Summer Begins With City Workers, Including Garbage Collectors, On Strike

Posted June 22, 2009 12:00 pm.

This article is more than 5 years old.

As the clock ticked down to a midnight strike deadline Sunday, it became increasingly clear the unions and the City of Toronto were too far apart to make a deal.

Sure enough, at about 12:15am Monday, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Locals 416 and 79 held a press conference to announce the news Torontonians were dreading: 24,000 City workers – including garbage collectors – would walk off the job, effective immediately.

Just 12 hours later, the effects of the strike that also disrupted City-run daycares, parks and recreation programs, swimming pools and ferry service were clear.

City Hall was jammed with protestors, slowing down some employees who weren’t on strike and still had to make it through the barricade.

“It is unfortunate that at this late stage we have not seen a collective agreement offer from the City that would be acceptable to Local 79 members,” noted union head Ann Dembinski.

Dembinski said that the unions had “no other recourse but to call a strike,” and placed the blame squarely on David Miller.

“It’s up to the mayor,” she argued.

“It could be a short strike; it could be a long one. We could settle this in two minutes if the City of Toronto and Mayor Miller in particular come back to the table and give us the same deal they gave everyone else. “

Not so, countered Miller.

“The worldwide recession has affected the city,” he protested.

“It’s lowered our tax revenues, it’s increased our welfare costs, and we’re bargaining in that context. We’re just simply telling the workers we want to be fair, but the agreement also needs to be affordable and allow us to run the city efficiently and effectively.”

Dembinski vowed to defend the union’s collective agreements and our working conditions.

“It will be especially disappointing for our members who are already demoralized and for residents who will be inconvenienced by a strike,” she continued.

All three groups, including Local 416, met with a mediator on Monday.

Local 416 president Mark Ferguson called the City’s offer an insult to his members.

“At 9:30 [Sunday] evening, the City of Toronto tabled a proposal with Local 416, a proposal that we considered complete garbage,” he said.

” It was an attack – a vicious attack – on our membership. And unfortunately our bargaining committee has had to take a decision to take a strike, to ensure that the collective agreement that has been negotiated over decades remains intact.”

Not long after the announcement, Miller issued a release defending the City’s position.

“City negotiators worked very hard to put the kind of proposals forward that would have resulted in a fair agreement. It is regrettable that those were not accepted by Locals 416 and 79,” he stated.

“The City is facing enormous budget challenges in 2009, 2010 and beyond. The cost of providing services must be in balance with the revenues the City has available to pay the bills.”

The unions had addressed the media earlier Sunday, accusing government negotiators of wasting time and being “stubbornly unwilling” to come up with a fair offer. And they repeatedly said they would not budge on the strike deadline despite offers from the City to negotiate beyond that time.

On Monday, Miller appeared on Breakfast Television.

CUPE 416 represents 6,200 outside workers while Local 79 speaks for 18,000 inside employees.

Both have been talking with the City for the past six months to replace a contract that expired on December 31st. One of the main issues: employees want to keep 18 sick days a year which can be banked and cashed out at retirement. But the City wants to create short-term disability programs instead. Add to that conflicts over job security, scheduling and seniority rights.

The biggest concern is the interruption of garbage collection in most parts of the city.

In the summer of 2002, workers walked the picket lines for 16 smelly days, while some residents illegally dumped their trash in public parks. The provincial government ended that strike by introducing back-to-work legislation.

Now, it seems the City is willing to go down that road again.

“While the City does not want a strike, the City cannot simply agree to all of the union’s requests to avoid one,” maintained spokesperson Kevin Sack.

The following services will not be affected by the strike: