Mail Strike Over, for now

Canada Post has said that mail delivery will resume on Tuesday, now that both Parliament and the Senate have passed back to work legislation.  Binding arbitration is forced on both parties, in this bill, but the Government didn’t allow one single amendment to be added, or passed.

Course, the real issue for me, was that why did we even have to have this strike? Okay, the union started it by going out on their rotating strikes, that frankly, were nothing but a minor inconvenience. It was Canada Post ( Harper’s in other words ) that sent the strike national, and stopped mail delivery everywhere.

Note to all those Whiners : The entire debacle of no mail, was by design, by Herr Harper, as a political stunt to make his majority government look competent. He needed something to shore up all the questioning that has begun.  So before you whining self centered people start blaming the Union & the NDP opposition for dragging this on, keep in mind, it was Harper & Canada Post that stopped national mail deliver, not the Union.

And while we are at it, let’s look at this stupid debate as well. The Government has had, for a long time, the ability to limit debate, and not allow things like this to drag on for long.  Funny thing is, the Harper Conservatives didn’t avail themselves of it, and more than that, a large number of Conservative MPs took their turn in dragging this debate on, to a record 58 hours.

So the question is, how come?

IF the Government truly was interested in ending the strike, why did they force it nationally, to begin with? Secondly, why did they then not act quicker to bring in back to work legislation? Thirdly, why did they add to the lengthy debate, by stuffing it with their own members commenting?

Let’s get real Canada, the truth is Stephen Harper doesn’t give a rat’s ass for us. Canada Post makes a profit, which makes it damn hard for him to sell it off to one of his campaign supporters, so he had to do something, to make it look less profitable.

What better way than have a national strike, get the workers upset and stupid, and then try to pin the blame for not settling the dispute quicker on the NDP Opposition. 

Give the Devil ( Stephen Harper ) his due, he is good at strategy, but the problem with that, is it hurts Canada.

Screw the Public by Canada Post

Rotating strikes by its workers, were inconvenient to Canada Post. According to them, it didn’t allow for negotiations, or for a chance at settlement.   Of course, it was also annoying to the General Public, and to the many business interests that use ( and rely on ) the Postal service.

However, it was a one day inconvenience, until now.

Canada Post in its infinite wisdom has gone and made the strike National, by locking out its employees.  So no mail delivery now, anywhere, until a settlement is reached, or Canada Post is sold off.

After all, it is more important to ORDER WORKERS back to WORK if they are working for a private entity, like Air Canada, than if they work for the Crown Corporation, Canada Post.

Besides, it is also more important to screw those 60% of voters who didn’t support Herr Harper in the last election. You know, people like you and me, and all those small little business people, who got nada in Harper’s grand economic scheme, unless you were a buddy or big time contributor to his party.

Instead of talking, Canada Post has refused to meet, to discuss the issues with its employees. Like no wonder nothing got settled, but hey, they did tell their employees that they were going to cut their working hours down by 2/5 ths.  You know, go from 5 day mail delivery to just three per week.

And now they lock them out, under the bullshit reason of trying to force the Union to the bargaining table.

I guess seeing as how Harper was able to con 40% of the people with his lies, his deceit, his utter bullshit, they are now trying to convince the rest of us, how he is the only hope for Canada’s future.  You know, like selling off and dismantling a profit making Crown Corporation like Canada Post.

What is next, letting private enterprise run our Prisons?

It Ain’t Broke, Why Monkey With It?

So Canada Post announced, in the middle of a strike, that it is going to go from Five Day deliveries, to Three Day deliveries.   Uh, that ought to get the Union to the bargaining table, right?   NOT!

I simply do not understand the move either. They claim it is due to dwindling mail, but honestly, that just doesn’t make much sense to me. I mean many businesses rely on the mail for sending out invoices, for receiving payments.

Then there are the catalogue and subscription outfits that rely on the Post for delivery.  Course the bottom line is PROFITS, and yet Canada Post IS PROFITABLE NOW!

So why tamper with it?

Oh wait, this Harper, the World Class Economist, who knows more than anyone else about how markets work, how business works.  Uh yeah, right.

Typical of our Little Dictator, to meddle with something that is actually working, so he can say he did that. And the timing, while the employees are off on strike?  The public hasn’t been phased much, by the strike, but now, he’s given the Union a reason to go national, to disrupt business and personal lives.  He is taking a huge chunk of money out of their pockets, so duh, they are gonna get nasty about it.

Thing is, it will wind up COSTING US.

It isn’t black and white. While there may be less mail, the thing is, it is paying the bills, the costs of running Canada Post, as well as adding money into the coffers.

I can get by with mail three times a week, but it also means having to pay more attention to the ‘due date’ on the bills that come in.  Outfits like FIDO for example, that always seem to take 10 to 14 days to arrive, have a month end due date.  Receive that bill a bit later than now, and well, you have less time to check the bill before having to pay it.

Same goes for Hydro, Cable, etc. 

Sure, we can move to electronic means, but how safe are they? Hell, even Harper’s own Conservative website was hacked, donor information stolen ( least so they say ), so what about Cable and Hydro?  Even some major US Bank just got hacked, and let’s not forget the recent hacking of Sony.

I think I will keep having a paper bill sent.

Darn No Mail Today

So the Postal Strike is in full swing, or should I say the Rolling Strike is.

Like okay, we get no mail today, but tomorrow, all is back to normal. Sure, things might be backlogged a little, so add another day before the mail gets through. Like that hurts me really bad… NOT!

I don’t understand Rolling Strikes,other than perhaps some PR value, but in all honesty, it really isn’t such a big deal. Even for those businesses that rely on Canada Post, its an inconvenience at worst, not something that is going to bankrupt them.  IF it does, then boy they weren’t long for the world to begin with.

And where is our Stevie Boy?

Well he’s bringing down his budget, and that is going to be interesting. As for the strike, haven’t seen a thing from the Government about it, so I suppose that means no plans afoot on ending the rolling strikes. Course, eventually it’ll escalade, and then who knows.

But until then, well, I can live a day without bills, flyers, or even a cheque or two. Not like it won’t ever arrive, so instead of getting them today, it’ll be tomorrow or Thursday.   I can live with that.

Yet, with all the dark headlines, the reminders of which city will be hit next, you would think that both the Government & Union would also use this opportunity to disclose just what is it, that is keeping them from reaching an agreement.

Course it would be logical to have the Media tell us what both sides are seeking, in clear precise terms, but then, that would be logical, right? Not our Media, they are more interested in creating panic, fear, and in exploiting hardships, than in actually relating the facts, or truth of a story.

Now IF the Media Workers were to go on strike, I’d enjoy that, and hope IT NEVER GOT SETTLED.  lol

Trading in Mail Bags for Strike Signs

Canada Post is set to strike at Midnight tonight, unless some last second deal is made. This will be the first postal strike since the early 1990′s.  Should also take note that Canada Post actually makes a profit, which is rather amazing.

According to the news, the Union is going to go with rolling strikes, and Winnipeg is slated to get hit first. Now, I don’t know, but has Winnipeg had enough heartache lately? I mean the flooding of course, and then there is Quebec too. Now they really have been hit hard, but they aren’t slated first.

And what is our little dictator going to do?

What I find interesting about all this, is the hoopla so many are NOT making out of it. Yes, it is damn inconvenient, and yes, many businesses do rely on the post for a variety of things. I mean come on, ebay, amazon, to name a few. Yet really, no one seems concerned, or worried about it. Odd how we seem to not know just how much we do use, or rely, on Canada Post.

Then there is the Magazine Subscription trade, Boy do they rely on it, and what about all those targeted door to door mailings? The pizza outfits that all send people their specials and yes even McDonalds and A&W use the post, so why do so many seem unaware of that?

So much for the Computer Age huh?

Thing is, I use many electronic means, but I still like getting paid by cheque. I hate paying outrageous fees for wire transfers. Something PayPal doesn’t do btw, if your transfer is over a set amount. But all the others like Paxum, Payoneer, etc, have a lot of hidden fees, as do banks. I mean it is no wonder that cheques are still around, given how expensive some banks make it to transfer funds.

Always gets me too, how much they charge. Saw one Bank claim to charge $35 for a wire transfer, and then the company receiving also had to pay a fee.  Like maybe we need to use Canada Post a lot more, make it more profitable, but I’d wait until we turf Harper.  If it makes money, he’ll have it on the auction block. in no time flat.