Canada Post

[Eileithia]

I also had a sign for no junk mail or flyers on my mailbox and it did work for me for a good year or so. Then at the start of this year I got a new mailman and for some reason they just ignored the sign. I called my local post office to complain and they sent a form for me to fill out that said I didn't want any junk mail or flyers. Ever since I filled out this form the junk mail has pretty much stopped again. Hopefully it will stick after the strike is done. I hate junk mail as much as spam.

The junk mail doesn't bother me as much as the newspaper. I've contacted the paper explaining the situation to their distribution manager, route manager, editor, presitent, asking politely, begging, pleading, being rude, threatening law suits you name it. I've tried everything short of electrified fencing and guard dogs to get them to stop deliveries to my house. If I'm lucky enough to be home for whatever reason when they are delivering I can explain to the delivery person. This is the only thing that stops it, and only until a new one comes around (which is about every other month with a paper route) and the cycle starts all over again. I shouldn't have to be home when they're delivering to get them to stop delivering.

Anyway.. sorry to derail the thread.. back on topic, ignore my venting

 

[Damage]

Well said Rachel.

 

[bobsyeruncle]

Well, they're voting today. And the NDP are threatening to stall the vote. But the NDP are in the minority. The Conservatives promised to put in some overtime to resolve the issue before the summer break. So we'll see what happens.

It's looking right now like the legislation doesn't quite give the CUPW the cost-of-living increase that they were looking for. And it's less than what Canada Post had offered. I'm not sure it's such a bad deal all round, though. The bigger issue is whether the government should really have intervened on behalf of Canada Post at this point.

 

[tomknotts]

im sorry but for an person who probably only has a grade 12 education do honestly a simple"braindead" job(im not trying to insult anyone) it must be nice to work 2hrs and get paid for 8. now dealing with people, mcdonald makes a ton of money and they only paying the guy taking order minimum wage and trust me they deal with worse people then a postal worker will, so under your logic they deserve 50k a year so does that mean ur ok paying $30 for a cheeseburger our would you complain. as for the mail bags, people at my job have to life 50-150lb boxes for 8hrs a day. the logic behind the raise is just stupid, they are being gready... now the part i thing cp is being pointless about is the .... days and pensions that shows greed on there side. the reason for the lockout is to force the postal workers to sign.

either way i dont care who signs i just want my packages... on a side not if they are at customs can i pick them up, packages it is

 

[Damage]

Tom, I believe you could pick them up at customs if they were not handed over to Canada Post. If they were, you're out of luck and they're stuck in the system.

I do have to ask how you came up with posties only working 2 hours a day and getting paid for 8?

The letter carriers walk from door to door and deliver our mail. Some of them, in suburban areas get a mini truck to drive from complex to complex (I imagine it allows them to carry more mail to deliver) as in my part of town. Are you suggesting they shouldn't be paid for walking from one mailbox to the next? It's part of the job. No? Does this mean the drivers shouldn't be paid for driving from one location to the next to deliver our packages as well? If that's the case, then those McDonald's employees should be paid for only actual labour they do (such as placing fries into the fryer, burgers on a grill, holding a cup while it is being filled) and not for standing around waiting for the food to cook. The one part of employment I think you're overlooking is BEING THERE for those eight hours. If you do your job and meet your expected quota in your line of work, then you get paid for your eight hours a day.

I build/design/develop web sites and applications and charge $XX per hour (been doing it since '95). In your opinion I shouldn't be paid for thinking, only doing, and believe me, my jobs takes a fair amount of thinking/planning in most cases. Others may be cut and dry, but the majority of work I do involves some sort of customized programming. So by your suggestion I should only be paid for actually typing out code and/or designing graphics.

The ONLY jobs I see that fit in your described "2 hrs work for 8 hrs pay" (and not all, but as a point) are office positions in large corporations where a fair amount of employees are playing solitaire and hanging out at the water cooler chit chatting.

 

[rolandpibb]

Well, they're voting today. And the NDP are threatening to stall the vote. But the NDP are in the minority. The Conservatives promised to put in some overtime to resolve the issue before the summer break. So we'll see what happens.

What a strange system of government we have. Most of our citizens voted centre-left, but the majority of seats in our house of commons is held by the right.

I didn't like reading that the government's proposed wage hikes are lower than what Canada Post is offering.

 

[cactusgirl]

im sorry but for an person who probably only has a grade 12 education do honestly a simple"braindead" job(im not trying to insult anyone) it must be nice to work 2hrs and get paid for 8.

Pardon? I can't quite make sense of what point you are trying to make here. Can you clarify please? Are you suggesting that postal employees are brain dead simply because they may 'only' have grade 12 educations? What about the rest of us who may 'only' have grade 12 educations? And you're not trying to insult anyone? Seriously? As for postal workers being paid for 8 hours work and only doing 2 -- where is this happening? Do you know what time a postal worker begins their day? Are you aware of what their job entails? Do you know that letter carriers pick up their route mail at the sorting station and are responsible for separating, sorting and grouping their bundles according to street/delivery route prior to beginning their deliveries each day? Do you seriously believe that it's possible to sort, bundle, and deliver a route in only 2 hours per day?

now dealing with people, mcdonald makes a ton of money and they only paying the guy taking order minimum wage and trust me they deal with worse people then a postal worker will, so under your logic they deserve 50k a year so does that mean ur ok paying $30 for a cheeseburger our would you complain. as for the mail bags, people at my job have to life 50-150lb boxes for 8hrs a day. the logic behind the raise is just stupid, they are being gready...

Again, having a difficult time understanding your comparisons here or exactly what the relevance is. Bottom line is when I apply for a job and am offered and accept employment, whether it be with CP, McDonald's or wherever, I do so with full knowledge of what that job entails, what my employers expectations are, whether or not there are employee benefits, whether or not there is room for advancement within the company, and what the employer has agreed to pay me now and in the future (is there a sliding scale for pay increases?) for the job as advertised. If I consistently deliver the service for which I was hired and am meeting any quotas as set out by my employer, MY expectation is that my employer will continue to pay me (including pensions and benefits) as agreed at the time of hire.

 

[tomknotts]

the 2 hrs are a bit of an exageration... im talking about ur normal walking around delivery guys that walk house to house. they get paid to do there route and they get paid no matter how long it takes... and yes they have had 2hr days but generally average 5hr days and on the rare occation u can have the mail man that my dad has currently starts a about 10ish and is at the bar when it opens at 11. But my info comes from a close family friend who has delived mail for 30+ years, my best friends dad again 30+ years, 3 of my gf clients and other. most of them are not complaining about the money they are un happy about pensions and sick days and are ...... the union want more money. as one of them has stated "we get paid way to much to do something a 10yr old can do".


my package doesnt say anything about customs yet that my out of country packages normally do... how do i know if its out of customs or not. im use to "waiting to be reviewed by customs" or released by customs"

 

[IanK1968]

Is Canada Post an essential service? For me it is and I think it should be labelled an essential service. For others not so much, but in general, do you believe delivering mail should be an essential service and not have the option of striking or lock outs?

 

[Damage]

Well Ian, since you asked so politely. Yes I believe it should be.

And if I may be permitted to slightly vent my... irritation with the whole matter *Grin*

I am self employed. The majority of my clients send me cheques to pay for hosting and services. Try as I might, I cannot convince them to pay online via paypal or Interac EMT. Their claim is it has to do with accountants and keeping the books. So, on to my irritation...

I, like yourself Ian, and other suppliers here, NEED CP's services to make a living to pay our bills. However, even though we pay our taxes, and collect taxes for the government through our sales, will not be getting any mail until they are legislated back to work or work it out between the two sides.

HOWEVER....

Welfare and other government cheques were delivered (I'm not griping about welfare recipients, and pensioners have earned their pensions, so don't go off about it as this isn't about people who get money from the government) because they need their money/cheques to pay their bills, but I guess I do not.

If I could afford a lawyer to take CP to court for lost business (big bucks as they'd keep you tied up in court forever), you know I damn well would. Perhaps a class action lawsuit? Maybe a lawyer who'd do it pro bono (LOTS of media focus with that case no doubt).

And in addendum to my last post I'd like to add that I did not get my grade 12 or graduate from high school, but did go back years later and get a degree in electronics technology. Apparently I wasn't qualified to get a job at CP back in the 80's, even though I had friends who had worked there for years.

Okay, I've vented... I'm okay now.

 

[Kams Cats]

I did flyer delivery in the neighborhood for a year. My route was 1/4 of what my postie walks everyday. It took me 2 hrs to do it. No way is my postie done 2 or even 4 hours after starting work.

 

[dopeh]

Kams, did you measure his route against your own? If it was 1/3 not 1/4, that would already save him 2 hours. If he's experienced, take off a little more. Also, you have to stop at every address with your flyers, he only goes to those with mail...

My mailman cuts corners blatantly. He does stuff like leave attempted delivery cards while the parcel is in his back seat. At the end of his run, he dumps all the packages at the PO for pick up. I once even ran out to meet him, card in hand, he said he didn't have the package, though his car was full to the roof, and when I asked the PO about it, they said packages are dropped off by him and nobody else, at the end of the day.

Calling to complain is useless, it's nearly impossible to fire these people, no matter what they do. I say lock 'em out til all the union money is gone, then privatize the mail and they can twist in the wind. This feels almost like welfare for the employed.

 

[Eileithia]

My mailman cuts corners blatantly. He does stuff like leave attempted delivery cards while the parcel is in his back seat. At the end of his run, he dumps all the packages at the PO for pick up. I once even ran out to meet him, card in hand, he said he didn't have the package, though his car was full to the roof, and when I asked the PO about it, they said packages are dropped off by him and nobody else, at the end of the day.

My mailman does the same thing. I once had a package that said "Attempted delivery" when I was actually home all day, waiting for the guy, and he didn't even leave the little tag. He didn't even come to my house. Went over to the PO after 5PM and picked it up there.

 

[rolandpibb]

Filibuster!

 

[Can_supplier]

I did flyer delivery in the neighborhood for a year. My route was 1/4 of what my postie walks everyday. It took me 2 hrs to do it. No way is my postie done 2 or even 4 hours after starting work.

For all of us who every had a paper route, or delivered door to door, we know what a hard and crappy job that was.

Its very literal on this one, don't judge someone until you walk a mile in their shoes.

Excellent point, thanks!

 

[Concat]

I had a route when I was young. As far as jobs go, walking around in the fresh air and listening to music is pretty sweet, IMO. But then winter hits and it's pretty much hell. haha...

 

[heXy]

I was a level 4s installer for Rogers Cable... I know all about walking around houses in the conditions mother earth blesses us with... And believe me, I was carrying JUST as much weight if not more with a 4 pouch electrical tool belt/boxes of cable, hammer drills, 20+ ft ladders etc...

It's not easy, but it was my choice to do that job, knowing full well the down sides...

Can't complain about it now, keep working, a lot of people have it WAY worse

To me, that's as bad as teachers complaining about marking papers after regular school hours...

 

[luciachan]

For all of us who every had a paper route, or delivered door to door, we know what a hard and crappy job that was.

Its very literal on this one, don't judge someone until you walk a mile in their shoes.

Excellent point, thanks!

Sure I had a paper route and it was hard work but I didn't get paid $23/hr to do it. I got paid $50/bi-weekly. lol

 

[bobsyeruncle]

The back-to-work legislation has passed its 3rd reading. It just needs royal assent and then everyone's back to work delivering my @#$%!! mail.

Canada Post back-to-work bill clears House - Politics - CBC News

 

[Damage]

Woot! I should get my package..... soon I hope.