Since the 1960s, when Rudolph began lighting the way, there has
never been any talk of shutting down Santa’s delivery runs. However, new issues
have come up which may force the cancellation of Christmas. The air traffic
from holiday delivery drones has been building for several years, and an
insider at the North Pole says a shutdown by Santa may be imminent because
of it.
“The reindeer like to work and none of them have ever complained,
formally, about extra shifts through the holidays. However, all of the reindeer
are concerned about safety,” said the insider. “There is talk of forming a
union. The reindeer want to be sure they’ll get back to their
families, and they want their safety concerns addressed by upper management.
"Santa Claus, LLC, is very concerned about competition from
holiday delivery drones. Another issue is the liability, aside from the
possible death and/or dismemberment of the reindeer, associated with delivery
operations. The organization’s insurance rates have skyrocketed and they now
have to get a special policy to travel outside the Arctic Circle.”
One red-nosed reindeer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “I was really looking
forward to making the deliveries this year. Amazon, FEDEX, and others have cut
into our business but we're still very competitive. We’ve retrofitted our
lighting systems with LEDs to reduce our carbon hoofprint along with our energy
consumption. The technology is amazing and the testing has gone well. It will
be a shame if we can’t make the actual run. On the other hand, I’m as concerned
about safety as any other reindeer. The substandard wages and the lack of
healthcare benefits are also a problem, especially for reindeer with children.”
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