Toronto Garbage Strike - Meet Our Mayor
The cover of this weeks Maclean's magazine couldn't be more appropriate. Day 30 of the strike and the city really does stink.
Who would have thought that this strike would last so long. Certainly not me...actually I thought the Premier of Ontario would have legislated them back to work long ago. In spite of the fact that my freezer has more garbage than food in it right now I am kind of pleased that he hasn't done so. Whenever there is an arbitrated settlement the union guys seem to always get what they want.
In this instance what they want is inconsistent with the times we are living in. It would have been easier to convince them of this I suspect, if our entire city council and mayor hadn't given themselves a nice raise not long ago. That is the crux of the matter.
What would I do? Well since the strike is legal you can't fire them but I certainly would have brought in replacement workers to clean up this city instead of the volunteers that are now doing it. Speaking of volunteers, it is amazing to see who is at the head of the class so to speak. A provincial politician on his summer break is cleaning streets. A little electioneering prior to the November 2010 election? George Smitherman used to be the Minister of Health and I have absolutely no love for that man and would be hard pressed to vote for him. It is rumoured that he is looking for the job. I suppose if push comes to shove and no one else steps forward for the next municipal election I may have to . Anybody but the current group gets my vote and that would include my current councilor. Anybody who takes union money as campaign donations is suspect. It always makes me wonder whose side they are really on, the taxpayer or the unions.
Once this strike is over the city must consider privatizing trash pickup and fire the lot that has ruined the summer for most residents of this fair city. Come November 2010 the residents of Toronto have to fire just about the entire crop of councilors and the mayor and start fresh with people who put the residents needs before their own. I think they have forgotten that they are supposed to perform public service and work for us.
Meanwhile, the rats are feasting and procreating, yummy...
Labels: Municipal Politics
posted by Rositta @ Tuesday, July 21, 2009
7 Comments:
i'd sure like to fire all of ours too... term limits is what we need.
smiles, bee
xxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
You know, your summers are so short that this event really spoils it all, doesn't it? What a shame. Look at what the unions did to the automotive industry. When a janitor for GM makes more than a nurse saving lives, you know priorities are backwards.
You're very clever to freeze your trash. I marvel at your ingenuity-though I'm sure it's fired by necessity. I hope your freezer space holds up.
Wow, that's a long time to have to deal with that. Your last sentence just gave me the willies, ewww.
Ms Bee, the mayor and councilors consider this a job for life. As incumbents they have a huge advantage over a challenger.
Rudee, I'm hopeful that my housekeeper will take it with her tomorrow, she lives outside the strike area. We also have to set up a second composter, the first one is full. It's the big salaries at GM that caused the companies to go tits up plus not building saleable cars.
Chrysalis, there really are rats around the temporary garbage sites, sadly.
It's much more than garbage though, all city run public services have been shut down.
Oh you are so right. George Smitherman is totally campaigning already - what a subtle way of doing it. As for the strike, it has certainly been going on for too long, which is shocking. What surprises me the most is that those garbage workers apparently get paid $20 to $50 an hour and strike. Many people would work for much less money and still be quiet. Best, Lorne.
Broker Lorne, welcome to my humble blog. As my friend Rudee says when garbage workers or automotive workers make more than nurses there is something wrong. The strike is settled, we'll see what it costs us...
What a witty and true remark of your friend. But finally the strike seems to be over, that's great news. I'm curious what will happen next. Take care, Lorne.
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