Canada post strike

[oldhousejunk]

Since the postal strike is growing, and reports are that the mail is backlogged and stuck on trucks,  does anyone have any advice?  I went to my local post office today to mail packages, but they are shut down.   I have a lot of listings ending this week, which have a lot of bids on them - but if we can't mail them out what do we do? 

I can't seem to find any info on this, or a way to contact the bidders to let them know about the strike.   

Would it be best for us canadian sellers to just cancel all of our current listings (even with bids on?) and stop listing until the strike is over?  

Any advice would be appreciated.   

[silverpinups]

Agreed.... and yes, wages will vary depending on the Province.

Postal workers have no clue on how good they've got it and need a good dose of reality!

[ypdc_dennis]

---

@silverpinups wrote:

Agreed.... and yes, wages will vary depending on the Province.

Postal workers have no clue on how good they've got it and need a good dose of reality!

---

The postal agreement will be country wide not by province.

Average Canadian wage in 2017: $971/week (about $24/hour)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/average-weekly-earnings-salary-1.3996308

-..-

[ypdc_dennis]

More bodies off work on Monday, Nov 5:

• All depots of Scarborough except Pickering (ON)
• Barrie (ON)
• Brantford (ON)
• Calgary (AB) as of 8am MT, Nov 5
• Carbonear (NL)
• Channel-Port-Aux-Basques (NL)
• Corner Brook (NL)
• Deer Lake (NL)
• Edmonton (AB) as of 8am MT, Nov 5
• Exploits Valley (NL)
• Fort Erie (ON)
• Gander-Lewisporte (NL)
• Guelph (ON)
• Lethbridge (AB) as of 8am MT, Nov 5
• London (ON)
• Medicine Hat (AB) as of 8am MT, Nov 5
• Sault Ste Marie (ON)
• Simcoe (ON)
• St. Anthony (NL)
• St. Catharines (ON)
• Stephenville (NL)
• Welland (ON)
• York Distribution Center of Scarborough (ON)

[teenytrinkets]

---

@ricarmic wrote:

If they are of use here are my current wordings I send to all buyers:

First time buyers:

Thank you for your purchase and quick payment.  Your parcel has been shipped out today, Monday XXXXXXX.  Please note that Canada Post is now experiencing rotating strikes, which may cause delivery delays. I very much appreciate your extra patience regarding any delays impacting arrival time. Once the parcel arrives, I hope you will find everything satisfactory.  If you are not completely pleased with this transaction, please contact me via email.  I will do my very best to resolve any problem you may have.  Regards, RICARMIC (Ron)

Repeat buyers:

Thank you for your most recent purchase and quick payment. I am pleased you decided to purchase from me again. Your parcel has been shipped out today, Monday XXXXXX. Please note that Canada Post is now experiencing rotating strikes, which may cause delivery delays. I very much appreciate your extra patience regarding any delays impacting arrival time. Regards, RICARMIC (Ron)

I've been getting more than usual responses from buyers who have received it and so far all have been positive.

---

I've done something similar with my Canadian buyers - but haven't sent any notices to my US buyers.  This is because I assume US-bound packages leave the country within a few days, in the DC closest to you.

Is my assumption correct - you ship small packet air to the US, does your package get sent to the closest border (since I live in the Vancouver area, would my package go through Washington)?  Or does it depend on where it's going?  So if I have a package going to NYC, would it travel across Canada to the GTA and be processed there before crossing the border?

I don't send anything tracked - so I have no idea what route small packets air takes!

[ypdc_dennis]

No new locals added this evening (Nov 5) ...

• Barrie (ON)
• Brantford (ON)
• Calgary (AB)
• Carbonear (NL)
• Edmonton (AB)
• Exploits Valley (NL)
• Fort Erie (ON)
• Gander-Lewisporte (NL)
• Guelph (ON)
• Lethbridge (AB)
• London (ON)
• Medicine Hat (AB)
• Mont-Joli (QC)
• Saguenay Lac St-Jean (QC)
• Sault Ste Marie (ON)
• Scarborough (ON) - All depots
• Scarborough (ON) - York Distribution Center
• Simcoe (ON)
• St. Catharines (ON)
• Stephenville (NL)

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

---

@silverpinups wrote:

Agreed.... and yes, wages will vary depending on the Province.

Postal workers have no clue on how good they've got it and need a good dose of reality!

---

I don't think it's appropriate to say someone else are having it "good" and are overpaid, unless you have tried to experience their job at least full time for a few months. 

[pjcdn2005]

I’m in Alberta and all of my tracked packet packages have been going from Calgary to SAN Francisco. .I would guess that small packets are similar and that Vancouver packages travel a similar route.

[cumos55]

The list is getting longer.......

• Amherstburg (ON)
• Barrie (ON)
• Brantford (ON)
• Calgary (AB)
• Carbonear (NL)
• Delhi (ON)
• Edmonton (AB)
• Exploits Valley (NL)
• Fort Erie (ON)
• Gander-Lewisporte (NL)
• Guelph (ON)
• Hautes Laurentides (QC)
• Lethbridge (AB)
• London (ON)
• Medicine Hat (AB)
• Mont-Joli (QC)
• Owen Sound (ON)
• Saguenay Lac St-Jean (QC)
• Sarina (ON)
• Sault Ste Marie (ON)
• Scarborough (ON) - All depots
• Scarborough (ON) - York Distribution Center
• Simcoe (ON)
• St. Catharines (ON)
• St. Thomas (ON)
• Stephenville (NL)

  Notice how we go from north to south in Alberta.....   Edmonton, Medicine Hat, Calgary, Lethbridge .....  a defined focus on mail in Alberta....  

  This will most likely have a significant effect on mail in Alberta

  This principle is probably being followed elsewhere.....

[silverpinups]

Well, I think it is appropriate. There are people working just as hard in the private sector that receive half the pay and a lot less benefits....

If Postal Workers don't like their job they can quit and look for greener pastures.

[momcqueen]

I’m wondering where polling would show Canadian populace sympathies lay in the current dispute between union and management at Canada Post. I mean, I certainly know where mine lay but I’m curious as to how a majority of Canadians might feel about it. eBay sellers like us may not represent a fair sample; we have a vested interest as small business types.

[mcrlmn]

Times are a changin', and have been for the past couple of decades.

Canada Post is still suffering huge losses each quarter.

Does throwing more of our tax dollars at it solve anything?

It doesn't take an IQ much higher than a sack of potatoes to realize Canada Post has some major issues from top to bottom, and needs serious review and aggressive restructuring.

The present situation and it's resolution isn't going to resolve anything in those regards.

Most informed Canadians know that, and I'd wager the majority have little sympathy for these CUPW members.

[ypdc_dennis]

---

@mcrlmn wrote:

Canada Post is still suffering huge losses each quarter.

Does throwing more of our tax dollars at it solve anything?

---

Canada Post has NOT been suffering huge losses.

What tax dollars?

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/pages/aboutus/details.page?article=quarterly_report

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/announcements/details.page?article=2018/05/25/canada_post_seg...

[mcrlmn]

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/announcements/details.page?article=2018/08/28/canada_post_seg...

https://www.google.com/search?ei=xxviW8yTLerC0PEPj56V0Ao&q=Canada+Post+suffering+losses+each+quarter

[femmefan1946]

"

, a dramatic drop from the $27-million profit it made during the same period in 2017.

But it left the door open to a large revision of those numbers,"

From the cited article.

Year end numbers differ.

I don't know why when someone earns a decent wage and someone else doing similar work gets a lower wage, that the immediate cry is to reduce the income of the guy making a decent living.

Even that fascistic old anti-semite Henry Ford realized that the best way to increase his business was to pay his workers enough that they could afford his products.

The guy scraping by at $14 an hour ($28K annually before taxes) is not shopping on eBay for collectible coins or vintage books or motorcycle parts. He's at WalMart buying Chinese made tubesocks.

[ypdc_dennis]

Direct from the link you post:

The operations of the Canada Post Group of Companies are funded by the revenue generated by the sale of its products and services, not taxpayer dollars.

[ypdc_dennis]

CUPW is trying to be cute, as only the sorting and distribution centres in the Toronto area are listed as being strike targets.

Toronto (ON) Gateway, SCLPP, WPDH, VISTA, AMF, NECF, 300 Courtney Park, Gateway (West Trans and South Trans) , Kestrel and Bradco

plus

• Amherstburg (ON)
• Barrie (ON)
• Delhi (ON)
• Hautes Laurentides (QC)
• La Sarre (QC)
• London (ON)
• Newmarket (ON)
• Owen Sound (ON)
• Rouyn-Noranda (QC)
• Sarnia (ON)
• St. Thomas (ON)
• Val d'Or (QC)

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

---

@silverpinups wrote:

Well, I think it is appropriate. There are people working just as hard in the private sector that receive half the pay and a lot less benefits....

If Postal Workers don't like their job they can quit and look for greener pastures.

---

So you think a race to the bottom is appropriate? Then why aren't those people in the lower pay private sector look into getting better paid jobs? Oh, maybe they do want to be paid better and they do want better benefits, they just don't have a union standing up for them! 

I'd complain about the higher ups, CEO etc being overpaid, before I complain about the posties being overpaid. According to Google, posties average out to be $20/hr. To me that's not too overpaid. Posties are also at a higher risk at sustaining back, shoulder, and knee injuries. 

I'm definitely not super pro-union and it sucks that they're going on strike, but I don't disagree with the argument that just because I work as hard as someone else, I should be paid just as much, or that they should get paid less to match my pay. 

[momcqueen]

Isn’t the sticking point that rural carriers don’t get paid the same as urban carriers despite their jobs being vastly different?

Who said urban carriers should get pay cuts to make what rural ones do? I didn’t see that anywhere. People are getting their knickers twisted over factual misrepresentations.

[silverpinups]

Then why aren't those people in the lower pay private sector look into getting better paid jobs?

They are!! For every Federal, Provincial or Municipal position there are probably 800+ applicants vying for that employment opportunity.

Quality jobs are hard to come by these days and there seems to be a lack of appreciation for their employment which is also influenced by a inflated sense of entitlement by the Union. 

Some people just don't realize how good they have it.

I was talking with a Canada Post worker before the last 5pm pick-up at the Post Office. All he did was complain about his wages and benefits. Meanwhile the Drug Store Postal Clerk making minimum wage was listening in on the conversation. I could just imagine what she was thinking. 

There are many unemployed people and University students with degrees having trouble finding jobs in their chosen fields. 

Every position has a chance for injury regardless of how  much you make and Canada Post has a good benefits for their employees.

[momcqueen]

"I was talking with a Canada Post worker before the last 5pm pick-up at the Post Office. All he did was complain about his wages and benefits. Meanwhile the Drug Store Postal Clerk making minimum wage was listening in on the conversation. I could just imagine what she was thinking."

This, to me, encapsulates the reasons I suspect many Canadians are unsympathetic to CUPW's position in this labour dispute. 

No one is asking the union employees to settle for less. They're asking them to settle for the more that they already have and, as an ebay seller for whom postage is my Number One expense, I don't feel like I can support another rate hike to ease the 'suffering' of people who already make more than I do.

No one is asking anyone to take a paycut, are they? If so, someone please cite reference and I will stand corrected. 

And that is the extent to which I am getting involved in a labour dispute over which I have zero impact or control. Might as well go stand at the border and holler in a southerly direction for all the good it would do.