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Photos by David Topping/Torontoist.
Currently flying circles around the downtown core, far above Pride partiers and amongst the stray balloons floating up from below and the news helicopters hovering above, is a small plane carrying a "FAIR CONTRACT FOR CITY WORKERS NOW!" banner. As we noted when an anti–Tamil Tiger banner flew in May, this sort of stunt isn't cheap: an aerial banner from local company SkyWords costs about $500 for half an hour, and today's plane has been out for a good forty-five minutes so far. We were plane-spotting from too far away to see the reactions of Pride-goers, but the sky didn't seem all that happy: since the plane's started going around, the sky's gotten a darker and darker shade of gray.
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This makes me rage.
If the unions are going to spend money on public communications then it would be nice to see them have a go at saying clearly somewhere exactly what it is that they are striking for (beyond "fairness and respect") rather than towing meaningless slogans behind planes.
To be fair, I'm not sure that all would fit on a banner.
At least with SkyWords' service, there's a thirty-five character limit, including spaces. It's like sky Twitter.
18 PAID SICK DAYS JUST ISN'T ENOUGH
fits.
T-Rex. Garbage workers, who are outside 100% of the time and working with possibly decomposing trash theoretically should get sick more often than an paper pusher. Honestly, I don't have issue with the number of sick days; the banking is understandable as well, since they do not participate in an STD program. However, the payout at retirement is a completely and total abuse of the public purse.
As for flying a banner around, shouldn't the union focus itself on negotiating with the city over cheap stunts that won't help them curry favour with the public? Seeing the lead negotiator on a picket line Friday and the next day the head Paramedic threaten to walk his people out makes me believe the union has no interest in negotiating and are gambling they'll win when it goes to arbitration.
Garbage workers, who are outside 100% of the time and working with possibly decomposing trash theoretically should get sick more often than an paper pusher.
Is there some reason garbage collectors can't dress appropriately for the weather? And don't they wear gloves and suits of some sort to avoid direct contact with waste?
As for flying a banner around, shouldn't the union focus itself on negotiating with the city over cheap stunts that won't help them curry favour with the public?
Unions don't really care about the public's opinion of them. If they did, they wouldn't consistently target the public when striking. They want us pissed off so we'll put pressure on the city to cave in to their demands. Even when striking against private organizations, they target the public instead of management or whoever else might have a direct say in negotiations.
T rek: couldn't agree more. This strike is indicative if the average strike nowadays: greed. They strike because they can. The vast majority of people in this city, in this COUNTRY, have nowhere bear the perks these people do. Yet they want to inconvenience us all to get more.
Mayor Miller, bust this union now. Toronto, if he doesn't, and you don't send him packing in the next election, then you have zero right to bitch, forevermore. This is the perfect opportunity to send the message to these unions that the populace is sick of this and isn't going to take it anymore.
Me, I already can predict what the actual outcome will be: everyone will admit they think this strike is bullshit but will rationalize it somehow and be be to pathetic and apathetic to do or say anything en masse, and it will go to arbitration, only to be repeated again somewhere down the road.
Hence my decision to leave this fair burg. It's broken, and no one gives a shit enough to fix it. I know I don't anymore.
I typed this on an iPhone. Forgive the typos and grammatical mistakes.