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.   

[cumos55]

From the Winnipeg Free Press..... November 14, 2018

"Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned his government could intervene if progress isn't made soon in the talks, but did not say what action might be taken."

We shall see......  The sooner the better.

In 2011, Government intervention occurred after a Canada Post  lockout.

In 2018, it could be a Government action, without a lockout....

[cumos55]

The government moderator left for a few days, and then returned for about 4 days.

One could suspect the moderator had talked extensively with many people in the government.... and... the moderator went back to negotiations  with a few new words of wisdom.

......   end negotiations....  end the strikes....  or the Government will end it all.......

The Canada Post Review also gave a good indication of what Canada Post has to do....

What is next?....... Maybe privatization of Canada Post.... Postal services in some major countries have been privatized without any problems with the transition...   Canada Post may have to follow certain government requests, but the rest will be Canada Post's choice...

[mrdutch1001]

Courier companies like ChitChats will pick up a lot of customers during these postal disruptions and hopefully will consider for the future to expand across Canada. If given the opportunity I'd be one who would welcome Chit Chats. Canada Post needs to wake up and see what the total affect of these postal disruptions is going to have on their future business.

[rose-dee]

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@cumos55 wrote:

What is next?....... Maybe privatization of Canada Post.... Postal services in some major countries have been privatized without any problems with the transition...   Canada Post may have to follow certain government requests, but the rest will be Canada Post's choice... 

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Yes, that's another thing CUPW should be thinking about when they make despicable remarks such as being proud of their "accomplishment" of disrupting the whole country.   Their bravado may in the long run mean the end of their union.  Political pressure by the "disrupted" of this country could well convince the government to wash its hands of all these problems. 

I have no sympathy whatsoever for  CUPW's high and mighty stance in these negotiations, making pronouncements of victory over the very people who ultimately are paying their wages (that would be us).     

[femmefan1946]

Before you call for privatization, compare the cost of shipping by non-union carriers and the extent of their delivery networks.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@mrdutch1001 wrote:

Courier companies like ChitChats will pick up a lot of customers during these postal disruptions and hopefully will consider for the future to expand across Canada.

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Chitchats is not a courier company.

Chitchats expansion will depend heavily on whether there are more USA border restrictions under USMCA (the NAFTA replacement).  For example, duty free dropping from $800 to $100.

[femmefan1946]

For example, duty free dropping from $800 to $100.

HUH!!!???

I'd missed that part, probably because it deals with US buyers rather than Canadian one.

With currency exchange that makes importing in either direction subject to the same duty-free allowance (more or less).

And of course the fear and loathing now that some states are actually setting up a method for charging state sales taxes on online purchases.

I'm surprised US sellers haven't mentioned it either. Will this apply only to Canadian (and possibly Mexican) imports?
Or will it extend to European and Asian imports too?

[hlmacdon]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

For example, duty free dropping from $800 to $100.

HUH!!!???

I'd missed that part, probably because it deals with US buyers rather than Canadian one. 

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I believe that was based on incorrect media reporting relating to the Americans previously demanding equal de minimis values between the three countries. The only mention of the de minimis within the full text of the agreement (link to the relevant section) covers "express shipments" and specifies a minimum US de minimis of $800. Any other regulation regarding the de minimis is via the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act which is what actually governs the limits and set out the current $800 limit.

Changes could be made to that act but I haven't see any indication the US is moving in the direction. There haven't been any indications of the US looking at additional duties at this level as CBP previously clarified that the increased tariffs against China for example would not apply to Section 321 shipments/imports (de minimis category). There still remains some uncertainty as to why the language of the agreement refers to express shipments specifically but not to other potential classes of shipments. I would presume they mention express specifically as the fedex/ups couriers of the world constitute the bulk of the smaller commercial consignments they would have a specific interest in as these would not be Section 321. The language of the USMCA as well as changes to the previous act were designed to simply informal entry shipments and also to reduce the administrative burden of chasing down taxes/duties on low value shipments where there is no financial benefit after costs. 

[cumos55]

The cost to deliver mail to each address, each residence is about $285  for each year.

For communities with community mailboxes, that cost per residence is about one-half that cost.

--------------------------------

If one person delivers mail on two days each week....  such as Monday and Thursday.....  

They can deliver a second route on Tuesday and Friday.

and then... on Wednesday they can deliver mail to people that cannot walk to a community mailbox..... People with disabilities and  seniors.

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The union is concerned with people getting injured during mail delivery... Delivery to each house can mean a walk of up to 20 km each day... 5 days a week....  week after week....  Winter can be an uncomfortable and dangerous walk.

Such injuries will not occur with mail delivery to community mailboxes.

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Many  people do recognize that community mailboxes and mail delivery at 2 to 3 days each  week  is acceptable....

Canada Post cannot make these adjustments, because of the Canada Post Corporation Act, control by the Government... and also the union.

Several Crown Corporations have been privatized over the years.....  As private corporations each has become most successful.

[cumos55]

It was many decades ago that people in cities picked up their mail at a location  with hundreds of mailboxes......  There was no delivery to each residence.  Then came delivery to each residence, day-after-day.

Rural mail delivery  was like this ......mailboxes in a local town ....until about the early 1970s.... and then it became mail delivery to each residence  in  rural situations.

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The internet has changed  things...  less lettermail.... lots more parcels.

Canada Post has to make adjustments.....   Canada Post wants to make these adjustments.... but they are prevented from doing so, and that puts Canada Post into a difficult  situation  ....... specifically the cost of maintaining the mail system  as it is today.

The mail system must be adjusted  in relation to today's world.......

[hlmacdon]

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@cumos55 wrote:

The mail system must be adjusted  in relation to today's world.......

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Yes, small things like the government actually putting pressure on the UPU. Reduced service to Canadians should be the last option on the table and meaningful efforts need to be made to stem the losses on all the cheap junk flooding into the country. We already pay excessive premiums on all classes of international mail to make up for this. 

[ypdc_dennis]

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@cumos55 wrote:

It was many decades ago that people in cities picked up their mail at a location  with hundreds of mailboxes......  There was no delivery to each residence.  Then came delivery to each residence, day-after-day.

Rural mail delivery  was like this ......mailboxes in a local town ....until about the early 1970s.... and then it became mail delivery to each residence  in  rural situations.

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Urban delivery began in 1874.

Rural delivery began in 1908. Delivery to the mailbox at the end of the farm lane.

In both cases only where population density made delivery sense.

...

In the 1970's there was a major rollout of delivery to more households (any town/village with more than 5000 population for urban).

-..-

[ypdc_dennis]

Canadian Press, Nov 14:

Canada Post has issued what it calls a "time-limited" contract offer to its employees in the hope of ending rotating strikes that have created a historic backlog of undelivered parcels.

The offer came just hours after online sales and auctioning giant eBay called on the federal government to legislate an end to the Canada Post contract dispute.

The Crown corporation's four-year offer, provided to The Canadian Press, includes annual two-per-cent wage hikes, plus signing bonuses of up to $1,000 per employee.

The $650-million proposal also includes new job-security provisions, including for rural and suburban carriers who have complained about precarious employment, and a $10-million health and safety fund.

But Canada Post says the measures are only affordable if a deal can be agreed to before the holiday shopping rush, so it has imposed a deadline of Saturday, Nov. 17, for Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) members to accept the deal.

-..-

[cumos55]

My relatives on a farm about 40 miles west of Winnipeg, did not get mail delivery to their farm until the early 1970s..

Initially they bought a scooter to make a quarter mile trip to the mailbox.... otherwise they made a short walk... and even a drive in an automobile.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@cumos55 wrote:

My relatives on a farm about 40 miles west of Winnipeg, did not get mail delivery to their farm until the early 1970s..

Initially they bought a scooter to make a quarter mile trip to the mailbox.... otherwise they made a short walk... and even a drive in an automobile.

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Somewhat off topic warning

...

I grew up on a farm in Ontario. The job of us kids when we walked home from the one room public school in the 1960's was to empty the mail box -- almost always something in the box -- my parents and grandmother subscribed to a lot of publications plus lots of lettermail coming and going. Long distance telephone was not cheap back then, and my grandmother's TV could bring in 2 stations for viewing -- so paper was king if you wanted to stay informed (radio did provide some news during the day, but was unreliable after sunset).

...

In our rural area there were 6 farms per square mile and about 25-30 people living on them in the late 1950's, which was a decline from 40-45 people in the 1930's.

...

Had a great uncle who retired from rural delivery in the early 1970's because he didn't want to train a new horse for the job of pulling the mail buggy.  Had nothing to do with my great uncle turning 91. 

[femmefan1946]

@cumos55

Rural mail delivery  was like this ......mailboxes in a local town ....until about the early 1970s.... and then it became mail delivery to each residence  in  rural situations.

https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/rise-and-fall-and-rise-postal-delivery

Actually, 1908.

There was a stamp booklet celebrating Rural Mail Delivery.

So it's not a simple as all that.

[rose-dee]

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@hlmacdon wrote:

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

For example, duty free dropping from $800 to $100.

HUH!!!???

I'd missed that part, probably because it deals with US buyers rather than Canadian one. 

---

I believe that was based on incorrect media reporting relating to the Americans previously demanding equal de minimis values between the three countries. The only mention of the de minimis within the full text of the agreement (link to the relevant section) covers "express shipments" and specifies a minimum US de minimis of $800. Any other regulation regarding the de minimis is via the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act which is what actually governs the limits and set out the current $800 limit.

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Thank you so much for clarifying this point and providing sources.   I just about fainted when I read the earlier post.  Many of my items going to the U.S. are well over $200 and the current de minimus of $800 for personal imports has helped me a great deal in promoting my business in the U.S.   It would be a huge blow for me to have it reduced to $100.  

Mind you, I'm hopeful that a Democrat-controlled Congress in the U.S. may be able to either stall or stop the implementation of the USMCA as it is now (and do something about the ridiculous use by Trump of tariffs as a bludgeon). 

[widgetc]

"Mind you, I'm hopeful that a Democrat-controlled Congress in the U.S. may be able to either stall or stop the implementation of the USMCA as it is now..."

If they stall or stop it, it will unfortunately to ask for more not less concessions from Canada and Mexico.

[rose-dee]

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@widgetc wrote:

"Mind you, I'm hopeful that a Democrat-controlled Congress in the U.S. may be able to either stall or stop the implementation of the USMCA as it is now..."

If they stall or stop it, it will unfortunately to ask for more not less concessions from Canada and Mexico.

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I really can't see that.  I can't recall the Democrats bringing up NAFTA as an issue when they last had control of the congress and when, during Obama's first term, they could easily have done something about it.  Also, this USMCA isn't the tripartite agreement that NAFTA was, a major irritant for both Canada and Mexico. 

We'll just have to wait and see how high up the very busy 2019 agenda this subject will be for the U.S. congress.  They have many more pressing issues to tackle, although a good outcome would be just not ratifying the USMCA into law at all, and punting it over into 2020 in the hope Trump will be gone.