Scotty Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Canada Post workers have been bracing for a likely strike for some time now. Almost two years ago, Canada Post attacked one of their smaller unions, made up largely of young clerical staff, and after a month long strike managed to wrest away their sick leave package, replacing it with a private sector insurance scheme not nearly as generous and certain. Now they're demanding the same from Canada Posts' biggest union CUPW. And doing it with a certain heavy handed obviousness to things which indicate Canada Post doesn't really mind a strike. In addition to removing sick leave they want to drop wages for new hires by a 25%, expand temporary workers, increase worker contributions to benefits, and dramatically increase contributions for retired workers, and unilaterally change the safety regulations for letter carriers. All in the same contract. So anyone who thinks this is going to be a short strike had best think again. Canada Post, which, incidentally, has been profitable for the last 16 years, is clearly setting out with a chip on its shoulder, and the only thing likely to end a strike is back to work laws passed by parliament. If that's done with arbitration Canada Post is most unlikely to get is way. If it's done without arbitration it will likely cause violence, but I'm not sure if the Conservatives necessarily mind that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fellowtraveller Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 While they are at it, they should legislate an end to home delivery of mail for everybody, not just half the country. It's waste of billions and demonstrably unnecessary. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saipan Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Thank God (Gore) for the Internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted May 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 While they are at it, they should legislate an end to home delivery of mail for everybody, not just half the country. It's waste of billions and demonstrably unnecessary. . And profitable! Given what a crappy job most our cash strapped cities do of clearing snow off the sidewalks we'd have all kinds of old people keeling over dead every day. Just think of the savings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topaz Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 you are talking about the Conservatives and unions. Lets remember what the Harris government did to the CUPE in Ontario, workers were roughed up and the OPP sent. The Post Office is still needed and Cananda Post is spending 2 Billion to upgrade and they wouldn't be spending that money if they didn't think they could get it back through profits. AS long as the CEO is getting big bucks, then why not the people who made it possible for the CEO to get outrages wages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilter Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 While they are at it, they should legislate an end to home delivery of mail for everybody, not just half the country. It's waste of billions and demonstrably unnecessary. . You got it right there bud--- Why should 1/2 of Canadians have to get their mail from the Smart boxes when the rest of the neighborhoods get it at their door? The boxes ate less costly, available night or day & never go on strike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saipan Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 AS long as the CEO is getting big bucks, then why not the people who made it possible for the CEO to get outrages wages? It's a supply and demand. If there were plenty of CEO's they wouldn't be getting any "big bucks". But there's a lot of people who can shuffle mail and throw boxes around (and break stuff) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiddleClassCentrist Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) It's a supply and demand. If there were plenty of CEO's they wouldn't be getting any "big bucks". But there's a lot of people who can shuffle mail and throw boxes around (and break stuff) You are mistaken. There are tons of people right below the CEO who would love to have the job. There is no short supply of them, there is no reason for them to get raises either. It's not like companies have a difficult time finding one. Edited May 31, 2011 by MiddleClassCentrist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saipan Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 You are mistaken. There are tons of people right below the CEO who would love to have the job. There is no short supply of them, there is no reason for them to get raises either. It's not like companies have a difficult time finding one. You're wrong the market's right. Would YOU hire someone less than the best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPCFTW Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 You are mistaken. There are tons of people right below the CEO who would love to have the job. There is no short supply of them, there is no reason for them to get raises either. It's not like companies have a difficult time finding one. I'm sure you'd love to have your boss's job too, that doesn't make him overpaid (unless you work in the public sector where seniority trumps intelligence, hard-work, ambition, skill, or any of the other attributes that allow private sector executives to consistently generate economic gains for the public sector to leech from). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keepitsimple Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Canada Post, which, incidentally, has been profitable for the last 16 years, is clearly setting out with a chip on its shoulder, and the only thing likely to end a strike is back to work laws passed by parliament. Pretty easy to be profitable when you just keep raising your postage rates when your costs go up. Oh - and lets not forget couier services where it is legislated that the competition cannot charge less than Canada Post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Pretty easy to be profitable when you just keep raising your postage rates when your costs go up. Like any other business then. Canada post is the only game in rural areas. That's why they enjoy their advantage - to subsidize their disadvantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouterjim Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 The bastards. I have a reimbursement cheque coming back soon, and sure as shit, they will hold it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Weber Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) The bastards. I have a reimbursement cheque coming back soon, and sure as shit, they will hold it up! Then you should take it up with Canada Post... They are the ones dealing in a heavy handed nature... Edited May 31, 2011 by Jack Weber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTM Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 AS long as the CEO is getting big bucks, then why not the people who made it possible for the CEO to get outrages wages? I'm sure you'd love to have your boss's job too, that doesn't make him overpaid (unless you work in the public sector where seniority trumps intelligence, hard-work, ambition, skill, or any of the other attributes that allow private sector executives to consistently generate economic gains for the public sector to leech from). There is a significant subset of CEOs that are overpaid. Compare the compensation of some CEOs to that of say, the Prime Minister of Canada (or even the POTUS). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saipan Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 There is a significant subset of CEOs that are overpaid. Sue them. Are my tax money going toward their wages? I'm more concerned with 'expenses' of say NDP Howard Hampton being $130,000 a year, or several times that of then Premier Mike Harris $16,000. Compare the compensation of some CEOs to that of say, the Prime Minister of Canada (or even the POTUS). Do you want that money? Don't run for PM, run for CEO instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shwa Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 The interesting sidebar is that there are still plenty of big unions in Canada and they aren't going away. With the remuneration disparity between the workers and executive class increasing every day, collective bargaining is still the thin edge of the wedge. If the CPC government becomes too anti-union, we might end up with regular occurances of strikes, work action, slowdowns and so on in the federal public sectors. This wave of conservatism might also affect Toronto. Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair went to the Toronto Police Services Board with a request for a 4% increase and was told by the board that they want him to layoff officers. The Board was told to cut their budget by 10% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiddleClassCentrist Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) Pretty easy to be profitable when you just keep raising your postage rates when your costs go up. Oh - and lets not forget couier services where it is legislated that the competition cannot charge less than Canada Post. Funny you say that... I pay more now and get less than I did 10 years ago. I guess most corps just raise prices when costs go up. You know, to remain profitable. Edited May 31, 2011 by MiddleClassCentrist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shwa Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Funny you say that... I pay more now and get less than I did 10 years ago. I guess most corps just raise prices when costs go up. You know, to remain profitable. McEconomics. They will tell you though, that the reduction in size of their hamburgers are done out of respect to limiting portion size for the health reasons of their clients. All very altruistic of course. You pay the same for less food, but we are all the better for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPCFTW Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Except that private companies face competition if they keep raising prices while letting their costs get out of control whereas Canada Post has a legislated monopoly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiddleClassCentrist Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Except that private companies face competition if they keep raising prices while letting their costs get out of control whereas Canada Post has a legislated monopoly. In some markets, maybe but that is not the reality in many markets. For instance, telecom, oil, real estate services, etc are all heavily guarded to prevent innovation and cost reduction. I pay twice as much now for half the bandwidth, and limited bandwidth to boot. I could list my own house through MLS without a realtor and make a sale using easily acquired forms and real estate document templates. Many realtor boards actively hinder this ability (Toronto, for instance) The mainstream electric car was not killed by lack of demand (4000 person waiting list for EV1 before it reached mass manufacturing market), it was killed at the realization that electric cars are more efficient. They cost less to run. They cost less to maintain. Both big oil and big car companies lose out. Less fuel consumption. Less wear on parts. It is easy to neglect that in a world of limited resources, we do not really live in a free market economy. We live in a partially free market economy dominated an manipulated by the big players to protect their interests. Companies in market control have lobbyists and pocket politicians to ensure that they continue to have that control. Again, Telecom companies were trying to force Usage Based Billing down our throats. They claimed it was because of internet congestion. The reality is that innovative internet services make having Phone, TV and Internet connections obsolete. You only need an internet connection for all three of those services. Limiting bandwidth kills the competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTM Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Sue them. Are my tax money going toward their wages? No, your wage money is going towards their wages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted May 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 You're wrong the market's right. Would YOU hire someone less than the best? Saipan is clearly correct here. Look at the well-deserved rewards of all those big bank and stock broker CEOs. They did a bang-up job in investing in things none of them actually understood, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted May 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 I'm sure you'd love to have your boss's job too, that doesn't make him overpaid (unless you work in the public sector where seniority trumps intelligence, hard-work, ambition, skill, or any of the other attributes that allow private sector executives to consistently generate economic gains for the public sector to leech from). Other than general ignorance, what gives you the idea people get promoted in the public service due to seniority? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted May 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 The bastards. I have a reimbursement cheque coming back soon, and sure as shit, they will hold it up! I have royalty cheques due too, but I support the workers in this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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