Small business owners in Vancouver worried about postal strike

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Canada Post workers went on strike Friday, leaving some small business owners in Vancouver worried about losing revenue over the busy holiday season.

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East Vancouver resident Diane Jordens makes handcrafted animal dolls, characters from old-fashioned books like Wind in the Willows in charming costumes, which she stitches herself.

She sells them at Granville Island and at craft fairs but most of her business comes from online orders from customers around the world.

It’s the busiest time of the year for her business, called Toads World, because many of her clients are collectors and they like to give them as gifts during the holidays.

However, the strike means she will have to look into more expensive ways to ship her dolls, which means taking a financial hit.

“I always ship through Canada Post so I don’t know what I’ll do, maybe UPS,” she said, adding she has orders as far away as England and Australia.

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“I hope that it gets settled in a timely fashion. The Christmas season is the busiest time for not just me but a lot of businesses.”

Frank von Hausen, who has operated F.v.H. Stamps, Auctions, and Collector Supplies for 34 years in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood, said at least 85 per cent of his business goes through the mail.

The business holds weekly auctions for stamp collectors across Canada and in the United States, and sells stamp-collecting materials and rare stamps, including Canadian ones.

It’s an irony not lost on von Hausen.

“We like to go out of our way to put nice, unusual stamps on the envelopes and parcels for our customers across the country,” he said.

He said he’ll be OK if it’s a short strike, but if it drags on he’s worried people will stop participating in the auction.

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“Everything has pretty much come to a stop. I think my gross takeaway this week will be maybe 15 to 20 per cent of what my normal week would be,” said von Hausen.

In Metro Vancouver, mail from municipal governments may also be affected.

Burnaby issued a statement Friday, saying there may be delays in the delivery of important documents, notices, and other correspondence sent by mail.

Businesses or residents may experience delays in receiving business licence notices, final outstanding property tax and utility notices, payments and other critical documents.

For any outstanding balances, fees, charges, or daily interest may apply, the statement said. This can be avoided by registering for direct deposit with the city.

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It also comes as local shop owners are still recovering from labour disputes at Canada’s ports.

Greg Wilson, director of government relations in B.C. for the Retail Council of Canada, said many B.C. businesses are still waiting for their holiday products stuck in containers.

“It is making life very difficult for retailers … they want to know what is being done to help and they are frustrated,” said Wilson.

Wilson said small retailers don’t have the sales volume that lets large retailers receive deals on other services such as Fed Ex. He worries the double whammy of the port and mail strikes will lead to some small businesses closing up shop early in the New Year.

“Particularly for startup businesses and small businesses outside major urban areas, the post office is still the dominant way to send goods to their customers,” he said.

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The Canadian Union of Postal Workers issued a 72-hour strike notice earlier in the week, saying it’s been asking for fair wages, safer working conditions and other improvements over nearly a year of bargaining.

Canada Post served the union with the lockout notice not long after but had said it didn’t intend to lock workers out.

The Crown corporation released a statement early Friday morning confirming that customers will experience delays as a result of the strike.

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With files from The Canadian Press

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