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City Council Ratifies Local 79 Contracts
City council has just ratified contracts with two bargaining units of CUPE Local 79, the union that represents the City’s indoor workers. The two units represent approximately 11,500 full-time and 1,150 part-time workers, who do things like restaurant inspections and clerking tasks. Now that these workers have contracts, there’s no chance of them going on strike—at least, not legally—until the agreements expire in four years. Two other Local 79 bargaining units have yet to settle with the City, but one of them, which represents recreation workers, is expected to vote on a deal on Tuesday. The remaining bargaining unit represents long-term care workers, who are legally not allowed to strike, meaning their contract will be settled by binding arbitration. What this means is that the City has likely averted any major (legal) internal labour disruption that might have occurred during Mayor Rob Ford’s term.