Historicist: "The city that nobody loves"
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-Verse
We here at Torontoist on the whole like unions. But in this case we're distraught that you would think about illegally walking out of your jobs at midnight and in the process take out our schools, snow ploughs, and half-a-dozen other services. Frankly your language sounds like posturing and a lot of bluster. It's also a move that would hurt your organization.
""We are coming out of this room today, the one thing that will not be on their agenda I can guarantee you is that this will be a one day protest....This will not be a one day protest,"" you said to reporters yesterday.
Ask yourself do you really want to waste goodwill and political capital on this? We understand that pensions are important, but it's a system that is in need of restructuring in order for it be financially viable in the future. Frankly today's seniors live longer and retiring at 65 might mean staying at home and going stir crazy for another 25 years. It also means that employees are paying out pensions for longer. Don't just think about CUPE and unions now or five years from now, think about these very same organizations 20-25 years from now when employers keel over under the weight of pension payments.
Also, let's look at the optics of this situation. All we're reading right now is that this is an illegal strike and sadly, unless you've got one crack public relations team all the public will hear are the words illegal strike. This isn't the big bad Harris government. This isn't a corporation making record profits being run by a CEO with a golden parachute that would put Donald Trump to shame. This is a government that for all its waffling and promise breaking has actually tried to be friendly to unions in this province. That should count for something.
We at Torontoist think you should call off your dogs Mr. Ryan, save your bluster for something else.
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The Union is perfectly right to walk out. This is an issue of a provincial downloading costs to the city of toronto and other municipalities which is how Toronto got itself into the mess it is in in the first place. Kudos to Ryan.
Torontoist doesn't seem to understand what the pension issue is about. It's less about money and more about management and fairness. CUPE has a point.
Its called a bargaining position, buddy. Managment makes the calls with money, so a union has power by witholding services. Its strike tactic 101. And there is much more to all of this than optics. My mom's pension means more to me than whether the union looks good in the public eye.
wow...you folks are asleep at the wheel. the walkout with the city has been "negotiated" between the city and union. Staff walking out are actually taking it as a vacation day and have authorization to do so. c
Can't say I'm with you on this one, Ron. It's one thing to say that one is "generally pro-union" but that doesn't mean much if the second they use their bargaining power we turn against them. Just because this isn't Hariis doesn't make it okay.
Support the union movement, folks. They brought us the weekend.
Torontoist should get an idea about how the bargaining process works -- why is only the union side "posturing"? The province isn't?
This all sounds like Torontoist's own experience is far far removed from a union environment of any kind.
I stand corrected. I really do hope that the union does a better job of getting these arguments out there. Like I said, I really am quite supportive of unions but it's a tough slog finding out their perspectives, sigh.