DO YOU KNOW?

DO YOU KNOW-That all the high floor MCI busses will be retired and sold for scrap this spring?

DO YOU KNOW- That effective April 1st the Transit commission will be raising bus fares to $2.50 for adults and $1.65 for seniors and kids. Along with increases to monthly and U Passes

DO YOU KNOW-That Naturopathic doctors along with Chiropractic care, Massage Therapy and Acupuncture are covered by your benefits [see the benefit section of your collective agreement for more info]

DO YOU KNOW- That all members have access to a fitness facility for only $5.00 per pay [A new Langford facility is hopefully in the plans for 2013]

DO YOU KNOW- That between March of 2008 and March of 2009, 27 Operators were assaulted in Victoria, 10 by spit and we are at 5 since January this year alone.

DO YOU KNOW- Coast Mountain Bus Company, Edmonton Transit and Saskatoon Transit are looking at installing Spit shields to protect their Operators.

DO YOU KNOW-That our next general meeting is on Wednesday March 10th at the CAW hall on Glanford.

DO YOU KNOW-That Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin will be a special guest at the 7:00pm general meeting on the 10th of March.

 

“What do you want to know” e-mail doyouknow@cawvidc.bc.ca

 

Your Political Action Committee; Peter Gnoinski, Abbas Mohamdi, Michelle Hollingshead, Scott Ingbritson and Jim Pullan

 

 

HERE ARE SOME WAGE & HOUSING COMPARISONS

BC Transit, Victoria;
Transit Operator - Conventional Hourly Wage Schedule, Effective April 2009
First 18 weeks $18.30
19-52 weeks $20.13
Year two $22.22
Year three $23.53
Thereafter $26.14
Community Shuttle - Hourly Wage Schedule, Effective April 2009
Training rate $15.98
First 8 months after training $17.00
Next 8 months after training $19.14
Thereafter $20.71

Edmonton Transit   
$18.18 training wage
$22.34 to $27.93 top wage
67.5 hour guarantee for 1 year / 74 hour after

Calgary Transit     
$20.12 to train
$21.46 to $26.83 top wage
60 hour guarantee for 3 years/ 75 after that

Coast Mountain   
$19.85 to train
$21.26 first 8 months
$22.68 next 8 months
$25.52 next 8 months
$28.35 top wage
Community Shuttle  
$17.06 to train
$18.14 first 8 months
$20.41 next 8 months
$22.68 top wage   / 14% in lieu of benefits

A Globe and Mail report on the most expensive places in Canada to buy a house.
Average cost as of August 2009

VICTORIA - $470,207.00 - UP 5.0% FROM 2008
Calgary - $397,412.00 - down 3.5% from 2008
Edmonton - $321,492.00 - down 4.0% from 2008
Saskatoon  $274,986.00
Montreal  $283,390.00

And now we have to add the HST to the cost of living here as of July1/2010

 

A NOTE ON PRIVATIZATION

Canada Post, from a random blog:

I learned something over Christmas that I feel compelled to share with you.
This won't change your life dramatically or help you survive the apocalypse but it will save you some $$$.

I recently mailed two identical packages via Canada Post one week apart.
One would think that the postage should be exactly the same...well, let me tell you...

Pkg # 1 was mailed from an actual Canada Post Office. Postage came to $11.74. Since I knew a second identical package would be mailed in about a week's time, I bought sufficient postage for the second pkg while I was there.

When it came time to mail Pkg #2, I went to the post office in Shopper's Drug Mart. I handed the pkg to the clerk to be put in the outbound mail bag, I was informed that I did not have sufficient postage attached. The clerk proceeded to inform me that I needed to purchase and additional $6 worth of stamps.  After explaining how I knew exactly what the postage should be, the clerk offered some lame excuse that Canada Post is unionized and they can say and do anything with impunity and if I wished to mail that pkg from Shopper's then I needed to purchase more stamps.

I told the clerk to stuff it and took back my package and headed to the "real" Canada Post Office, where I would raise hell...
 Much to my surprise, the Canadian Postal Clerk took my package, weighed it and tossed it in the mail bag, and it was it's way...When I asked if the amount of Postage I had put on the parcel was right she shook her head and said "yup, no problem"...
The Truth comes out:

Canada Post Offices charge postage for packages at the published Canada Post rates.
Franchise locations such as Shoppers Drug Mart can charge whatever they like.
So remember if  you regularly mail packages at franchise locations (ie Shoppers Drug Mart,) you are probably paying too much. Franchise locations are found in shopping malls, drug stores and private businesses everywhere. From now on, all of my mailing will be done from a real Canada Post location.
Still perplexed by what I was told by the girl in Shoppers, I fired off an email to Canada Post  for clarification.
This is the reply I got from them:

Thank you for your message to Canada Post.

A postal outlet is not a federal government agency and is not owned or managed by Canada Post. For example if the postal outlet is within grocery store or pharmacy it would follow the stores working hours, therefore if the store must be closed, so will the postal outlet inside.
Only Canada Post Depots and Corporate Post Offices are obligated to follow the price of stamps and postal products that are legislated by Canada Post. Any commercial and private establishment may charge extra fees as a convenience to their customers. It is at their discretion to apply additional service fees to products that they sell. We suggest visiting a Corporate Post Office in order to avoid paying additional service charges that corner stores or other establishment may implement on their products.
Regards,
Veronika Strofski
Customer Service