OTTAWA - Canada is still in the grips of a 'rotating postal strike' and I don't know about you but I have not really noticed.

In some ways, I sympathize with the postal workers' union. This is not because I agree with their cause, I simply do not envy their predicament. They were really and truly stuck between a rock and a hard place on this issue - perhaps that is why they have pursued such an unproductive strike action.

You see, if the postal workers' union really wanted to make a stand, a rotating strike is not the way to do it. Indeed, most Canadians would never notice a one-day disruption to mail deliveries. Rather, a general strike would have grabbed attention and created headlines much more effectively.

A total strike, however, would have found absolutely zero support amongst the taxpaying public. This is often the case when the public is directly victimized by a strike action - Canada Post is not the target here, it is ordinary Canadians who are feeling this strike.

So what is the postal workers' union to do?

The prevailing opinion of postal workers is that they are already paid well for the work they perform, and are entitled to a benefits system unmatched in the private sector. There is little chance of widespread solidarity with the postal workers' union due to this - most Canadians who have managed to keep their jobs in recent years are certainly not expecting raises. The public sector has never really understood their own 'culture of entitlement,' which is so apparent to those in the private or non-profit sectors.

Even without wading into the issue of compensation and entitlement there is the small issue that Canadians are relying on Canada Post less and less each year. How can the postal workers' union expect support from a population that doesn't rely on their services? The longer this strike action continues, the more Canadians will question the existing benefits, salaries and entitlements of Canada Post employees.

Delivered mail has fallen by 17% in recent years - to a real corporation this would be disastrous. No company could survive such dwindling revenue streams without massive organizational changes. This would include lay-offs and a revised business model. In no way should Canada Post respond to shrinking demand and revenue with increased salaries and labour costs.

Forget about a raise - without a revised business model and new responsibilities, how can the postal workers' union even justify the status-quo? The unfortunate reality for the union is that they are peddling a product that nobody wants anymore - physical mail. Other jurisdictions around the world have dealt with the evolution of their postal service in a much more graceful, efficient way.

Germany's postal service was drastically altered when the EU centralized services. Did they continue throwing money at a postal delivery system with a reduced mandate? No. The German's renewed their focus on parcel delivery, and their postal service now competes with FedEx and other international companies. In Switzerland similar innovation has been demonstrated. Citizens can opt out of receiving physical mail altogether - instead, their post office can digitally scan and email a copy of any physical mail received.

So how do out postal employees plan to earn their wages with less mail to handle, sort and deliver? It is extremely hard to support any worker - public sector or private sector - who wants more money for doing less work.

While the postal workers' union tinkers with this strike and vacillates between a rotating strike and the possibility of more widespread action, they are only demonstrating that they do not 'get it'. It seems that they don't even know what they are trying to sell us anymore.