Canada Post Possible Stike

[stanley613]

What happens now that orders are in the mail with a possible expected delivery date of September 30 and early October, what happens if not received there is no way of knowing whether these items will be received after strike is over.  Will eBay delay delivery date?

[momcqueen]

About 20 threads and 300 posts ago, I said with incredulity after reading something said by the CUPW leadership that the only way to make it make sense is that his long-term gameplan can only be forcing government to force them back to work because then he can blame The Man for not getting everything he had told his membership that the union deserves. It seemed obvious to me at least this was headed the only way left for it to go now.

Workers will unhappily return now.

Are they unhappy at being forced back? Yes. Would they have been less unhappy to do it for an extra $1000? Yes.

Now there lays ahead a catch-22. If it takes weeks to clear the backlog, Canada Post wins the claim back-to-work legislation was necessary because all Canadians were screwed without it. If it takes one-day to clear the backlog (like the union said as it protested being ordered back) then they win the argument that Canada Post was exaggerating the backlog but.... the backlog is cleared and they’re still stuck ordered back. Outsmarted, as it were. Of course, they can take it to court and perhaps have the bill deemed unconstitutional but what good has that done?

It was poorly played. Canadians were unhappy to be treated as collateral damage in this. This tactic backfired. Postal workers are being sent back minus what they could have had if they had gone willingly.

Again, I hope the postal workers get what they want and need in mediation and/or binding arbitration to come. I hope there is hard light exposing the cause of what sounds like a purely toxic workplace environment. And I hope union leadership takes a introspective look at themselves and what they could have done better here for everyone who was affected by this.

Now, let’s get back to buying and selling!

[hlmacdon]

Great, now when is the country going to start accepting international postal shipments again?

EMS (only operated by national postal operator) is only the number one courier choice (lowest cost) for small businesses importing air freight. This is one of the aspects that politicians  overlooked. That is one of the lessons of this whole debacle I think, there is a willful ignorance of how a national post service is a 100% essential service that needs to be looked at from both a domestic and international perspective. For example, China Post offers greater discounts on EMS to Chinese suppliers than what they can receive from the major courier companies. If you are dealing with a supplier/factory with high volume, the cost of shifting to a courier can represent a significant increase in costs, especially at this time of year when air freight costs can come at a premium due to the volume of bookings.

By shutting off international shipments they really screwed up an important part of the small business supply chain. Depending on the originating country, shipments are either stuck in limbo with no ability for the small business operator to find out where they are or we are having to wait for shipments to be returned to suppliers and finding alternative logistics arrangements.

[momcqueen]

That's a good question that we need to ask Canada Post. 

[muscoviteman]

"It was poorly played. Canadians were unhappy to be treated as collateral damage in this. This tactic backfired. Postal workers are being sent back minus what they could have had if they had gone willingly."

Nobody yet knows what the settlement or arbitration may be.  They may well get gains. Even a $20 a week gain makes up for losing a 1G settlement offer bonus in only a year.

Their past tactics have gained them a better wage that they otherwise would have and withholding labour is the main tool the unionized worker has. I think it was well played so far and the game is not yet over.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

Canada Post proposes new postage rates for 2019

Curious to see if this turns out to be done deal now, after what businesses and the common folk have been put through for the past 5 weeks?

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/announcements/details.page?article=2018/06/21/canada_post_pro...

Should either be scrapped for 2019 or at a bare minimum, delayed.

-CM

[ypdc_dennis]

---

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

Canada Post proposes new postage rates for 2019

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/announcements/details.page?article=2018/06/21/canada_post_pro...

 Should either be scrapped for 2019 or at a bare minimum, delayed.

---

Your announcement link is from June, the rates have been approved by parliament.

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/kb/details.page?article=service_and_price_ch

...

I'll disagree, with the falling lettermail volumes, and with all the wage increases to deliver lettermail the stamp rates should have been set much higher. The last price increase was in 2014.

...

Canada Post usually announces parcel rate increases in mid-December, but they might decide to hold off until a contract is signed.

...

The numbers:

[momcqueen]

Hello again. I asked you to clarify a statement you made two threads ago. Would you care to do that, please? You’ll find it under the notifications bell.

[reveur*]

So they are back on the job with some hefty fines proposed if they violate the back to work order. So what do I read? the union encouraging its members and "allies" to keep demonstrating and using "peaceful" civil disobedience tactics. I never thought I'd dislike a union head more than a corporate entity. 

Do the members not see how they are being screwed over, or is the brainwashing truly that good? Even if this is fought in the courts, they most likely will NOT get what they want and it will take years to get to an outcome. The members are screwed over. The people who do the actual hard work at ground level, get no resolve and also missed out on extra cash that I'm sure would be useful for Christmas. Thanks Mike, you're a solid representative and leader of the people (sarcasm). 

So, now let's see how fast my parcels sitting in "Delayed due to blah blah" are cleared. According to Mike, within 24 hours. Ha

[hlmacdon]

---

@momcqueen wrote:

That's a good question that we need to ask Canada Post. 

---

I'm not sure if there is any significance or if this counts as progress but for the first time previously delayed tracking numbers that weren't appearing on the Canada Post tracking system seem to be at least now reflecting their current status. 

[reveur*]

---

@hlmacdon wrote:

---

@momcqueen wrote:

That's a good question that we need to ask Canada Post. 

---

I'm not sure if there is any significance or if this counts as progress but for the first time previously delayed tracking numbers that weren't appearing on the Canada Post tracking system seem to be at least now reflecting their current status. 

---

I have 4 EXPRESS shipments from the states from the last 4 or so weeks whose status has not yet changed. I have an additional 3 shipments within Canada coming to me whose status is still "delayed due to labor dispute" for the last 2 weeks or so. 

Now, question: if someone from the states ships usps express and the customer pays like $70 for shipping, who do you go to to dispute the shipping costs? the seller? usps? canada post?

I will wait until Friday to see what progress has been made. According to new reports, the union will be now employing civil disobedience tactics to continue their "fight". What does that mean? Keeping parcels hostage? Working slower? Mixing up addresses? How will they try to "fight the man" within Canada Post without screwing the public over? Anyone have any ideas?

If I didn't have parcels coming to me or parcels to send, I would be viewing this as one big soap opera episode that is on the same level of ridiculous as South American soap operas. 

"Más loco que una cabra con pollitos"!

[muscoviteman]

I don't come here a lot. I sell a bit on another account and purchase a bit here.

[muscoviteman]

"Also: let’s ask a question to which the answer seems obvious. Who suffers when a company loses money? Who, exactly, do you think is punished when a company loses money or faces losses?"

The owners whoever they are (Canadians in general for the post office) ...but that is irrelevant. The job of the union is too look after the best interests of their members not the owners. Would you hire a lawyer to represent you who was worried about the interests of the auto insurance company you are suing? 

[reveur*]

---

@muscoviteman wrote:

"Also: let’s ask a question to which the answer seems obvious. Who suffers when a company loses money? Who, exactly, do you think is punished when a company loses money or faces losses?"

The owners whoever they are (Canadians in general for the post office) ...but that is irrelevant. The job of the union is too look after the best interests of their members not the owners. Would you hire a lawyer to represent you who was worried about the interests of the auto insurance company you are suing? 

---

That is the union's job in a perfect world. The CUPW is corrupt and power-hungry. If it truly cared about its members best interests, it would allow them to vote and have a voice in the decisions being made. Not assuming every paying member feels the same way and forcing them not only to pay union dues, but also to follow the regime as presented by union heads, whether it is dogmatic, wrong, harmful or not. Without the owner, the union wouldn't exist. 

[momcqueen]

You’re saying the needs of every single one of the millions of residents of Canada are less important than the wants of 50,000 employees?

[muscoviteman]

"

Pay equity ruling

In 2016, the Corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers jointly agreed to put before an arbitrator the system by which RSMC employees are paid. A final ruling issued on Sept. 20, 2018, gave the parties clarity on this important issue. Canada Post expects pay equity will cost approximately $550 million by the end of 2018, of which $130 million was recorded by the end of 2017. Going forward, the Corporation expects pay equity will cost approximately $140 million annually. The pay and benefit changes resulting from the ruling include wage adjustments, increases in pensionable pay and other benefits that have significantly impacted the 2018 financial performance."

That is from Canada Post. $140 million annually is about $2500 per member. Seems holding out previously worked out well. It does not take much in the current case for future arbitration benefits to far out weigh mere $1000 bribe to accept a contract. Plus expect work to rule.

[momcqueen]

That being 50,000 people who’s sole purpose to exist at that job is to serve the tens of millions of Canadians who you say ‘own’ the company for which they’ve been hired to work.

[momcqueen]

Have you read Bill C-89 yet? For yourself, I mean. Not to merely repeat what you’re told.

[muscoviteman]

I'm saying the interests of other Canadians is not the responsibility of CUPW. They represent their members. Others including the government can represent the interests of other Canadians. Would you want your lawyer to worry about if getting a big settlement for you would reduce dividends to share holders?

[reveur*]

---

@muscoviteman wrote:

I'm saying the interests of other Canadians is not the responsibility of CUPW. They represent their members. Others including the government can represent the interests of other Canadians. Would you want your lawyer to worry about if getting a big settlement for you would reduce dividends to share holders?

---

The CUPW members serve Canadians, so yes it is their responsibility not to screw over Canadians as their members provide an essential service to the public by choosing to work for Canada Post and having to pay union dues

There are other ways to fight without lashing out on the public to prove a point of your anger. Like I wrote earlier in my posts, this is unheard of anywhere else in the world concerning a national postal service. 

[momcqueen]

Any smart negotiator considers all angles including necessary actions to take to not make his own people the most hated union members of all time by the public — instead of appreciated for the job they do by the people they are paid to serve — through acts of protest and civil disobedience. If Canada Post is a toxic workplace now, how is it going to improve when every Canadian starts to hate CUPW and their workers as much as CUPW union leadership hates to compromise? What do you think happens to CUPW when the general population is so sick and tired and disgusted by these shenanigans that they start throwing those rocks being hurled right back where they came from?