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By Jan Wong | Photo Illustration by Bradley Reinhardt
(Photographs: Demonstrators by Aaron Vincent; Kathleen Wynne by CP Images)
The school year is coming to a close, and not a moment too soon. It’s been an ugly one. Queen’s Park forced new labour contracts onto Ontario’s teacher unions. Teachers fought back by scrubbing extracurriculars for the better part of the year. And many tax-paying parents are incensed that their kids got shafted in the bargain.
After more than a year of debate, Toronto’s still-hypothetical casino will soon face a crucial test. A long-awaited city staff report is in (though, unusually, it’s missing a firm yay-or-nay recommendation), and council could vote as early as next month to either kill the idea forever or invite bids from casino developers. For influential Torontonians hoping to sway the decision, now’s the last chance to come out for or against a downtown gambling den—which explains why so many have spoken up in recent days. Below, a guide to how the pro-casino and anti-casino teams stack up.
By Mariusz Klapacz | Illustration by Cat Yelizarov
I was born in communist Poland and arrived in Canada when I was 12 years old. My parents came for the opportunities, the hope that I might one day get a decent job and build a home and family. By 2001, I was 27 and had spent the past decade in dead-end jobs. I wanted work that I could build a future on, and so I applied at a major grocery chain’s warehouse. They offered me a part-time job at $12 an hour. Thrilled at the idea of working for one of Canada’s most reputable companies, I accepted on the spot.
(Image: Aaron Vincent Elkaim)
When a relationship goes sour, both sides tend to behave badly. McGuinty, the self-styled Education Premier, went first: his introduction of Bill 115 in the summer, a preemptive strike against job action, was autocratic and ill-conceived. Ending the boom-era benefit of banked sick days was reasonable; circumventing contract negotiations and banning strikes was not. The unions went next: they curtailed extracurriculars, which wrought havoc on track meets, holiday concerts and chess clubs, and then opted for rolling one-day walkouts. Along the way, both sides forgot the first thing any two-bit couples therapist will tell you: no matter how bitter the breakup, don’t take it out on the kids.
(Image: Communitech Photos)
We’ve never really thought of Dalton McGuinty as a big-surprises kind of guy, but Premier Dad shocked the province last night by announcing his resignation as party leader—and the prorogation of the legislature. Today, most of Toronto is speculating about why McGuinty stepped down, and where, politically, the province goes from here. We rounded up the main threads of the discussion, including who might replace him, whether McGuinty has federal leadership aspirations and what Rob Ford thinks about it all.
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(Image: Nayu Kim)
First, some good news for TTC riders: Karen Stintz has promised to maintain current service levels next year, saying there’s “no appetite” in council or among commuters to axe any lines or reduce service. But, financially, that promise could be hard to keep. Despite raking in a $22-million surplus in 2011 (ridership was way up), and raising fares by 10 cents in 2012, the transit operator may still have trouble covering its bills in 2013. One issue is that TTC surpluses are usually given back to the city. Another is that the TTC will likely need to pay tens of millions of dollars in extra wages: a staff report released yesterday recommended giving non-union managers the same raises and benefits awarded to union workers earlier this month, which would cost the commission $19.4 million in 2013. The budget pressure could, Stintz conceded, translate into another 10-cent fare hike for riders in 2013. [National Post]
(Image: Christopher Drost)
Rob Ford’s administration has avoided any drawn-out work stoppages, which is kind of a shocker for a mayor obsessed with fat-trimming and the like. Last night, Toronto’s 2,300 library workers ended their 11-day strike meaning libraries were a-lending today at 10:30 a.m. Meanwhile, Ford and labour point-man Doug Holyday are boasting about a deal reached with two of CUPE Local 79’s four bargaining units. However, the situation with the rest of the inside workers still isn’t resolved: the city’s long-term care centre workers are heading into arbitration and a strike or lock-out is still a possibility for the city’s part-time recreation centre workers, including lifeguards, yoga instructors and music teachers. Still, Ford predicts they’ll reach an agreement and, against all odds, most of his predictions on the labour file have panned out so far. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »
When he wins, the public hates him. When he loses, his members hate him.
As CUPE 416 president, you spent 16 weeks locked in heated negotiations with Team Ford over the new outdoor workers contract. How hostile did it get?
The city’s bargaining team told me they were going to impose their terms of employment if we didn’t reach an agreement. I ended up breaking down in tears, which has happened twice in my career: before the garbage strike in 2009, and now.
You’re a Buddhist. Did that help?
Absolutely. My bargaining committee would be arguing away, and I would lie down in a quiet room and meditate for five or 10 minutes to clear my thoughts.
In an email exchange with an angry union member after the ratification, you called Team Ford “motherfuckers.” That doesn’t sound very Buddhistic.
It was in the heat of the moment, and I apologized. But I don’t apologize for trying to get members worked up about what this administration is doing to the city.
How much time does the job of union president leave for family?
Over the past year, I was home for dinner maybe one night a week. My wife and I broke up about two months ago.
I’m sorry. Read the rest of this entry »
Thanks, but it’s for the best. I’ll be spending more time with my two girls.
Doug Holyday says he wants to get a deal signed with CUPE Local 79 (Image: Christopher Drost)
Showing some PR smarts, CUPE Local 79 is proclaiming that its 23,000 members won’t strike this weekend—unless the city makes them. Even though Toronto’s inside workers voted “overwhelmingly” to approve a strike, union president Tim Maguire promised workers will only walk off the job if the city imposes new contract terms (a neat trick that pushes any blame for work stoppage onto the city). Deputy mayor Doug Holyday fired back, arguing the city wants a deal, but the union is slowing the process down. He told the Globe and Mail, “They have met with us exactly 50 minutes since last Thursday,”—a soundbite that shows what we already knew: Holyday’s got some sharp media skills of his own. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »
Librarians may be bad at chanting, but they’re pretty good with alarmist rhetoric, according to the Globe and Mail’s Marcus Gee. He’s dubious about library union leader Maureen O’Reilly’s claims that Rob Ford has an “ulterior motive” in his fight to change the union contract—namely, to close libraries and lay off more than half of Toronto’s librarians. Following a line of argumentation that would make Ford proud, Gee argues that the job security enjoyed by library workers is uncommon, even in the public sector, and makes the city unable to adapt to the shifting role of libraries. And while Ford probably thinks we could do with fewer libraries—actually, fewer public workers altogether—last winter’s library budget battle shows he’d have a tough time closing any down. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »
CUPE Local 416 has approved a new collective agreement with the Rob Ford administration, and the resolution is surprisingly anti-climactic given that everyone—us included—assumed negotiations would end in disaster (or at least piles of stinky garbage everywhere). Rather than the city gutting the collective agreement or CUPE refusing to budge, the city and the union agreed to a six per cent pay increase over four years and weakening the “jobs for life” clause (the job security provision now applies only to workers with 15 years or more experience). Sure, it’s a significant concession from the union, but it’s also far from the fireworks we predicted. It also suggests that Ford and co. believe the way to cut gravy is by outsourcing costs, not simply slashing wages. Considering Ford’s penchant for saving money, we’re inclined to think he made the right move. Of course, he has struggled with math before. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »
(Image: Christopher Drost)
Following months of public bickering, negotiating through the media and much sabre rattling, the discussions between CUPE Local 416 and the city, which everybody expected to result in a work stoppage, are over. The details of the agreement have yet to be released, but both Doug Holyday and Rob Ford are heralding the deal as a victory for the taxpayer. And given union president Mark Ferguson’s defeatist language in the wake of the all-night bargaining session, it seems that in the end the city did come out on top.
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Despite the February 5 deadline for an agreement in the labour negotiations between the city and CUPE Local 416, Doug Holyday promises city hall won’t lock out workers when the clock strikes midnight. That’s reassuring news for anyone who enjoys garbage collection and pickup hockey; however, the promise comes with a caveat. The Globe and Mail reports: “Holyday did not rule out a possible lockout beyond February 5, but suggested the city would only take the measure if provoked.” So what we really have here is a small commitment from the city—no weekend lockout—nicely packaged in some clever PR. By suggesting they’ll only lock out workers if provoked, the city has issued a preemptive explanation for a labour stoppage to citizens: CUPE forced our hand. We have to hand it to Holyday and Co. on this one. They’re doing a shrewd job of maintaining the upper hand. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »
Doug Holyday may have finally blundered on the PR front (Image: Christopher Drost)
While Doug Holyday has been a key part of the city’s effort to look like the reasonable party in the ongoing labour negotiations (read: public relations battle), he now appears determined to prove himself to be the opposite. Earlier this week, a group of roughly 250 EMS workers rallied outside city hall, demanding to be deemed an essential service. The paramedics are particularly concerned that a work stoppage would make for a smaller workforce and slower response times. (The rally, by the way, comes while an inquest examining the death of a man waiting for an ambulance is underway). But unlike some other executive committee members, Holyday doesn’t think council should grant essential service status in the midst of a labour dispute. Because if CUPE wants to ask for something, says the deputy mayor, “they can do it at the negotiating table.” Read the entire story [CBC] »
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