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City Workers Strike 2009

kEiThZ said:
I hope we can now to put to rest the whole wage fairness argument.

One thing I don't get is why the professional workers stand for it. The City is effectively underpaying it's professional class to significantly overpay it's working class.
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i wouldn't say the City is underpaying it's professional class ... as noted, "Senior Planners for Policy and Research" get paid 50$/hour ... that's $100K/year ... isn't that comparable to the pvt sector?

however, the City is definitely OVERPAYING it's working class, and in some cases especially for the productivity it provides ...

a senior cashier making $32.68/hour = $67,974/year is stupid;
a garbage collector making $25-26/hr would be palatable (no pun intended), if the City workers were as productive as the contracted out UNIONIZED Etobicoke collectors ... hell, it would make a great difference if they were just 50% .
 
I see it as quite telling. What's a stretch about it?
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If you can't understand that stating an ECE is more monetarily valuable then a trades person foreman, then I lack the ability to explain the stretch about it.
 
Wasn't that fun? and comment...

We're going to have to put the HVAC foreman in charge of the sandbox around here -- it seem the ECE type couldn't keep the kids from fighting...


I've no doubt some people who work for the city are overpaid and some (less) people underpaid. That would make them just like people in any other big corporate environment (particularly one with narrow workrules, i.e. unionized.)

However, if the jobs appeal to you so much due to your perception of their value versus price, APPLY FOR THEM. GO TO WORK FOR THE CITY. Then you can pay your taxes from your left pocket to your right.

And, while you're at it, buy some Suncor stock so you won't have to complain about the gas prices on Friday...

Since you're looking at the old contract, you're looking at the facts on the ground before the strike, so how can you flay Miller for what he's done or not done for those costs in this strike? If anything, you should be blaming Lastman for the precedents. Oh, wait... he was right wing, so therefore did nothing wrong?

Miller sure as heck didn't spin this strike very well, nor did he break the union. But, he didn't have that mandate and didn't have that intention. He held the line on costs (not to the satisfaction of some, obviously, but I, for one, don't think he did badly) and he capped and started to run off an anachronistic benefit that had become a huge unfunded liability. He did just fine.
 
^ What are you ranting about? It's not like anybody here was somehow pleased or condoned Lastman's appeasement of the Unions. But Miller had an opportunity during this strike to end that pattern. He didn't. And now we are all going to pay (unless you work for the City of course, then you are getting paid!!!). Miller did not hold the line on costs. I dunno what you saw but I saw a wage settlement that was above inflation with no demand for improved productivity from the work force. How did you take that to mean holding the cost on wages? Heck, he even hired an extra 1000 unionized workers before the negotiations. And when it comes to the sick days issue, all he has done is limit the liability, and even then not by much. He's banking on turnover in the next decade or two to eliminate the liability.

All this means significantly added costs on budget that's already deeply in the red, after gaining hundreds of millions in new revenue generating powers from the Province. How anyone can see the situation as anything less than utter fiscal irresponsibility is beyond me. I will only have respect for Miller if he does the honest thing next year and sharply raises taxes next year to balance the books. I don't want a repeat of his shenanigans like threatening to close the Sheppard subway and raise kids pool fees.
 
I'm well aware of your position...

... I just don't agree with it. I think it was a significant win for the city to phase out banking sick days, and I think that it was more significant than most people appreciate due to the 10-year vesting. You think they should have been cancelled immediately, which I don't think could have happened without some serious union-busting tactics.

But, the rant part of the above was posting other people's wages, from an old contract, in order to generate scorn over the pricing of city jobs. Since that was the starting point for Miller, not the end, I think that it was not under his control and your being angry at him for those prices is misdirected.
 
What gets me is the unexplained collapse from the city. Arbitration wasn't coming, the union was seemingly starting to weaken, the citizens were (largely) behind holding out longer for a better deal (I would speculate due to their treatment at the hands of CUPE workers during the strike), and then, out of nowhere - higher pay raises than were first tabled, sick days remain (Miller was the one who said his aim was to get rid of them...they still exist, so mission failed), no major concessions from the union whatsoever. Miller seemed to just decide to fold when, if anything, he was playing with a stronger hand than before.

Maybe he just misjudged the public sentiment, and thought he would be praised for ending the strike, no matter the cost. It seems that when he had the chance to play hard ball, he lost his nerve, as deep down, he was with the union on this. I can't think of any other reason to explain what happened.
 
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i <3 bags said:
Could it have been Caribana that made the city give in? That brings in a lot of tourists...
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that sounds like a lame excuse if it was ...

the strike was on during Pride and the organizers of that along with the remaining City employees cleaned up the City quite well from what I saw on the news.

sorry, i don't have the $$$ figures or tourust numbers in front of me, but doesn't Pride bring in more to the City than Caribana?
 
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The deal coming when it did was definitely odd. I have no idea why The City would take the Union's "deadline" seriously -- it was clearly a sign of weakness on the union's side and the city should have just ignored it.

Still, though, blaming Miller for these high wages is unfair. So is making authoritative claims that wage rates are too high based on only a job title. Ultimately, Miller got the kind of deal that, had he gotten it without a 35-day strike, everyone would be fairly satisfied with how things played out.

The bigger issue is that the Public Sector Unions have a chokehold on municipal governments across the province. Negotiations are always going to be impossible when there is little-to-no downside to labour action on the part of the union. They strike, they either get a sizable raise (settlement) or a really big raise (arbitration) and any lost wages will likely be made up through overtime when the strike ends.
 
Speaking about Councillors, after weeks of not replying to my email about the strike, my dufus councillor sent this:

Dear Resident,

I hope you and your family will join me at our 6th Annual Lakeshore Mardi Gras this weekend!

August 7, 8 and 9
at Colonel Samuel Smith Park
(Kipling Ave. and Lake Shore Blvd. W)

A FREE 3-day music festival featuring live music, Fun Zone, food market, beer garden, midway, interactive games from the Blue Jays and the Argos, markets vendors, buskers galore and so much more!

FEATURING:
Friday, August 7, 8:30pm - Fiddlestix
Saturday, August 8, 8:30pm - Juno Award Winners HONEYMOON SUITE
Sunday, August 9, 5:00pm - Paul James Band

Please see attached poster for more details, visit www.markgrimes.ca, or www.lakeshoremardigras.ca

Don't forget to watch out for other great local events like: my Movie Night in the Park, Shop the Shore, Alderwood Party in the Park, Lakeshorelicious and many more!

Sincerely,

Mark Grimes
 
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