City Workers Strike 2009

[Automation Gallery]

and striking workers when they come back who will probably work 24/7 staggered shifts in a PR move to get this city as clean as possible as soon as possible.

Hey why give them that extra perk of working overtime, There is nothing stoping the city of hiring a private company to do the clean up, they would probably save a couple of million bucks, but then again i dont think Miller believes in going the private way.

 

[Seymour]

It's hilarious. They're grossly overpaid and have great benefits yet they're still not happy. In this recession, people are not going to be receptive to greed. Hell, we got no bonuses this year, and many areas had raise freezes. No sympathy from me.

Yep no one I've talked to says : "I really support those union members in this strike, they are striking with reason". Everyone I talked to seems to support the City, in not giving in to the demands of the union. I support the city as well. Not the union in this case. Not much sympathy for them anywhere.

 

[Eug]

Yep no one I've talked to says : "I really support those union members in this strike, they are striking with reason". Everyone I talked to seems to support the City, in not giving in to the demands of the union. I support the city as well. Not the union in this case. Not much sympathy for them anywhere.

People support the City of Toronto in not giving into the demands of the union. However, many people have also been saying the city should ask for bids to try to reduce garbage collection costs. ie. The people don't support Miller's refusal to look at the private sector to provide a solution. Even the ex-CEO of EnCana decided to chime in today.

Now is the time to end public sector unions' monopoly power by moving ahead with private sector contracting of government services, under terms that provide real-world compensation and accountability.

Obviously he's very biased, but nonetheless much of the general public is in agreement with this sentiment these days.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Delivered my third gift bag of household food waste ( mostly the by-products of jam making ... ) to Moss Park early on Sunday morning, before checking out the St. Lawrence antique market ( where I bought a book on Kurelek ). Quite a pungent odour there now.

 

[Whoaccio]

I dunno, maybe I missed this earlier, but why can't the City contract out to clean up the dumps? I'm not talking about permanently moving to a semi private system, just temporarily hiring a third party to drain some of the dumps and prevent too unbearable a build up of trash.

 

[shelfun]

Privatisation is the way to go. I'm sure there are many companies out there who can do a good job at a reasonable price. That's the best way to use tax payers money.

What I want to know is, the union members have the right to strike but I pay tax, shouldn't I have the right to dispose of my garbage at the dump site without restriction of 3 bags per 15 minutes? Tax payers are the bosses of these workers. Since when do workers give crap to the bosses without getting fired?

 

[shelfun]

I dunno, maybe I missed this earlier, but why can't the City contract out to clean up the dumps? I'm not talking about permanently moving to a semi private system, just temporarily hiring a third party to drain some of the dumps and prevent too unbearable a build up of trash.

I maybe wrong but I THINK City is not "allowed" to do it?!

 

[GraphicMatt]

I maybe wrong but I THINK City is not "allowed" to do it?!

Yeah, I'm not sure either, but I'm thinking perhaps doing something like that could hurt the city's case if this ever gets sent to arbitration after back-to-work legislation.

 

[slowtyper]

What is windsor doing with their garbage? Piling it up or are they disposing of it somehow?

I say we use it to build a bridge to Toronto Island!

 

[Second_in_pie]

What is windsor doing with their garbage? Piling it up or are they disposing of it somehow?

I say we use it to build a bridge to Toronto Island!

Hah, now you're thinking outside the box! Maybe we could build our own Toronto version of the Palm Jumeirah. I'm sure in 50 years when global warming has taken it's toll, that coastline will be worth something! Then again, we could just use it to expand Ontario Place.

How long is the city forecasting this strike to go on, though? They're talking about all the new dump sites they're ready to open, but it seems like for all those sites to actually be used, this would have to go on forever! I say instead of the City spending 3 or 4 more weeks (at least) arguing with the unions, use those 3 or 4 weeks to get a private contracting deal sorted out. Then once it's all figured out and they're ready to start work, just say goodbye to all the workers who have been picketing for the past 2 months!

 

[Eug]

^^^ With 200 more dump sites, we could go for a year!

 

[shelfun]

I say instead of the City spending 3 or 4 more weeks (at least) arguing with the unions, use those 3 or 4 weeks to get a private contracting deal sorted out. Then once it's all figured out and they're ready to start work, just say goodbye to all the workers who have been picketing for the past 2 months!

Cheers to that! Pettition anyone?!

 

[gei]

Yep no one I've talked to says : "I really support those union members in this strike, they are striking with reason". Everyone I talked to seems to support the City, in not giving in to the demands of the union. I support the city as well. Not the union in this case. Not much sympathy for them anywhere.

The public's opinion is irrelevant IMO. As I mentioned earlier, the city could propose to slash all City worker's salaries by 50% and they would be happy with this. As long as their "tax dollars are saved".

The irony is the public is just as greedy if not more so. They have no interest in seeing city workers get a fair deal... they simply want to save their own money.

 

[Dilla]

The irony is the public is just as greedy if not more so. They have no interest in seeing city workers get a fair deal... they simply want to save their own money.

Ok, who decides what "fair" is? Right now it seems the workers decide what's fair for themselves, which is crazy.

As discussed ad nauseum above, these workers are hardly downtrodden in terms of compensation. I can't imagine what could be seen as "unfair" in what the city has offered.

 

[salvius]

Ok, who decides what "fair" is? Right now it seems the workers decide what's fair for themselves, which is crazy.

Last time I checked, they have to negotiate that with the city, hence the strike.