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[Merged] Ask Me About Working For Canada Post

Newbie
Jan 24, 2013
23 posts
6 upvotes
Ontario
hyperactiveme wrote: Anyone see a good set of shorts for us without uniform access please post. It's almost that time of year and I'll need a couple. Thanks
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00EC8 ... UTF8&psc=1

I like that it has a cell phone pocket (fits 6" phone or new style PDT) and its somewhat easily reachable with satchel or great as a mobile op.

I use these daily pants version winter, shorts summer.
Deal Addict
May 22, 2015
3306 posts
3848 upvotes
Old Navy has the cheapest stuff to get you by until you can work out something better. Grab a PDT holster from a supervisor and it opens up your options for shorts.
Sr. Member
Jun 8, 2019
750 posts
398 upvotes
SantaCruz wrote: This is fine, but can we make a rule that if you can't pass a sort test, you can't do a sort for OT? haha.

(Have they ever fired somebody during probation? I know of guy who had harassment issues brought against him, he had a terrible attitude, and as far as I know, he's still there. They don't fire anybody once they get hired, no matter how terrible they are that I've seen. We are definitely working in different worlds.)
Those aren’t usually terms or even people who can’t sort. They gave themselves a 45 min time limit on sorting the walk on OT and aren’t going to go over it. When I do OT, I know exactly who sorted by how ramshackle the attempt is even though they sort their own walk to perfection.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Feb 1, 2008
5026 posts
1789 upvotes
Niagara Falls, ON
I blame the people who named all the neighborhood streets basically the same.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Jan 30, 2006
14641 posts
3364 upvotes
Vancouver
hyperactiveme wrote: I blame the people who named all the neighborhood streets basically the same.
Haha years ago I had this route in West Vancouver for awhile. A nightmare to sort. Non PT obviously. Lots of hills too.
Most streets used Woodxxxx rd, st, court, place lol
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Sr. Member
Mar 7, 2012
542 posts
387 upvotes
gotwgoty wrote: Those aren’t usually terms or even people who can’t sort. They gave themselves a 45 min time limit on sorting the walk on OT and aren’t going to go over it. When I do OT, I know exactly who sorted by how ramshackle the attempt is even though they sort their own walk to perfection.
Kind of not my point. But I'll play along anyway. :) I've had many terms sort OT for me and it's usually pretty bad as well. And they are the ones that seem to cut off. At least at my station. We do have a couple guys that don't run the sequence in, even though literally everybody runs it in. Which is a grey area as technically we aren't suppose to. But come on, it's being done for them when they do OT.

More than bad sorting (because I just bring it back all the missorts) I hate when they pull it despite my request that they don't! The only routes that are fine by a headboard, are apartment routes. Which I rarely take.
Deal Addict
May 22, 2015
3306 posts
3848 upvotes
When we're at the point where terms are sorting routes for OT, we generally just tell the staffer to not have them sort it at all. Just flag my parcels and let me go without manual for the day, it's faster for everyone and frees up a body to do something more useful. If there's two days of sequence then run yesterday's in, but I'll pull it or I'm not taking it either.

(You might be able to tell that our station lives and dies by people doing OT, so we get our way).
Newbie
Apr 3, 2015
46 posts
27 upvotes
Nova Scotia
Our depot is getting a restructure including motorizing the few remaining foot walks. We have been told we are getting the new sort cases and that the mail will be sequenced. What can we expect in relation to what we are currently doing, sorting tubs of random mail into old wooden cases?
Newbie
Apr 3, 2015
46 posts
27 upvotes
Nova Scotia
The restructure is in advance of a surge of large apartment buildings coming on line in the next couple years so I assume they want to reduce routes in advance so that when the apartments come on line they will deliver more with less people or say they have created new jobs ... Thinking Face
Deal Addict
May 22, 2015
3306 posts
3848 upvotes
Congratulations, you've been selected for Postal Transformation! In reality, it's not that bad and it's actually amazing for terms and reliefs who don't have to learn a new case every day or week. You won't lose that many routes despite what the union tells you, I think we lost less than 10% and they lock movement into the station after the count is done, so as long as one or two people leave on their own or retire you won't "lose" any co-workers.

The new cases are because you're moving to two waves - generally 8 and 10 am starts (but sometimes 7:30 or 8:30 depending on the route size), the case strips are magnetic and get flipped over depending on what route is up. It saves a lot of space and you can raise or lower them up to 2 feet, so sharing a case with a tall or short person isn't an issue. The only thing you sort is magazines and oversized or handwritten letters that the sequencing machines can't read. You get a separate LFT (grey tub) of mail with all your short mail placed in order. Some people choose to sort that in but in my opinion it's a waste of time. People will claim carrying two bundles (mail placed back to back) is a health and safety issue but that's been squashed in arbitration. Still, do whatever you need to, if you want to waste 20 minutes of your own time every day for the rest of your career then go nuts! Officially you are not allowed to sort your sequenced mail into the case but you are allowed to "merge" it in the side of your vehicle. They may enforce "not sorting in" during the initial transformation.

There will be no more footwalks and mobiles, everyone gets a vehicle and does their own parcels. There are no more bags, your vehicle is now your relay box. This means routes don't actually get that much longer (distance wise), if anything the pure footwalks will get shorter as they can now design routes to be a more even mix of CMBs, panels and door to door. If you can't walk or you hate driving then PT isn't for you. For everyone else, it's good. I finish faster in a PT station than I did in an old style one, the only difference is now I work at 10 (to 2) instead of 7-12.

No more peeing in the bush or asking someone to fill up your water bottle!
Sr. Member
Mar 7, 2012
542 posts
387 upvotes
Well of course I'm going to whole heartedly disagree with Mike. haha. Sorting mail into the case is not a waste of time. I can be up and out in 50 - 60 minutes total most days. Before they even let us leave. So why not? It certainly doesn't take me 20 minutes to sort in sequence. And the amount of time it takes me outside is less if I have ONE bundle. Never mind health and safety. It's less to drop. Less to have to look through. And if you have route that makes more sense to drive than to do P&L's.... then it's a no brainer. There is a reason why out of ALL of our routes at my station (minus the apartment walks) I only know of 2 people that don't run in their sequence. Guess who spends more time outside? Our station not only allows you to sort in sequence, but it's kind of expected. As I mentioned in above comments, we have a couple guys who don't sort it in when doing OT (though they do sort in their own personal sequence).... and nobody ever wants to cover the routes when they're sorting them. But yes, officially, it's not allowed. We got into &*#$ for it off and on for the first year after we went PT. It's not ever mentioned now. This is going to be largely up to the station you're at and the supervisors you have. So much for "same everywhere you go" theory of of the postal transformation!

I also still miss foot walks. I get done at pretty much the same time though, with less sorting time (including running in my sequence).
The good (for me):
- No more having 2-3 other people depending on you to get their bags out before they get to them if you're doing a mobile route. And no more waiting on your bags if you're on a foot walk.
- No more cabs
- You can easily bring different variations of clothing for the day without having to think about what relay box you want it in.
- If you have an appointment or something in the middle of your shift, you have the ease of leaving your route and then just coming back.
- I almost never use a satchel now.
The bad (for me):
- Getting in and out of the vehicle numerous times a day can be taxing on your body.
- The vehicles are DISGUSTING. I'm a relief and it's so gross getting into 99% of peoples vehicles. Garbage, old food, dirty shoes, a mountain of elastics. You name it.
- I miss just walking. Not having to always loop back to the vehicle. It's way easier to make a route flow better when you have relay boxes.
- I hate the PT cases. If they offered to get me one of the old wooden cases back, I'd take it in a heartbeat. They're smaller, so you don't have to reach as far. They also have the full sides on each slot, which for me, made sorting faster. With the little low plastic things, you have a 1 inch height you can drop it from. I'm not sure if this makes sense. The slots are also narrower.
- You're going to lose some of the social aspect that came with everybody waiting for a cab together and depending on one another a little more.
- The cases are also more enclosing. I noticed a significant change in people talking to one another. It just changes the culture a bit.

All and all, it's not terrible. 100% easier for new people with way less pressure. Would I go back to foot walks? Yeah, I would. But I'm okay with PT too.

And lets be honest here... people are still peeing in bushes! If you're in a residential area, most people are not going to take the time to drive to a bathroom and back.
Sr. Member
Jun 8, 2019
750 posts
398 upvotes
Yea, sorting in sequence is almost always worth it on wave 1 (you’ll be waiting for a truck) and usually worth it on wave 2.
Deal Addict
Dec 21, 2007
1495 posts
1037 upvotes
moncton
I'm predicting end of covid measures for CP either at the end of March or maybe end of April at the latest. No more masks, no more paid quarantine and hopefully the unjabbed are allowed to return.
Deal Addict
May 22, 2015
3306 posts
3848 upvotes
For the first few years people would sort in. Almost no one does it in my station anymore after they all got comfortable with 2 bundles, the hold outs being those nearing retirement. Maybe some will run in a loop or two, sure, but we're mostly cmbs and panels so you'd never do it. The pure footwalks dont run in, they know it doesnt save time its only for convenience.

More importantly, it's not always going to be done for you on OT so terms and relief need to learn double bundling. As older carriers leave, retire or adapt, eventually more and more people stop sorting in. New hires are exclusively trained on double bundle.
Deal Addict
Oct 16, 2014
3205 posts
2497 upvotes
at the chiropractors
I don't know of a single person that doesn't sort in their sequence. Takes me less than 10 minutes, easier to handle 1 bundle, makes an "adjusted pull" much easier, and quicker on the street . Eom.
Sometimes the truth hurts. The other times it hurts worse....
Sr. Member
Jul 6, 2017
653 posts
699 upvotes
Trying to get outsid…
I always broke up my loops in halves or even quarters, depending on the route, in order to reduce the weight in my satchel (and make delivering parcels easier).
To do this effectively I had to sort in my sequence. A little extra time inside made for a far easier day outside.
Deal Addict
May 22, 2015
3306 posts
3848 upvotes
I guess my station is the outlier. If we want to adjust loops we just get extra breaker cards added in, which is very easy for a supervisor to do.

One of my 60 call loops has 5 breakers so I can shuffle the streets where I want them in about 10 seconds.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Jan 30, 2006
14641 posts
3364 upvotes
Vancouver
jonny_fishead wrote: I'm predicting end of covid measures for CP either at the end of March or maybe end of April at the latest. No more masks, no more paid quarantine and hopefully the unjabbed are allowed to return.
I hope your right.
Sr. Member
Mar 7, 2012
542 posts
387 upvotes
mikebc wrote: For the first few years people would sort in. Almost no one does it in my station anymore after they all got comfortable with 2 bundles, the hold outs being those nearing retirement. Maybe some will run in a loop or two, sure, but we're mostly cmbs and panels so you'd never do it. The pure footwalks dont run in, they know it doesnt save time its only for convenience.

More importantly, it's not always going to be done for you on OT so terms and relief need to learn double bundling. As older carriers leave, retire or adapt, eventually more and more people stop sorting in. New hires are exclusively trained on double bundle.
Totally disagree it saves time not running it in. But that's fine. Interesting that your station and my station seem to operate completely opposite. I'm a relief and I'm almost always off before noon and I get there at 8. And that's as a relief! As well, it is truly a rarity that it's not done during OT. Like I said 2 guys. One is new to the station (maybe he came from your station), but he's starting to catch on. And the other guy is just a selfish jerk in all honesty. Just because this is happening where you are, clearly doesn't mean it's happening elsewhere. Not where I am. And all our new hires that train where I am... run it in. The ones that come from somewhere else, catch on... and run it in too.
Deal Addict
May 22, 2015
3306 posts
3848 upvotes
If you feel it saves you the time back out on the street then go nuts I guess. For me, and everyone else who stopped sorting in, they've seen it doesn't save time on the street. My mail is always ready to go into the mailbox by the time I get to the next call, so there's no way to say using a double bundle loses time for me, plus we also never talk about the extra volume on the pull and time wasted running in flyers if you're wave 2. So no time gained on the street but a noticed time loss by sorting in at the case, I don't see how people can argue it saves time. To me, it says they never gave double bundling a try and learned how to be efficient with it - yes, in the beginning it was slow but now it's just as fast. I mean, the sort test is 120 letters in 10 mins, so a seasoned carrier should be able to run in 120 pieces in 5 minutes right? Well I get about 2000 pieces of mail a day, so that's 20 minutes just to sort in and even longer to pull and no I don't have CMBs or panels, just a huge volume walk. Maybe if you have a very low volume walk then it makes sense, but I'm in an area where every house gets 2-3 pieces a day. It's not feasible to waste 30 mins a day to sort in, you cannot gain that time back on the street out here. It is easier, yes, but it is not faster and everyone around me does everything they can to finish as fast as possible.

But we've discussed this topic so many times before and we've always ended up disagreeing, so the best advice is just to let people try it for themselves. As they continue testing and transitioning to SSA (someone else sorting you're route), you're going to have to double bundle anyway.

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