British Columbia / B.C. Postal History - November 1975 - Notes on B.C. Emergency Mail Service

            1975 Mail Strike - Late in 1975, a 43 day legal strike occurred which ended on December 2, 1975. Postal workers were promised job security and protection of full-time jobs.

1975 Strike - A survey carried out by the Canadian Direct Marketing Association and centered around the direct mail industry found that the 1975 postal strike resulted in an aggregate revenue loss of some $25 million to 64 reporting firms, most of which were classed as non-recoverable. Two-thirds of the firms reported a permanent loss of customers, a majority of these losing in excess of 10 per cent, and some 60 per cent of the firms laid off employees.

(November 12, 1975 / Vancouver Sun newspaper) - Ferguson said he delivers mail mostly by car, and that new orders by business firms for the service are mounting daily. He said it began very slowly but is reaching the stage where it is showing a profit. Sun Staff Reporter, VICTORIA, A man who claims his two-week-old private mail service is booming has offered to assist postal workers in setting up a national exchange with other private delivery systems. George Ferguson said today he has made the offer to Stan Darlington, president of the Victoria local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, and he "hopes the postal workers take it up." Ferguson said he delivers mail mostly phonetic abbreviation for B.C. Emergency Mail Service) will deliver about 10,000 pieces of mail today, up from 6,000 at the end of last week. He also said he has had calls from other private mail service operators in St. Catherines, Ont., and Halifax. He added he knows of still other services that could be fitted into an emergency link-up. 

(Lewis Gordon Toms (1907-1988), Victoria, B.C. Notes) - The B.C. Emergency Mail Service (B E C E M S) operated during the Postal Strike from October 27th to end. The BECEMS was ran by a George Ferguson out of the Ingraham Hotel (now Super 8 Hotel Victoria) at 2915 Douglas St., Victoria, B.C. (George Ferguson was a former United Church Minister). The Office was in the hotel foyer and the equipment consisted of a card table and two plastic garbage bags hung from the table - one for local and one for out of town deliveries. 
1. Local Deliveries - to Oak Bay, Saanich, Esquimalt and Downtown Victoria Districts. Rate 30 cents per letter.
2. Out of Town Deliveries - advertised for greater Vancouver, Nanaimo, Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Dawson Creek, Nelson, Trail & Salmon Arm. Rate 50 cents per letter.
Deliveries Advertised:
Business Mail - Daily to Downtown area.
Residential - Every 4 days.
Express - Daily (no rates quoted in ad)
Mail Drop (Ingraham Hotel) - daily 8 AM to 7 PM

Lewis Gordon Toms states: Posted 3 local letters and 5 to Trail on first day (Oct 27). One local letter delivered in 5 or 6 days - without rubber stamp cachet: envelope merely carries pen designation III 6, apparently designating district and area. Rubber stamp not used for about a week. 

Other & local letters and all 5 to Trail delivered to me 14 days after posting on first day! Received refund for 4 Trail letters ($2.00) as "Unable to organize a drop-off centre ther." (These all carried the cachet "BECEMS / B.C. EMERGENCY MAIL SERVICE / VICTORIA. B.C. CANADA") - So much for first day covers!
   

Taken on: October 4, 2020

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