Democracy of Hypocrisy

On Monday night, city council voted in favor of closing all nine of the city run day care facilities. In a debate that lasted well past 11:30 it came down to the vote, and with 3 councilors abstaining from the vote due to a conflict of interest, the motion passed. 118 workers will now either be bumped into other positions within the city or lose their jobs outright. Just what Windsor needs, more unemployed. The speakers were passionate, most were there objecting to the proposal and pleaded their case to what was obviously deaf ears.

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The city of Windsor and CUPE locals 543 and 82 have settled an historic 101 day strike. Details of the settlement include a 6.3% (edit, it is now being reported as 5.7%) wage increase over four years of the contract, with 1.5, 1.8, and 2% annually, a $2,000 signing bonus, and all possible disciplinary actions against transgressions the strikers have done during the strike will be dropped. However, this settlement comes at a cost to Windsor taxpayers of $17.2 million over 4 years. Post retirement benefits for new hires, the sticking point of the strike have been dropped. It is unclear whether the unfair labour practises suit against the city will continue.

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CUPE locals 543 and 82 rejected the city's counter offer on Thursday, an offer that many were hoping would end this 14 week strike. In what has been a day filled with drama, CUPE flat out said "NO" to the mayor and to city council. It all started with the city asking CUPE leadership to take the offer to its members and let them vote on it.

The vote occurred Thursday morning, but not before city managers showed up to hand out back to work protocols to the workers, who in disgust, threw the papers in the air. Rumours abound that CUPE leadership was instilling fear into the membership by stating that the city was not going to include a back to work protocol and that members may lose their jobs or face disciplinary actions upon settling the strike for any actions the mayor deemed worthy of dismissal or discipline.

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The strike by the municipal workers in Windsor that is. 12 weeks now without garbage collection, parking tickets, daycare etc. I've been able to go about my life without being affected by this to be honest. I don't have a habit of strolling through back alleyways to see the mountains of garbage that are piled up, but I see them in pictures nonetheless in the local news rag and on the many blogs I happen to come across. There doesn't seem to be any talks scheduled that I know of and so we continue to live in a garbage town.

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Link: http://www.windsorstar.com/Mediator+leaves+town+sight+city+strike/1588833/story.html

Negotiations between the city of Windsor and the outside workers broke off Tuesday leaving no end in sight for the strike which has dragged on for five weeks now. The mediator, who was brought in on Monday has left town and the residents of Windsor are showing increased frustration and a total lack of decency by continuing to dump garbage and other household junk along the streets and fields of the city. There are no new talks scheduled and Mayor "Fast" Eddie Francis said the city will contemplate new plans to deal with the mounting refuse but couldn't offer a time frame of when those plans would be available.

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