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City Workers Strike 2009
- Thread starter gei
- Start date
salvius
Active Member
Yeah -- and Bob Rae turns into a giant devil for doing pretty much what he had to do. I never could understand the whole resentment over Rae Days -- a proposition 1,000,000 better than laying people off. People still have jobs, get paid less, but have more free time. Fair enough.
That the unions would turn so against him is bizarre. And they sure got theirs with so much a 'better' replacement that was Harris. Poetic justice, too bad everyone else got screwed.
kEiThZ
Superstar
If they want wages and benfits beyond what taxpayers in this city canafford why is it unfair to expect the to pay taxes here? And its not a right to live anyone where you want when it comes to your employment. Employers are allowed to place those kinds of conditions. For example, military personnel are normally required to live within 50 km of the base their posted to.
Brian69
Not the Messiah
The NDP and the more powerful unions (auto workers, public sector) might see eye to eye on social issues but seem to have drifted apart a bit as the unions have moved economically out of their working class roots. As the wave of boomers gained experience they enjoyed higher pay and benefits while the NDP party ideals remain primarily aimed at those in lower tax brackets. And those unions weren't about to give in to anyone, least of all a man they thought was one of their own.
GenerationW
Senior Member
And was co-written by this guy:
Code:
Greg Albo teaches political economy at York University, Toronto.kEiThZ
Superstar
While I agree that its unfair that the other unions and the ouncillors got raises, why should taxpayers pay for those mistakes with another? Instead, Council should roll back their raise and plan on tougher negotiations with the other unions next time so that we can balance the books for once without begging or having above inflation tax increases. There is no other way to fill the projected 350 million gap unless you have a better plan. Maybe those socialists can explain to the unemployed in this city why their taxes are going up 10% next year. I'd worry that you agree with them but the fact that you do tells us all we need to know. By the way do you own property in the 416?
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kEiThZ
Superstar
A York faculty member endorsing a labour action. No surprise there. They just weren't happy to see enrollment decline there. Now they want their municipal henchmen to reek havoc city-wide. I hope for their sake they have saner advisors. If we can make it through the summer a garbage strike is easy to get through for the colder months.
cdr108
Senior Member
it's too bad we'll have to worry about snow come November, if it goes on that long, since Windsor is heading on their 12 week.
but guarantee you one thing, if it's below 0'C, you won't find many picketers ... nicer weather makes it more bearable/enjoyable to be outside.
Brian69
Not the Messiah
Yep, one big not so happy family, eh?
lordmandeep
Banned
lol a lot of immigrants simply despise city based or public sector unions. My father thinks most are idiots who barley passed high school, lack any sort of sophistication and knowledge of anything.
My father is simply shocked why Garbage collectors get paid more then the usual office worker.
He believes such jobs could easily done cheaply and better by the private sector or by people at low wages.IMO privatizing garbage collection is a must, or else we always be held hostage.
LAz
Active Member
Then howabout this, http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/bullet233.html#continue
--The City of Toronto is joining the chorus of Bay Street, the auto companies and the capitalist media saying the workers should pay for the crisis rather than the business forces that produced the economic crisis. After having mauled auto workers, it is Toronto’s CUPE workers that stand in the way.
...
We hear little of the mayor's refusal to mobilize the people of Toronto to demand proper funding levels from the Provincial or Federal governments – when, in the pre-crisis period, they downloaded responsibility for various services to the city without a corresponding downloading of revenue. Miller's alliance with – and dependence upon – large corporate and financial interests has prevented him from pressuring capital to increase their tax levels to help pay for these services.
This ‘progressive coalition’ has been unable to break from neoliberal urbanism. They are now not providing any alternative to blaming the workers for the city’s fiscal impasse. The strike is straining the coalition and should force union activists and urban social movements to begin to think of new forces, alliances and political capacities beyond it.--
afransen
Senior Member
^None of that refutes the fact that it costs nearly three times as much in wages for a public union to collect garbage than for a private one. And the workers are paying either way, as they pay the property tax bill.
What about a credit toward their City of Toronto property tax bill?
What about a credit toward their City of Toronto property tax bill?
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Prometheus The Supremo
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that's one way to ensure a generation of students graduate into society hating their socialist teacher and everything he/she stands for. teach them that unions are good, then screw them out of their money and time.
instead of using vast amounts of consumers as pawns, the unions should be allowed to indefinitely irritate their employers through things such as mass mailings (postal system profits to boot!), round the clock protests outside the homes of employers, etc. all kinds of creative things within the realm of being annoying. heck, go to work naked and circle jerk outside the manager's door during break time, for all i care.
Brian69
Not the Messiah
I teach a lot of York students through a part time course and it's interesting to hear the comments about the way the union handled the strike. Even in that hotbed of ideology they can see the disconnect between ideals and actions.
I'm no fan of unrestrained big business but two wrongs don't make a right.
This still doesn't address the inequality in wages and benefits between union and non-union work. As I previously stated, CUPE is by no stretch of the imagination part of the oppressed. If they want to be true to their ideals and not to ideology, this "Socialist Project" should be raising the banner for the non-union people who make minimum wage, not protecting the unions who take care of their own and everyone outside the shop be damned, as we've seen with the transit workers, CUPE etc.
By the way, I thought this image attached to the linked article was quite out of place--is this supposed to represent the average CUPE worker?
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GraphicMatt
Looking forward to a FRESH START for Toronto
There's a huge difference between a private-sector corporation committed to funneling profits to wealthy shareholders and executives and a municipality. The former can (and often does) have a self-interest that is contrary to labour's well-being (minimizing costs, cutting corners, etc. to maximize profits). The latter simply has no money and any extra money they get comes at the expense of taxpayers.
And to claim Miller hasn't tried hard enough to get higher levels of governments to contribute more to the city is ludicrous. There's a frequent charge from his detractors that he needs to shut up about it.
And to claim Miller hasn't tried hard enough to get higher levels of governments to contribute more to the city is ludicrous. There's a frequent charge from his detractors that he needs to shut up about it.