none to happy about not only losing wages at this time of year, but also lots extra in overtime wages.  Yet here we are again....

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Unless something has changed, there is not going to be a full lockout. Canada Post giving the lockout notice was a formality that allows them the freedom to operate outside of their contractual agreements to the union and do things like layoff employees. They fully intend to operate. I think some people have seen the word lockout notice and assumed it meant Canada Post was going to cease operations. 

The ball is in the court of the union to call a full or rotating strike. 

[fergua3]

Right, but, if CUPW does any strike action at all, i very strongly suspect a lockout will happen within hours.  With the close proximity to Christmas there is no time to waste and this situation has to be brought to a head fast.

So the timeline will probably be:  rotating strikes start Friday > Full lockout Saturday>  Gov't steps in middle of next week> CP back running by next Friday or the following Monday at the latest.

Still damaging but will save a portion of Christmas season, albeit less than was salvaged in the 2018 Christmas strike.

[recped]

You got the timing right (12:01am) but the action not so much (no rotating and thus no lockout).

I think it will take more than one week for any back to work legislation, there is not the same pressure as recent situations with rail and port strikes which had a serious impact of the national supply chains both both domestic and international.

[msau4301]

Yup, it's official, National Lockout. Copy of email from Canada Post this morning:

"CUPW announces national strike – customers should expect service delaysThe Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has announced it intends to begin a national strike on Friday, November 15 at 12:01 am ET.Canada Post’s operations will shut down during a national strike, affecting millions of Canadians and businesses across the country.To stay informed on strike activity, visit canadapost.ca/negotiations or sign up for email updates.We want you to be aware of what the strike activity will mean for our operations and your business.What to expect during a national strikeYour business should expect delays in the processing and delivery of mail and parcels. Mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered for the duration of the national strike, and some post offices will be closed. Service guarantees will be impacted for items already in the postal network. And no new items will be accepted until the national disruption is over.All mail and parcels in the postal network will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible on a first-in, first-out basis once operations resume. However, a national strike of any length will impact service to Canadians well after the strike activity ends. Shutting down facilities across the country will affect our entire national network. Processing and delivery may take some time to fully return to normal."

[fergua3]

well  we'll find out now.   This is a good thing given the situation.   One problem with the rotating strikes was that packages piled up and piled up.  So much so that in January they were still clearing and delivering packaes that were mailed in November. 

Now there will be very little package backlog and resolution will proceed faster both because it's a full strike and because it's so much closer to Christmas.  I'm still betting they'll be quick resolution.  The 2 postal workers i talked to yesterday had no interest in going on strike.                           

[busybeas_books]

Delivery dates may not update for select items on Time Away

Whether you choose to allow sales or pause them, you may want to change the shipping format or the handling times on the following items while on time away: Second Chance Offers, Auto-accepted offers, Pending counter-offers, Seller initiated offers, items with local pickup, in-store pickup, and digital items.

Don't forget that even with the sales paused buyers can still buy in the above situations. I had sent discount offers a few days before putting my store on time away and someone bought one yesterday.

[hold.your.own.media]

I started using Stallion Express for both US and Canadian orders (Calgary drop off point is thankfully close to my work). I didn't have to edit any shipment pricing through eBay for the US ones, but I did have to up the rates for the Canadian shipments for the most part. Making those edits within eBay's quasi-awful bulk-editing portal took 2 hours or so, but likely worth it.