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You are on the [cover page] of folder [Strike Media In July 3]Strike Media In July. (270 Articles)
Strike Media July 24-31
posted on August 01, 2009
Post-strike cleanup begins
City council approves agreements with unions in 21-17 vote
By: Adrian Morrow
Published: Jul 31, 2009
Source: The StarWork is under way to get all of the city's temporary dumpsites cleaned up by Sunday night after Toronto city council voted tonight to ratify new contracts for both its inside and outside workers, signalling an official end to the city's 40-day strike.
Around 6:40 p.m., council voted 21 to 17 to approve the tentative agreements reached over the weekend with CUPE locals 416 and 79.
posted on August 01, 2009
Toronto on strike: The great cleanup begins
By: Katherine Laidlaw
Published: July 31, 2009
Source: The National PostStreet-sweepers, truck drivers and collectors transformed Chinatown and Kensington Market early Friday morning, doing away with mountains of rotting trash and restoring the streets to their usual appearance. By yesterday, as a man played a keyboard at Dundas Street W. and Spadina Avenue, merchants hawked vegetables in the sunshine. The stench of a 40-day garbage strike was gone at last.
“Oh my God, I can put my garbage in here!” Peter Baxter exclaimed as he tossed a Jamaican patty bag into an empty garbage bin in Kensington.
posted on August 01, 2009
Council approves contracts 21-17 as services resume
Miller estimates changes in sick-day plan will save $140-million over five years
By: Jennifer Lewington and Brodie Fenlon
Published: Jul. 31, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailA 39-day strike by Toronto civic workers is officially over after city council approved a three-year contract, but bitter, politically charged recriminations may linger for some time.
Even before council's vote of 21-17 – a narrower margin of victory for Mayor David Miller than usual – many city services resumed early Friday, with a cleanup of temporary garbage dumps held up until the green light from city hall.
posted on August 01, 2009
Analysis: Miller's costly strike victory
By: Allison Hanes
Published: July 31, 2009
Source: The National PostMayor David Miller may have emerged victorious from the vote that officially ended Toronto’s civic strike yesterday, but the public perception of the contentious new contracts approved by council may put more dents in his political armour than all 39 days of the summer labour disruption.
Despite threats a day earlier to derail the deal — not only by Mr. Miller’s political opponents but by genuinely conflicted councillors egged on by outraged constituents — council last night ratified the collective agreements for 30,000 inside and outside workers on a tight 21-17 vote.
posted on August 01, 2009
How your councillor voted
Published: Jul. 31, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailIn two separate city council votes to ratify collective agreements with CUPE Locals 416 and 79, there was only one surprise: Norm Kelly, a member of Mayor David Miller’s executive committee, joined the ’No’ side.
VOTED YES
David Miller, City of Toronto Mayor
Maria Augimeri (Ward 9, York Centre)
Sandra Bussin (Ward 32, Beaches-East York)
Shelley Carroll (Ward 33, Don Valley East)
Raymond Cho (Ward 42, Scarborough-Rouge River)
Janet Davis (Ward 31, Beaches-East York)
Glenn De Baeremaeker (Ward 38, Scarborough Centre)
posted on August 01, 2009
Neither side of Toronto strike spared citizens' wrath
Online respondents less likely to vote for David Miller by 58 per cent margin
By: Jill Colvin
Published: Jul. 31, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailNearly 60 per cent of Torontonians surveyed this week say they are less likely to vote for David Miller now than before the six-week municipal workers' strike began, a new poll has found.
The results are evidence of the beating the mayor's reputation has taken, even as he managed to win a narrower-than-expected city council vote Friday to ratify the new contract with the city's unionized employees after a day of bitter debate.
posted on August 01, 2009
Miller pushes hard for deal
Close vote expected at city council today as outside workers ratify controversial contract
By: Donovan Vincent
Published: Jul 31, 2009
Source: The StarToronto Mayor David Miller was working the phones hard last night amid a chorus of criticism calling for councillors to vote down the city's new deal with its civic workers.
City council was to meet today to sign off on the new three-year contract with its two CUPE locals, which ratified the deal over the last two days.
posted on August 01, 2009
Who are the undecided?
By: MARK GRIMES
Published: Jul 31, 2009
Source: The StarToday's vote at city council on the ratification of the contract for CUPE locals 416 and 79 is dividing council along pro-Miller and anti-Miller lines. It could be close, and a handful of councillors who are politically neutral will be the key. Here are five councillors to watch and the ridings they represent:
Ward 6: Etobicoke-Lakeshore:
In 2007, Etobicoke Councillor Mark Grimes played a key role behind the scenes, helping to forge a compromise over implementation of Mayor David Miller's land transfer tax. The modified tax won the support of major developers and the Toronto Board of Trade and was passed by council.
posted on August 01, 2009
Don't vote down deal with unions
Published: Jul 31, 2009
Source: The StarIt is understandable that some Toronto councillors are upset with the deal ending the 38-day strike by city workers. The city did not achieve the sort of restraint on costs that it needs to cope with its financial challenges in the coming years.
But it would be the height of irresponsibility for these councillors – members of the "responsible government" group at city hall – to vote down the deal at today's special meeting of council.
posted on July 30, 2009
Toronto workers expected to be back Friday
Following ratification vote by inside workers, city's outside employees set to vote Thursday
By: Jennifer Lewington, Brodie Fenlon, Josh Wingrove and Jill Colvin
Published: Jul. 30, 2009
Source: Globe and MailStriking City of Toronto workers are expected to be back on the job Friday, after a chaotic day of negotiations that saw one union ratify its deal but the other call off its vote in the face of demands by the city.
However, late Wednesday night, Local 416 reached a deal on the protocol by which its members will return to the job. It had been battling the city over the terms, including whether or not the city could hire private help to fast-track the clean-up efforts.
posted on July 30, 2009
City employees back to work on Friday?
Unions appear ready to end strike at last, but city council vote looms on horizon
By: John spears& Kenyon Wallace
Published: Jul 30, 2009
Source: The StarToronto's 30,000 striking civic workers are set to return to work at last tomorrow after outside workers reached a deal late last night on back-to-work protocols.
The agreement came two confusing and chaotic days after locals 416 and 79 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees had said they had the basis for new contracts.
posted on July 30, 2009
10 Things You Should Know
Published: July 30, 2009
Source: National PostEarly Monday, the city and the union representing outside workers announced a tentative deal that could get 6,000 striking workers back to work. Later that day, the union representing 24,000 indoor workers reached a tentative deal as well. It appeared some city services would resume as early as the weekend, but yesterday there were new snags between the unions and the city. The National Post's Emily Senger gives 10 more things you should know about the contract deal some members are voting on today, and what is slowing things down.
1 The strike is not over yet.
posted on July 30, 2009
Toronto on strike: Local 416 to vote, workers may be back Friday
By: Allison Hanes
Published: July 30, 2009
Source: The National PostAfter a "gruelling" day hammering out how its striking members will return to work at the city, Toronto's outdoor workers will vote on their contract today.
Presumably this means city council can also meet to consider and ratify their collective agreement tomorrow, since it is already scheduled to approve the deal for inside workers.
posted on July 30, 2009
Miller's tactics raise questions
Published: Jul 30, 2009
Source: The StarTimes of crisis can build political reputations – or shatter them – depending on how well a leader rises to the challenge. As mayor, David Miller has confronted no crisis greater than the strike by 30,000 Toronto municipal workers, now in its 39th day. If not shattered, his reputation as an effective leader is certainly cracked.
At the outset of this labour dispute Miller served notice that he was determined to end a costly and outdated "sick bank" system giving workers cash for up to 130 unused sick days on retirement. Yesterday he declared victory and repeatedly claimed that the tentative agreements reached Monday had "eliminated" the sick bank provision.
posted on July 30, 2009
Financial reckoning still looms
By: Carol Wilding
Published: July 30, 2009
Source: National PostFor 38 days now, Toronto residents and businesses have pitched in to keep their city functioning. They have tolerated garbage drop-off lineups, smelly parks and shuttered daycares. The city's Business Improvement Areas, all members of the Toronto Board of Trade, have organized clean-ups and paid for private trash collection.
They did it because they had a clear stake in the outcome of this strike. They knew, as Mayor David Miller said repeatedly, that this deal needed to be affordable.
But is it?
posted on July 30, 2009
Tricky details delayed deal
Settlement hung up on back-to-work protocol, memo of understanding
By: John Spears
Published: Jul 30, 2009
Source: The StarThe devil is in the details and those details, ironed out late last night, held up settlement of the strike by Toronto's outside workers.
When the city and Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 416 said on Monday they had a deal, two key elements were, in fact, missing.
The two sides still didn't have a signed memorandum of understanding outlining what they had agreed to. And they hadn't finalized a protocol on how to get workers back on the job.
posted on July 30, 2009
The mayor will pay a price for the strike
The sick leave stays. Let the anger begin sink in as Torontonians try to fathom what a loss would have looked like
By: Marcus Gee
Published: Jul. 30, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailMayor David Miller is trying gamely to present his strike-ending deal with the unions as a big win for the city. If this is what he calls winning, it is frightening to think what losing would look like.
The big issue in the strike was sick leave, specifically the city's attempt to take away workers' right to bank their unused sick leave and cash it in when they retire. The mayor boasts that the sick bank has been “eliminated,” a verb he used several times Wednesday.
posted on July 30, 2009
Wage-frozen city managers beat drums for pay review
Non-unionized workers `going to be disillusioned and disappointed' after CUPE wins pay hike
By: Iain Marlow
Published: Jul 30, 2009
Source: The StarThe city's non-unionized managers and supervisors whose wages are frozen are demanding a pay review, in light of raises handed to CUPE members.
Richard Majkot, executive director of an association representing the majority of the city's non-unionized employees, said they could use the Employment Standards Act, a tactic he said was successful in a 2004 dispute.
"There's going to be some major issues if city council doesn't revisit the compensation for non-union employees," said Majkot, executive director of the City of Toronto Administrative, Professional, Supervisory Association.
posted on July 30, 2009
Is this the beginning of the end for Miller?
By: Royson James
Published: Jul 30, 2009
Source: The StarMayor David Miller is a weakened politician today, vulnerable to challengers following a strike deal that suggests he caved in to the unions.
Would-be mayors spoiling for a run at his job in November 2010 are no doubt emboldened as details of the deal emerge. They now have an issue on which to launch a run for mayor. They'll be able to spin an election message of "Throw out the sellout."
posted on July 30, 2009
Kelly McParland: The union won, hands down
By: Kelly McParland
Published: July 29, 2009
Source: National PostToronto residents have every right to feel betrayed by their boyish, big-spending Mayor as details emerge of the appalling deal he crafted with the city's 30,000 workers.
Support for the six weeks David Miller spent opposing union demands centred on overwhelming public opposition to a benefit plan that awarded workers 18 sick days a year, and let them bank the unused days for a big payout when they retire.
posted on July 30, 2009
5 Answers to your strike questions
Published: Jul 29, 2009
Source: The StarQ. Will I get a refund on my garbage fees?
A. (Mayor David) Miller said a decision on whether to reimburse residents for other services lost during the strike, such as garbage collection, hasn't been made yet, and that a "number of alternatives" are being explored.
posted on July 30, 2009
The strike's over. The real trouble is just beginning
Even with the long-term savings the city hopes to achieve, Toronto is heading toward a cliff
By: Marcus Gee
Published: Jul. 29, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailA day after a tentative deal to end the five-week city strike, it's time to look at the big picture. What was gained in the longest strike on record by city workers? Where exactly does this leave us as a city? The unfortunate answer: not much better off than we were when it all started. Even with the long-term savings the city hopes to achieve by phasing out the archaic system of bankable sick days for its workers, Toronto is heading toward a cliff.
The city has an annual budget shortfall of up to $500-million. Its costs are soaring as welfare payments increase in hard times. Its ability to raise taxes is limited after two unpopular tax hikes – on land transfers and vehicle registration – imposed under Mayor David Miller. The provincial government, Toronto's fiscal saviour in the past, faces a huge deficit of its own.
posted on July 30, 2009
Get city services restored quickly
Published: Jul 29, 2009
Source: The StarDetailed plans for restoring Toronto's strike-battered city services won't be known until city manager Joe Pennachetti releases them later today, but one would hope the recovery will be more effectively handled than was the walkout, now in its 38th day.
Resumption of garbage collection, and the clearing of parks choked by trash, are obviously key concerns. But also high on management's to-do list should be restoration of services geared to children.
posted on July 29, 2009
Toronto strike deal not quite done
Fate of tentative deal with CUPE Local 416, representing the city's 6,000 outside workers, still in limbo as city and union meet to iron out ‘outstanding issues'; official details released
By: BRODIE FENLON and JENNIFER LEWINGTON
Published: Jul. 29, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailToronto's municipal indoor workers have finally learned the official details of a tentative settlement as they gathered by the hundreds today at a downtown hotel for a ratification vote.
As first reported by The Globe and Mail, the deal allows full-time unionized workers to keep the controversial sick day benefit program if they so choose and continue to accrue credits until they leave the city, at which time they can cash out up to six months of sick pay depending on length of service.
posted on July 29, 2009
Local 79 wants early return to jobs: boss
By: Emily Senger
Published: July 29, 2009
Source: The National PostStriking indoor workers want to get back on the job tomorrow and don't want to wait for a city council vote scheduled for Friday, union boss Ann Dembinski told a late-evening news conference yesterday.
Workers at Local 79, which represents 24,000 indoor city workers, and at Local 416, which represents 6,000 outdoor workers, were scheduled to hold ratification votes today on a contract agreement reached earlier this week, while city council is expected to vote on Friday.
posted on July 29, 2009
Rumours swirl over deal
'Cause For Discord'; Suggestion unions got 6% over three years
By: Allison Hanes
Published: July 29, 2009
Source: The National PostToronto councillors and a weary public were asking yesterday whether enduring the strike by city workers -- now entering its 38th day -- has been worth it if employees keep their banked sick time and get a 6% salary increase.
Workers vote on the deal today, and so far no one has released details.
posted on July 29, 2009
Toronto on strike: City caves on bankable sick day reforms
By: Karen Hawthorne
Published: July 29, 2009
Source: The National PostUpdate 12:30 p.m.: The city appears to have caved on its bid to reform striking workers' bank of sick days and replacing it with a short-term leave plan.
According to information distributed to indoor employees voting on Wednesday on a tentative contract, they can keep their bank of sick days and continue to collect more.
posted on July 29, 2009
City strike keeps public in the dark
By: Christopher Hume
Published: Jul 29, 2009
Source: The StarTorontonians should be forgiven if they are feeling more like spectators in their own city than residents.
After the events of the recent city workers' strike, about which we still know next to nothing, it's hard to feel like anything but an afterthought, at best a bit player in a drama involving city council and the unions. Most often, however, we are the audience.
We sit, watch and wait.
posted on July 29, 2009
Let's get to work, Mayor says
By: John Spears, Donovan Vincent
Published: Jul 29, 2009
Source: The StarFacing intense pressure to get the city moving again, Mayor David Miller announced late last night that striking civic workers can get back on the job as soon as they ratify their new collective agreements.
Miller's about-face — after earlier saying that workers wouldn't return until after city council approved the deals — hands back to the union the hot-button question of just when residents will get garbage pickup and other services. Early this morning, union leaders were sending mixed signals.
posted on July 29, 2009
Miller faces heat for backing down
Controversial on sick-day perkremains in tentative deal for current employees; workers may be back on the job Thursday morning after ratification vote
By: Jennifer Lewington and Brodie Fenlon
Published: Jul. 29, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailA controversial perk that allows unionized City of Toronto employees to accumulate sick days remains in a tentative deal to end their lengthy strike, The Globe and Mail has learned.
While the proposed agreement would eliminate the practice for new employees, a gain for the city, Mayor David Miller had tabled a public offer in early July that would have partly bought out banked sick days of current workers. Union leaders branded that an unfair “takeaway.”
posted on July 29, 2009
Here's why you need patience
In this occasional feature, the National Post tells you everything you need to know about a complicated issue. Today: Katie Hewitt walks us through the process for cleaning up the city when a strike by 30,000 Toronto workers comes to an end, on Friday at the earliest.
Published: July 29, 2009
Source: National PostQ Why is garbage still piling up every-where? Haven't the city and the workers reached a deal?
A Well, kind of. On Monday morning, the Toronto Civic Employees Union (CUPE) Local 416 reached a tentative settlement with the City of Toronto, followed that afternoon with a settlement from Local 79. Bargaining is off the table for now as Mayor David Miller and CUPE representatives have claimed satisfaction with the terms of the agreement, which won't be made public until both parties have reached ratification.
posted on July 29, 2009
Toronto's striking workers eager to return to job
‘I'm ready to go back, like, yesterday,' member of CUPE Local 416 says
By: Jennifer Yang
Published: Jul. 29, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailRobyn Tarulli hasn't seen the details of her union's tentative deal with the city, but she's already prepared to check the “yes” square on her ballot Wednesday.
“You know, whatever they give me, I'm happy,” Ms. Tarulli, a single mother of two and a member of CUPE Local 79 who co-ordinates children's programs at the Frankland Community Centre. “As long as I can go back to work I'm okay.”
posted on July 29, 2009
Strike Q&A: Garbage pickup, dump sites and day camps
Workers could return as soon as Friday if city council approves deal
By: Susan Krashinsky
Published: Jul. 29, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailWhat's the earliest workers could be back on the job?\\ The union vote is expected Wednesday, and then city council must meet to approve the deal. That meeting is expected Friday, the earliest union members could get back to work. The city has promised to release detailed timelines once both sides ratify the agreement.
posted on July 29, 2009
Did Miller give up too much to get a deal?
Toronto's mayor puts a brave face on what may be only a partial victory
By: Marcus Gee
Published: Jul. 29, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailDid Miller cave? That was the first thing that many Torontonians wanted to know after the city and its unions reached a deal to end a five-week-old strike.
Mayor David Miller, after all, is a supporter of the labour movement and a former member of the NDP. And yet he has staked his reputation, and perhaps his mayoralty, on the outcome of a confrontation with the city's unions.
Toronto, he said, simply had to achieve big savings on its labour bill to pull through these pinched times with its finances intact.
posted on July 29, 2009
36 days on strike, 48,900 tonnes of trash, and for what?
Current employees allowed to keep banked sick days in three-year deal that also includes a 6% raise; workers could be back as early as Friday
By: Jennifer Lewington and Brodie Fenlon
Published: Jul. 29, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailThe City of Toronto's current unionized employees will have the option to keep their controversial banked sick days, but new hires will be denied the perk under the terms of a tentative deal workers are expected to vote on tomorrow, The Globe and Mail has learned. Sources say the potential agreement is three years long – not four as Mayor David Miller and the city proposed publicly earlier in the dispute – and includes pay raises of 6 per cent over three years, slightly more than an earlier public offer, which proposed a 4-per-cent bump in its first three years.
posted on July 29, 2009
Miller trumpets his big strike play
By: Brodie Fenlon
Published: July 29, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailAs a fan of Texas hold'em, I thought poker was a good analogy to describe the big bets CUPE Local 416 president Mark Ferguson made over the weekend to secure a tentative contract with the city.
But Mayor David Miller is no slouch at the game and his big "put-up-or-shut-up" move July 10 to make the city's offer public is worthy of note, as the mayor was quick to remind reporters this morning during a scrum in his office.
"With respect to going public, I don't regret that for a minute. I think that was the key moment in this whole strike," he said.
posted on July 29, 2009
A weekend poker game with a massive payoff
Deadline of midnight Sunday was a calculated risk for Local 416 in contract talks. Here's how they turned it into a win
By: Brodie Fenlon and Jennifer Lewington
Published: Jul. 29, 2009
Source: Globe and MailIf collective bargaining is high-stakes poker, Mark Ferguson pushed his chips “all-in” shortly after 5 a.m. Monday.
Huddled with advisers in a hotel room at the Delta Toronto East in Scarborough, Mr. Ferguson, president of CUPE Local 416, finalized the decision to hold a 7 a.m. press conference, where he was prepared to make good on a threat to walk away from the table.
posted on July 29, 2009
Sick days: Pain now or pain later?
As CUPE workers consider options over benefits, city's fiscal health hinges on their decisions
By: Daniel Dale
Published: Jul 29, 2009
Source: The StarJay Higginson wants to get married soon. He has not drawn a regular paycheque in a month and a half. Money would be nice. On the other hand, the heavy equipment operator wants to retire in 10 or 15 years. Money would be nice at that point, too.
What to do, then, about the sick days he has banked over 22 years of municipal service: cash them in now or cash them in later?
posted on July 30, 2009
Any city victory will be a pittance
By: Terence Corcoran
Published: July 28, 2009
Source: National PostThe truth will set you free.
John 8:32
Since we have no truth on the table, Toronto taxpayers cannot yet claim to be free in the wake of the city's 37-day-old garbage strike. A settlement has been reached, they say, but no whiff of fact or scent of detail was released. Even after workers get back to work, and the truth is known, the whole rotten affair may still leave a dank fiscal pall over the city.
By far the biggest untruth landed yesterday from the lips of Mark Ferguson, the New Wave mystic president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 416, who claimed that the union had fought back "all of the concessions" demanded by the city. When Local 416 spokeswoman Pat Daley was asked whether that meant the union had beat back all of the city's 118 pages of concession demands, she said: "Yes."
posted on July 30, 2009
Toronto working on plan to restore city services
By: Allison Hanes
Published: July 28, 2009
Source: The National PostThe city is working on plans to gradually ramp up suspended services as soon as striking workers and city council approve new contracts hammered out yesterday.
Services are likely to resume on the weekend, pending votes by the union tomorrow and council on Friday. The city is currently hashing out its restoration of service plans and will brief the public on what to expect in the coming days.
Mayor David Miller said hopefully Toronto residents will enjoy curbside garbage collection next week for the first time in six weeks.
posted on July 29, 2009
Public to City Hall: 'Stick to your guns'
By: Allison Hanes
Published: July 28, 2009
Source: National PostToronto councillors and a weary public were asking yesterday whether enduring the strike by city workers — now entering its 38th day — has been worth it if employees keep their banked sick time and get a 6% salary increase. Workers vote on the deal today, and so far no one has released details.
Still, early word is that the city significantly sweetened the offer Mayor David Miller unveiled almost three weeks ago.
posted on July 29, 2009
Summer camp staff sweeps up strike debris to handle full progran
By: Peter Kuitenbrouwer
Published: July 28, 2009
Source: The National PostArt in the Park, a summer camp that operates out of Trinity-Bellwoods Park in downtown Toronto, had to shift its indoor activities from the local recreation centre to the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God for the duration of the city workers' strike, and cancel the swimming segment of the camp. But yesterday at 8:30 a. m. when I dropped off my two children, there was a buoyant mood, with counsellors hearing of a possible deal to end the strike. Two city managers, reassigned during the strike, were sweeping trash into litter-gatherers' bags in the playground. The man's BlackBerry buzzed. "Mark Ferguson has announced he has a tentative agreement with the city," he read. The woman, who runs the call centre answering Fun Guide calls for city recreational activities as her regular job, was thrilled. "That will be good for my staff, to get back to work," she said. On the plus side, the two managers have lovely tans.
posted on July 29, 2009
Toronto on strike: Union chief decries return-to-work timeline
By: Emily Senger
Published: July 28, 2009
Source: The National PostStriking indoor union members want to get back to work on Thursday, and don’t want to wait for a city council vote scheduled for Friday, Local 79 Union president Ann Dembinski told journalists at a late-evening press conference on Tuesday.
Workers at Local 79, which represents 24,000 indoor city workers and at Local 416, which represents 6,000 outdoor workers, will vote on Wednesday on a contract agreement reached on the weekend. If passed, the agreement will resolve a six-week strike.
posted on July 29, 2009
Toronto civic workers prepare for Wednesday vote
Discarded strike placards lay on the side of the road
at the Sunnyside Park temporary dump site after it was announced
that the City of Toronto and striking unions had reached
a tentative deal to end the strike.Details about tentative agreement begin to emerge but uncertainty remains over controversial sick-day plan
By: Jennifer Yang
Published: Jul. 28, 2009
Source: Globe and MailDetails of the tentative deal between the unions and the city are starting to emerge as city workers prepare for Wednesday's vote to end a 37-day strike.
posted on July 29, 2009
Strike deal awaits vote
'Everybody has lost' in 37-day stoppage: Mayor
By: Allison Hanes
Published: July 28, 2009
Source: The National PostToronto's 37-day labour stalemate lurched toward a sudden and seemingly bitter conclusion yesterday, with the city and its two striking unions announcing tentative agreements.
While there was palpable relief on the picket lines, where 30,000 indoor and outdoor workers have gone six weeks without paycheques, there were immediate questions about what Toronto sacrificed to clinch the deal.
posted on July 29, 2009
Residents left to hold noses until services resume
Most services unlikely to start up again before this weekend at the earliest
By: Daniel Dale, Donovan Vincent
Published: Jul 28, 2009
Source: The StarDon't put your garbage out on the curb just yet. And don't even think about shipping the kids back to daycare this week.
Despite tentative agreements forged yesterday between the city and its striking workers, most municipal services are unlikely to resume until the weekend at the earliest. The city won't release plans until after the deals are ratified.
posted on July 29, 2009
Until ratification do us part
By: Vinay Menon
Published: Jul 28, 2009
Source: The StarTO: CUPE Local 416 president Mark Ferguson
RE: Requesting Your Bargaining Services In My Household
Dear Mr. Ferguson:
Now that Toronto's municipal strike appears to be over, let me begin with a "Congratulations."On Day 36, how was the impasse solved? When will workers return to work? And if the city did pull the "last concession off the table," as you suggested, wasn't Day 1 to Day 35 entirely unnecessary? I know. You can't get into specifics until the temporary agreements are ratified later this week. Fine. But if I was to draw a conclusion based strictly on the body language of you and Mayor David Miller at the separate news conferences yesterday, it seems like the unions "won."
You talked and grinned like a Cheshire cat. The mayor talked and looked like an invisible tiger was mauling his shins.
posted on July 29, 2009
There will be a political price for chaos from strike
So let's get this straight: After 35 days, the deal allows both sides to win, while the taxpaying spectators lose? Really?
By: Royson James
Published: Jul 28, 2009
Source: The StarHip, hip, hooray. The 35-day municipal strike is over. Way too late; not a moment too soon.
Without releasing details of the deal – the mayor and union leaders say they must first inform rank and file members at a ratification vote tomorrow – both sides claim to have won what they sought and fought for.
posted on July 29, 2009
Toronto on strike Q & A: Why is there still garbage piling up?
About 30,000 Toronto workers will vote today on a contract offer, but the great Toronto strike cannot end until Friday at the earliest. The Post's Katie Hewitt walks us through the process, at when the cleanup may occur.
By: Barry Hertz
Published: July 28, 2009
Source: The National PostQ Why is garbage still piling up everywhere? Haven’t the city and the workers reached a deal?\\ A Well, kind of. On Monday morning, the Toronto Civic Employees Union (CUPE) Local 416 reached a tentative settlement with the City of Toronto, followed that afternoon with a settlement from Local 79. Bargaining is off the table for now as Mayor David Miller and CUPE representatives have claimed satisfaction with the terms of the agreement, which won’t be made public until both parties have reached ratification.
posted on July 29, 2009
New rules needed to level public sector playing field
Workers' leverage has translated into a growing wage gap with the private sector
By: Michael Warren
Published: Jul 28, 2009
Source: The StarNotwithstanding yesterday's tentative settlement, this summer's five-week strike by municipal workers in Toronto has been yet another illustration of the need to change the way we resolve labour disputes in the public sector.
Economic warfare is the traditional avenue of final resolution in Canadian labour-management relations.
posted on July 29, 2009
It's time to put strike behind us
Published: Jul 28, 2009
Source: The StarFinally, after a weekend of round-the-clock bargaining, a settlement emerged yesterday in a gruelling five-week strike by Toronto's municipal workers. It is a pity it took so long.
The decisive factor appears to have been a bold midnight Sunday deadline set by Mark Ferguson, head of Local 416 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (the outside workers). He threatened to end the talks if there were no deal by then. It was a gamble that risked a much lengthier strike, but the threat appeared to galvanize the talks toward a successful conclusion yesterday morning.
posted on July 29, 2009
Make EMS an essential service, say paramedics
Move would save lives by sending labour issues directly to arbitration
By: Dan Robson
Published: Jul 28, 2009
Source: The StarToronto paramedics want the province to declare them an essential service, arguing it will save more lives.
The Toronto Paramedic Association (TPA) made the statement yesterday shortly after a tentative agreement was announced in the city's 35-day strike.
As an essential service, labour issues involving paramedics would go directly to arbitration, as with police officers and firefighters. They would also be given the ability to retire early because of the physical demands of the job, said Roberta Scott, a TPA spokesperson.
posted on July 29, 2009
David Miller, master negotiator
By: Robert Silver
Published: July 28, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailTwo weeks ago, I compared David Miller to Rob Babcock in this space.
Babcock's wiki entry starts with the following line: "Rob Babcock (born ca. 1953) is an assistant general manager with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA and is regarded as one of the worst GM's in NBA history."
I made the comparison between Miller and Babcock in mid-July right after Miller released the city's offer of a 7.2 per cent pay increase over four years and a partial payout of the sick-day policy. My quippy point being Miller wasn't being tough with the unions (as he claimed at the time), rather he was already giving away the farm and was a terrible negotiator.
posted on July 29, 2009
Strike update: Labour stalemate lurches toward bitter conclusion
By: Allison Hanes
Published: July 27, 2009
Source: The National PostToronto’s 37-day labour stalemate lurched toward a sudden and seemingly bitter conclusion on Monday, with the city and its two striking unions announcing tentative agreements.
While there was palpable relief on the picket lines, where 30,000 indoor and outdoor workers have gone six weeks without a paycheque, there were immediate questions about what Toronto sacrificed to clinch the deal.
posted on July 29, 2009
Not just garbage that's a risk to public health: nurses
By: Megan Ogilvie
Published: July 27, 2009
Source: The StarToronto Public Health workers are among those eager to get back to work once a tentative deal is ratified. Nurses have been warning Torontonians that public health risk grows with every day they are away from their jobs.
“We have mandated programs and these programs cannot possibly be completely offered the way that they can when we are working,” said Lyba Spring, a sexual health promoter who has worked at Toronto Public Health for 27 years. Some 1,800 unionized public health staff is on strike. The health unit is now staffed with about 200 non-union employees and managers.
posted on July 29, 2009
Toronto on strike: Strikers greet deal with cheers
By: Katherine Laidlaw
Published: July 27, 2009
Source: The National PostWhen Trish Daikopoulos, listening to her car radio, heard the CUPE 79 leader announcing a tentative deal, she shrieked with excitement over the blaring stereo, drawing cheers from union members picketing in yesterday’s sunshine at the Dufferin waste transfer station.
The reaction was a common one throughout the city, with union members breathing a collective sigh of relief at the news that CUPE 79 and 416 municipal workers, who have been on strike for the past 35 days, had both reached deals and would soon be heading back to work.
posted on July 29, 2009
Toronto on strike: Exhaustive, all-night talks seal the deal
By: Allison Hanes
Published: July 27, 2009
Source: The National PostLittle sleep and a lot of takeout food were ingredients in a whirlwind weekend bargaining session that finally broke the impasse between the City of Toronto and its two striking unions after 37 days.
It all started late on Friday at the Delta East on Kennedy Road in Scarborough. Mark Ferguson, the president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 416, representing 6,000 outdoor workers, convened the press to speak about the city’s earlier announcement that it would seek to renegotiate its essential services agreement on ambulance service. Instead, he dropped a bombshell.
posted on July 27, 2009
City dropped all concessions, union says
ADRIEN VECZAN/THE TORONTO STAR
Humera (left), Donna (middle), Patrick (right) and Musa (foreground),
members of Local 416 and 79 at the temporary dump of Etienne Bržle Park
in Toronto, react to the news that temporary settlements have been
reached in negotiations with the city.If true, Miller has explaining to do, councillor says after settlements are reached with two striking locals
By: Royson James, JASON MILLER, DONOVAN VINCENT
Published: Jul 27, 2009
Source: The StarCUPE Local 416 president Mark Ferguson said today that the union fought back all of the concessions the city had sought but one councillor says that if that is true, Mayor David Miller has some explaining to do.
Ferguson wouldn't give specifics of the tentative deal reached with the city early today, but said that the support of his members gave the "bargaining committee the ability to fight back all of the concessions," the city sought.
posted on July 27, 2009
City, unions declare Toronto strike's end pending ratification
Inside and outside workers could be back on the job this week after weekend of negotiations result in separate deals
By: Brodie Fenlon, Jennifer Lewington and Jennifer Yang
Published: Jul. 27, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailToronto's municipal workers strike is over but for a ratification vote after two union locals representing indoor and outdoor workers reached tentative agreements on the 36th day of their walkout.
CUPE Local 79 president Ann Dembinski confirmed this afternoon that a deal has been struck, following a similar announcement earlier today by her counterpart with Local 416.
Listen to Mark Ferguson talks with Brodie Fenlon
The President of Toronto Civic Employees Union Local 416 CUPE discusses the deal
Listen to Brodie Fenlon on strike developments
Globe's Toronto City Hall reporter discusses the end to the 36-day strike by the city's outside workers
posted on July 27, 2009
Deal reached in city strike
Union ultimatum takes bargaining to the wire
By: JASON MILLER, DONOVAN VINCENT
Published: Jul 27, 2009
Source: The StarNegotiators for the city and its two striking unions have reached an agreement after more than a month of a civic workers strike.
Mark Ferguson, president of Local 416 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, made the announcement at about 8:30 a.m. but did not provide further details.
posted on July 27, 2009
Strike update: City, unions reach tentative deal
Aaron Lynett/National PostBy: Allison Hanes
Published: July 27, 2009
Source: The National PostUpdated 4:45 TORONTO -- Toronto’s dirty garbage strike appears to be over after a tentative deal between unions representing 30,000 civic workers and the City of Toronto was announced on Monday afternoon.
“I’m pleased to confirm that negotiators . . . have today reached a tentative agreement that when ratified, will bring an end to the strike,” said Toronto Mayor David Miller, at a news conference on Monday.
“This strike was a difficult period for Toronto and we must focus on moving forward,” he said. He would not provide details of the agreement until it is ratified. A ratification vote has been called for Wednesday, said Mr. Miller, which means city services could be resumed as early as Friday.
posted on July 27, 2009
What officials and the public had to say
Toronto's outside municipal workers have agreed to a tentative deal
By: Susan Krashinsky and Jennifer Yang
Published: Jul. 27, 2009
Source: The Globe and Mail• “It was a collective sigh of relief … we're very happy now. Everybody's got that bounce back in their step that they first had when they came out here.”
Randy Cooper, CUPE Local 416, lead hand with parks and recreation; a 49-year-old single parent of one
• “I have friends from out of town who have said to me they're not coming until the garbage strike is over, to visit ... I've already Blackberry messaged most of my people and said ‘listen, you've got to make it back down for next weekend.' I think it's good because Caribana weekend's next weekend too, so it should be good timing for it, for sure.”
posted on July 27, 2009
Earlier discussion
Mayor Miller's press conference
Published:July 27, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailLive coverage from press conferences being held at the same time with David Miller and the union representing the city's striking workers
posted on July 27, 2009
Earlier discussion
Marcus Gee on the deal
By: Marcus Gee
Published: Jul. 27, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailAfter 36 days, the striking City of Toronto outside workers reached a tentative deal that means, among other important details, that Torontonians can look forward to regular garbage collection.
Whether or not the swift removal of the mounds of refuse housed at temporary waste collection sites will remove the stench that has resulted from the often bitter labour dispute remains to be seen.
Join Globe columnist Marcus Gee to discuss the tentative agreement and what it means for the city, the union and Mayor David Miller.
posted on July 27, 2009
Deal or no deal, no one wins in city strike fiasco
By: Joe Fiorito
Published: Jul 27, 2009
Source: The StarIf, by some curious miracle, a contract offer is gussied up and then ratified, and the strike comes to an end, and it is clear to all and sundry that one side or the other has won ... wait a second. We have long since passed the point where a win for either side is either possible or desirable.
Because when the trash is finally hauled away, if the striking CUPE locals are seen to have lost – or, worse, if they have been split or broken – the result will linger longer and smell worse than any mound of egg shells, apple peels and coffee grounds.
Just as, if the city is seen to lose, rank and fetid vapours of another sort will continue to rise from our foulest right-wing corners.
posted on July 27, 2009
Toronto misses out on stimulus funds
By: Carol Goar
Published: Jul 27, 2009
Source: The StarThanks to David Miller's bravado, John Baird's combativeness and the obduracy of CUPE Local 79, Toronto has scarcely received a dribble of national infrastructure money.
The city was eligible for approximately $300 million of the economic stimulus in January's federal budget. All it had to do was submit a list of "shovel-ready" projects that weren't already slated for construction, created local jobs and could be completed by 2011. The deadline was May 1.
But the mayor chose to ignore the rules. Gambling he could get a special deal, Miller submitted just one proposal: that Toronto's entire allotment be dedicated to the purchase of a fleet of state-of-the-art streetcars, built in Thunder Bay and scheduled for delivery between 2011 and 2018.
posted on July 27, 2009
Why not binding arbitration over trash?
By: Donovan Vincent
Published: Jul 27, 2009
Source: The StarThe Via Rail strike lasted 32 hours before both sides agreed to end the labour disruption and go immediately to binding arbitration. The Toronto city workers strike ran on for 35 days, yet both Mayor David Miller and the leaders of CUPE locals 416 and 79 have eschewed binding arbitration.
What gives?
In the Via case, the president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said both sides in that dispute concluded there was "no possibility of an agreement in the short term.''
posted on July 27, 2009
City in talks
35 days in, union ultimatum takes bargaining to the wire
By: Jason Miller, Donovan Vincent
Published: Jul 27, 2009
Source: The StarNegotiations to end a 35-day strike by Toronto's municipal workers went down to the wire last night.
As midnight approached, negotiators for the city and locals 79 and 416 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees continued to talk in a last-ditch effort to reach agreement.
posted on July 27, 2009
City strike talks down to the wire
With only hours to go until union's deadline, there's 'a real urgency' at the bargaining table
By: Dan Robson
Published: Jul 26, 2009
Source: The StarToronto's 35-day municipal strike faces a bargaining deadline of midnight this evening – while hope builds that tomorrow Toronto will look a little more like Windsor.
As talks head into the final hours before the deadline, Stuart Green, a spokesman for Mayor David Miller, welcomed the sense of urgency evoked by the deadline.
posted on July 27, 2009
No easy options for ending strike
Published: Jul 26, 2009
Source: The StarAs a strike by 30,000 Toronto municipal workers grinds to the end of its fifth week, calls are mounting for drastic action to end this stubborn walkout. Some urge confronting the unions by hiring private contractors to clear away garbage stored in temporary dumps. Others want Queen's Park to intervene and legislate an end to the strike.
Neither option is advisable, at least for now. Mayor David Miller and his officials are wise to stay the course, providing what services they can with management staff, until all reasonable hope for a negotiated settlement has been exhausted.
posted on July 27, 2009
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
And the strike continues
Published: Jul 26, 2009
Source: the StarRe: Strike isn't about fairness, it's about power, Column, July 24 Although I usually enjoy and respect the opinion voiced by Richard Gwyn, I take exception to this article. Maybe I did not understand what he meant but he seemed to think David Miller should follow the path of the leaders in China in dealing with his city's unions. Perhaps it was tongue-in-cheek but I respect '60s liberals a lot more than the leaders of China, and more of these liberals would be a plus for the world. I would hope the Star is more inspired by Canadian liberal thinkers than China's regime.
Michael Lane, Toronto
posted on July 27, 2009
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Promises broken for physically active city
Published: Jul 26, 2009
Source: The StarRe: Netting a lot of trash, July 24 Torontonians deserve a better place to breathe, play and work than the public health disaster percolating in our parks. Friday's coverage demonstrates how the story of the strike is becoming an epic tragedy. The image of piles of garbage on the basketball court at Moss Park rather than kids going for a slam dunk, and the image of the empty lacrosse stick that can't swipe away the stink at Ted Reeve Arena symbolize the failure of both sides of the strike. It is creating public health problems due to rodents, pests, pesticides and inactivity.
Mayor David Miller was the first to sign the Declaration of Commitment to a Physically Active Toronto last November. He promised to "build awareness of the need for a physically active city, reduce barriers to physical activity in Toronto, and expand opportunities for physical activity for all Torontonians." These promises have been broken.
It is unethical to dump garbage and pesticides on the recreation and play sites in Toronto. There are other legal options that are open to the city, including better communication about composting sites, policies to severely reduce excess packaging and having those who can't fully recycle or reduce their waste dump it directly into trucks that move out when full. Margaret MacNeill, Associate Professor, Faculty of Physical Education, University of Toronto
posted on July 25, 2009
We asked the experts: How long?
TONY BOCK/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
Public health nurses picket outside the Etobicoke North Social
Services office July 17, 2009. Talks between the union and the
city are continuing July 25-26 weekend.By: Nick Aveling
Published: Jul 25, 2009
Source: The StarNo end in sight. Not even a hint of what may or may not be happening behind closed doors.
Predictably, representatives on both sides remain mum.
That's why the Star spoke to three of Toronto's foremost labour relations experts for their take on how we got here, and how we might get out.
THE BACK-TO-WORK LEGISLATION THEORY
John O'Grady is a former Research Director and Legislative Director at the Ontario Federation of Labour. He has helped arbitrate on behalf of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, the OPP and the Sheet Metal Workers union.
posted on July 25, 2009
City Walkout: Day 34
2 new dump sites open
Published: Jul 25, 2009
Source: The StarToronto is opening two new temporary drop-off sites for garbage, and closing two others. The two new ones are a parking lot at Amesbury Arena, near Black Creek Dr. and Lawrence Ave. W., and a tennis court at Otter Creek Centre, near Avenue Rd. and Lawrence Ave. W. They open at 7 a.m. today while two existing drop-offs, Caledonia Park, near Caledonia Rd. and Lawrence, and North Toronto Memorial, near Eglinton Ave. W. and Oriole Parkway, closed last night at 7.
posted on July 25, 2009
Desperate union takes giant gamble
By: Royson James
Published: Jul 25, 2009
Source: The StarBy midnight tomorrow, Toronto could be nearing the end of the five-week-old civic strike or hopelessly adrift, without an apparent solution.
It's a gamble worth embracing – a giant risk undertaken by desperate union leaders whose members are wilting on the picket lines.
In a bold move that calls the city's bluff and turns the pressure on the mayor, union leader Mark Ferguson has in effect told Mayor David Miller to put up or shut up.
Settle with the 30,000 striking workers by midnight tomorrow or union negotiators are walking away from contract talks to camp out with the strikers on the picket line.
posted on July 25, 2009
Toronto on Strike: Letting no solution go to waste
Illustration by Kagan McLeodWith Toronto 34 days into a municipal workers’ strike, city residents are getting creative (and sneaky) about getting rid of their trash, as the Post’s Katherine Laidlaw describes. With the union threatening to walk away from the bargaining table if no deal is reached by midnight tomorrow, citizens would do well to brainstorm their own disposal tactics (but don’t say you read it here).
By: Ron Nurwisah
Published: July 24, 2009
Source: The National PostTHE BLENDER SOLUTION
One crafty citizen takes food waste, mostly leftover vegetable rinds, and blends it in a blender with a little bit of oil. The solution to getting rid of the resulting purée? Flush it down the toilet.
posted on July 25, 2009
City strike adds 53 seconds to emergency calls, officials say
Toronto applies to Labour Relations Board to add 22 ambulances on weekdays, 27 on weekends
By: Dan Robson & Donovan Vincent
Published: Jul 25, 2009
Source: The StarDoes 53 seconds matter? 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... a son's throat, closing. A father, clutching his chest. A mother's body, twisting in metal. For them it can mean the end. For the strikebound city, it was enough to ask the province to get more ambulances on these garbage-lined streets.
posted on July 25, 2009
CITY WALKOUT: DAY 34
Could it finally be crunch time in city strike?
COLIN MCCONNELL/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
Mark Ferguson, who represents 6,200 outside workers, issued
a 48-hour ultimatum to the city: Settle, or the union will
walk away from the table.A surprising ultimatum raises the stakes in an increasingly desperate labour struggle, as unions representing inside and outside workers appear at odds for the first time since the strike began
By: Donovan Vincent
Published: Jul 25, 2009
Source:The StarThe union representing the city's outside workers has threatened to walk away from talks if a tentative agreement is not reached by midnight tomorrow.
The union representing the inside workers plans to keep talking and even says a deal is "possible" this weekend.
posted on July 25, 2009
Mayor gets stalled permits on track
By: Stephen Dupuis
Published: Jul 25, 2009
Source: The StarI was pleasantly surprised with the action taken by Toronto Mayor David Miller earlier this week to mitigate the impact of the civic workers' strike on homebuilders and professional renovation contractors in the city.
Believe it or not, there is more to this strike than garbage. Since June 22, the city has not been accepting new building permit applications, not processing applications in the system and not conducting building inspections. Builders and renovators proceeding under permits issued prior to the strike have had to either hit the pause button at an inspection milestone or pay for an independent review which will be double-checked by city workers after the strike.
posted on July 25, 2009
Outdoor workers union threatens to leave talks
Sets Sunday midnight deadline
By: JOSH WINGROVE AND JENNIFER LEWINGTON
Published: Jul. 25, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailOne of two unions representing striking City of Toronto workers will walk away from the bargaining table at midnight tomorrow if it hasn't reached a deal with the city, its president said yesterday.
"I am a patient man, but I am close to the end of my rope," said Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 416 president Mark Ferguson, representing outside workers.
posted on July 25, 2009
Striking back against rats and crappy video games
By: JARED GREENSPAN
Published: Jul. 25, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailTrash Wars was created by a fledgling Flash games developer named Q-Kmbr as a way to sate Toronto's unfulfilled bloodlust brought on by the never-ending civic strike.
It is the first game of its sort that I've heard of, so on Wednesday I decided to give it a try. It turned out that Trash Wars: Toronto Garbage Strike '09 (as it is formally called) distinguishes itself not only as the first strike-centric game, but also as a boring, desultory experience. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
posted on July 25, 2009
City asks labour board to add ambulances
By: JENNIFER LEWINGTON AND JILL COLVIN
Published: Jul. 25, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailA 53-second spike in average response times to critical emergency calls has spurred the City of Toronto to take legal action to restore paramedics to near full strength in the current civic workers' strike.
With 75 per cent of paramedics still on the job under an "essential services" agreement used in the last strike in 2002, the city now wants to push the level up.
posted on July 25, 2009
Fighting parking tickets just got harder
By: Jack Lakey
Published: Jul 25, 2009
Source: The StarFighting a Toronto parking ticket is challenging at the best of times, and at least twice as hard during the civic workers strike.
The city wants people to pay their tickets, not fight them, which is why applying for a court date is an ordeal. Drivers have 15 days to go to one of only four court offices, where they can get in a long line to request a trial.
But for those issued the most common ticket – $30 for overtime parking – it's worth the bother.
posted on July 25, 2009
Union chief threatens to quit talks
Outside Workers Only
By: Allison Hanes
Published: July 25, 2009
Source: the National PostThe union representing Toronto's striking outdoor workers dropped the gloves last night, threatening to bolt from the bargaining table at midnight tomorrow if a contract isn't forged.
Mark Ferguson, president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 416 -- which represents 6,000 striking outside workers -- was alone in threatening to break off talks. Local 79 president Ann Dembinski, representing 24,000 inside workers, did not join him.
posted on July 25, 2009
Toronto on Strike comment: Bring back garbage's glory days
By: Lawrence Solomon
Published: July 24, 2009
Source: The National PostOne month into Toronto’s municipal strike marked by growing mounds of garbage, a majority of Torontonians — supported by some councillors — want the city to fire the striking garbage collectors and contract out garbage collection. Private contractors are unlikely to strike, they reason, and would also cost a lot less.
Those reasons are good and sufficient to can the striking workers, but hardly the only ones. Private service best protects the environment, best promotes an entrepreneurial economy and most contributes to the quality of life. Private service providers do so partly because they cost less, partly because they care more and entirely because they need to compete.
posted on July 25, 2009
Windsor deal should spur talks in Toronto, mayor says
‘Urgency' needed to end month-long strike
By: Jennifer Lewington
Published: Jul. 24, 2009
Source: The Global and MailA tentative deal to end a long civic workers strike in Windsor could bode well for efforts to end the month-old dispute here, said Mayor David Miller.
“Obviously, if Windsor can reach an agreement, it should be possible to reach one in Toronto,” he said Thursday.
posted on July 25, 2009
For Toronto, a longer strike would mean larger savings
Vancouver's three-month long strike generated #11.8-million in savings, leading to a one-time reduction in property taxes
By: Kate Hammer and Jennifer Lewington
Published: Jul. 24, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailMeasured in dollars and cents, the longer the garbage bags fester, the pools stay closed and the vermin prosper and multiply, the better it is for Toronto's bottom line.
A longer strike, according to history, strike experts and politicians and their spreadsheets, is a more affordable one.
posted on July 25, 2009
Miller's way out?
By: Adam Radwanski
Published: July 24, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailTo those of you stuck inside on a rainy days looking to amuse yourself with analysis of Canadian politics, apologies that blogging has been a little sparse this week. Aside from the usual excuses about a slow news period, I spent much of my week attempting to understand the relationship between Dalton McGuinty and David Miller.
It's not an easy thing to do. Miller's shop has clammed up during the summer of labour discontent, and the people closest to McGuinty are maddeningly difficult to throw off message. That said, here's what I came up with for our weekend paper.
posted on July 25, 2009
Toronto takes legal action to boost ambulance service during strike
Average emergency response times have slipped by nearly one minute since start of labour disruption
By: Jennifer Lewington and Jill Colvin
Published: Jul. 24, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailA 53-second spike in average response times to critical emergency calls has spurred the City of Toronto to take legal action to restore paramedics to near full strength in the current civic workers’ strike.
With 75 per cent of paramedics still on the job under an “essential services” agreement used in the last strike in 2002, the city now wants to push the level up.
posted on July 25, 2009
Province to probe case of Toronto man who died after waiting for ambulance
Familiy and friends of James Hearst, 59, cite the strike in the delay; EMS chief says labour dispute isn't to blame
By: Jill Colvin
Published: Jul. 24, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailThe Ontario Ministry of Health will investigate why Toronto paramedics took more than half an hour to respond to a 911 call for a man who had fallen, was bleeding from the head and died while waiting for emergency medical help.
Bruce Farr, chief of Toronto Emergency Medical Services, made the request for the ministry’s assistance yesterday amidst growing pressure to explain why paramedics sat outside an Alexander Street apartment building as two good Samaritans and a security guard frantically administered CPR to James (Jim) Hearst, 59.
posted on July 25, 2009
Toronto union: A deal by midnight Sunday or 'we are finished'
President of the city's outdoor workers union declares 'enough is enough' and threatens to walk away from the bargaining table
By: Josh Wingrove and Jennifer Lewington
Published: Jul. 24, 2009
Source: The Globe and MailOne of two unions representing striking City of Toronto workers will walk away from the bargaining table at midnight Sunday if it hasn’t reached a deal with the city, its president said Friday.
“I am a patient man, but I am close to the end of my rope,” said Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 416 president Mark Ferguson, representing outside workers.
posted on July 25, 2009
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Ah, let's get this thing settled
Published: Jul 24, 2009
Source: The StarOn Sunday, I drove an American visitor downtown, the first time I had been there since the garbage strike began. I was absolutely horrified and disgusted at the scene in the Yonge-Dundas area. Garbage bins were overflowing and papers and garbage littered the streets and sidewalks.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor, city councillors and CUPE members. It will take a long time to get over this one. And I hope the city will not make another mistake by paying exorbitant overtime wages to have the city cleaned up when it's finally over. Bring in private contractors to get the job done.
- Green 13 is an environmental group based in Ward 13. It’s facebook pages list different activities that occurred during the strike, as well as on-going projects and initiatives.
Content last modified on October 16, 2009, at 09:32 PM EST