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  2. Now, AFTER the immediate worry of a strike has passed, would be a good time to designate the TTC an essential service.

  4. I second Mark G’s comments, and I’m in a teaching union. Hell, designate ours the same. Better for the public, and better for the union rank and file.

    Strikes are old school. In this day when few people are in a union, public-sector strikes look bad on the union, not the political class. It doesn’t take a lot of political spin, whatever the truth may be.

    Kinnear lost all public support they ever had last May with that one-day stunt. He’d have had to be even more stupid than last year to try it again. The city knew it, called his bluff and he blinked. Tool.

    Too bad the political class won’t have the stones for the legislation until the next one-week strike. See if I’m wrong.

  5. I’m as thrilled as everyone else that there won’t be a strike but any move to make the TTC an essential service would be nuts. Sure, Joe Public might not have to spend a week thinking about the immense value of public transit once every three years but this could bankrupt the public purse, and it isn’t like we’re in a great financial position as it is.

    Just look at the police to see what the TTC is in for. Something like 90% of the police budget is salaries, benefits, etc. The decision-makers have no way of controlling that because all the contentious contract decisions are made by an arbitrator who only looks at whether it’s possible for the employer to pay for what the union asks for when it comes to financial considerations.

  6. What else should the police be spending their money on? The base wages as per here don’t seem unreasonable, given how dangerous the job they do can be.

    The TTC *is* an essential service, whether you are worried about salaries or not.

  8. well it looks like Rob Ford was right. on Thursday he predicted that there would be no strike and it would end as soon as he got back from China.Well at least Miller can take credit for a great save.Now on to the outside workers and the police.

  9. Yes, regarding the above comment, it’s garbage strike fear next. Oh, how I remember those days in 2002? when only the pope could save us from drowning in our own garbage.

  10. The outside workers used the World Youth Day as a cause for potential embarassment for the city and it worked. It was basically blackmail and the city blinked. The Garbagemen are perhaps the best paid workers in the city and heck, most of them are making more than I am (I’m a computer developer getting paid at around $52K). Can someone see what the problem here is?

    Yes, the TTC needs to be declared an essential service, but also, the arbitration process needs to be changed to provide an equal balance between the management and the Union demands. We can’t always give the union what they want.

  11. Stephen Cheung >I think you are missing the point here,you may believe that your opinion counts and makes a difference.It doesn’t.(unless you vote)People complain and criticise this government but when it comes to election time most citizens just don’t vote and the cycle starts all over again.These agreements were easy to predict,as was the budget shortfalls and the “cost of living” tax hikes.
    But according to the election it seems everybody is happy to pay more for property tax,more for TTC fares and accept that a lower level of service can be delivered without a problem.
    Stephen unfortunately you made a bad career choice.Just ask any union member they know who to support with their money and vote during election time.So that is why I have always said don’t even bother wasting time with a “bargaining meeting” just give the union what they want there is no other choice!It’s what those that do vote demand.Now if everybody else started to vote, then we can change and fix this problem…….

  12. By definition, ALL public service jobs are an essential service. Our tax dollars should not be spent on providing non-essential services.

    Part of declaring all public service jobs as official “essential services”, we need to establish proper guidelines for the arbitration process as Stephen Chung mentions.

    This is not new ground: http://www.goer.state.ny.us/cna/bucenter/taylor.html

  13. Stephen wrote: “The Garbagemen are perhaps the best paid workers in the city and heck, most of them are making more than I am (I’m a computer developer getting paid at around $52K). Can someone see what the problem here is?”

    Yes, the problem is that you need to change jobs. Apply to be a garbage man!

  14. George: I appreciate your comments. I have generally voted Conservative except in the last few elections (where I didn’t vote) as the Tories have never been able to provide a proper platform that suits my needs. John Tory came close until he came up with that religious schools BS. And no conservative entity is willing to look into the present day unions and the bargaining process. Just because I want to see a change doesn’t mean that everyone else is on the same boat.

    Allow me to clarify my stance regarding garbagemen: it’s not them that I am angry at them, but at their union. The unions of this day and age have too much power compared to those of the past (when they are definitely needed). Also, I spent a good chunk of cash in order to have my degree and to be able to be qualified for this job. Being a Garbageman doesn’t require this. I believe in meritocracy, that is people should earn commensurate to their abilities. Which is why I was pretty pissed to see the outside workers union get such a ludicrous contract for its garbagemen. And yes, I did apply to be a garbageman (as a bit of a joke) but apparently there was a long lineup for this (was everyone there a computer programmer?)

    What my job does provide that I have trouble giving up is our benefits plan. I won’t go into it in much detail but it is something that a lot of people would love to have. Especially unionized workers, see you don’t need a Union to have good benefits.