After more than 35 years, I've finally retired from Canada Post. It was a decent job with a decent salary and benefits, but in the end I was hanging on to get a full pension .

I never grew up with dreams of becoming a career postal worker. Unfortunately, during my early 20s, I was laid off from many jobs. I wanted a position with a degree of job security that would be there from one year to the next. Luckily, I snagged a full time mailhandler position right off the street in July of 1973.

Sure there were many CUPW strikes, but I managed to get through those ok. Check out my "CUPW Guy Website" at www.cupw.info. for my involvement with this union.

The Toronto Exchange Office (TEO) had a nice retirement party for me and Linda Roberts, a registration clerk, who was retiring at the same time. Management brought in pizza and chicken wings for our staff but posties from other staffs showed up for the free food.

The plant manager Winslow, and floor supervisor, Ervin, gave their two cents worth on the occasion. It was more or less positive. I had a reputation for stirring up trouble for postal honchos. As a member of "The Good Old Traffic Boys" down at Union Station, we had a motto that we loved to communicate to management: "When the dust settles, we'll still be here, but you'll be gone". We worked hard, but we wouldn't put up with any harassment from the bosses.

Boy, have times changed.

The Post Office is downsizing in 2009/2010, but fortunately, there are, at least, 20,000 employees retiring over the next couple of years, so no one should get laid off like in the U.S. Post Office.

The Post Office has been good to me and others. We have (had?) 15 sick days cumulative each year. We have (had?) seven weeks vacation time after 28 years and six weeks pre-retirement leave after age 50 with 20 years of service. 

Why is "had" in brackets? Well, some things are going to change in the next contract, but the CPC pension plan is still one of the best in Canada.

The work in our section was often boring, heavy and tiring, but I stayed with it because it was a security blanket and an investment (i.e. the pension).

I look forward to writing more (screenplays, etc), blogging more, exercising more and acting as a film extra again. Perhaps, I might even get a small role in a film playing a bad guy of course.

P.S. My first job at Canada Post was in "The Traffic Division" down at Toronto's Union Station. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors play where the old Post Office once stood.

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