Catpaw - diary of an angry cat

“We Move Toronto”

So states the TTC Union Local 113’s web site. I think they should it rewrite to read:

“We Screw the Workers of Toronto”

Union leader Bob Kinnear needs to get off his high horse and apologize to the public for putting so many people in danger Friday night by the unions incredibly irresponsible behaviour. The people endangered were not just those left stranded on dark streets at midnight, it includes a lot of front line union workers who had to face the wrath of the public as they booted people out of subway stations, off buses and street cars. Instead of apologizing for this miscalculation, Mr Kinnear threw oil on the already overheated fires by issuing the following statement on the union’s web site:

First of all I want to thank each and every one of our members for their complete solidarity once the strike was called at midnight on Friday. We knew we would be severely criticized for calling the strike with no warning, but our first duty as a union is to protect the safety of our members. If only one member had been assaulted by a passenger angered by the strike, that would have been one too many.

We had no choice but to shut down the system as quickly as possible.

Let’s dispel a few of the sillier parts of this argument. If the Union were so concerned with the safety of their workers, they would have been wiser to wait until the end of the work day and then tell their workers don’t come in to start the day. Workers would have been safe and not endangered by the Union leaderships stupidity. How was throwing people out of subway stations and off buses safer? No Mr Kinnear, you issued this order to cause maximum chaos in the city in the hopes of forcing the city to back down. You and your leadership members were more concerned with making a political statement then the actual safety of your front line workers. You endangered them - not the public. Your actions stoked the flames.

The second part of this is the blatant disregard for the safety of the public. You are damned lucky no one was hurt Friday night. Damned lucky. Do you even care?

We met with the Provincial mediator and the company yesterday. We made proposals that would address the reasons our members so strongly rejected the settlement.

The Union rejected the deal because of a massive campaign of misinformation from within your own Union. It was your responsibility to nip this early and make sure your Union members were properly informed. You know that, I know that. It has been well documented in the local press about the problems within the Union and how rumours scuppered the deal - DO NOT BLAME ANYONE BUT YOUR OWN UNION AND YOUR OWN INACTION.

Your Union was offered a good deal. Some of your members, ticket takers, make approx $100,000 a year with overtime. Are you telling me a ticket taker, with a high school education is worth more than a highly skilled nurse? Are these people worth more than care givers who work long hard hours? No … no …. no… How many ways can I say it? One of your own Union members was boasting about how much he made - to the press - and how he was worth every cent. Sorry, but he isn’t. Granted, these people are not the norm, but there is a lot this sort of nonsense going on within your union ranks. Do you doubt this? Then check it out at TTC ticket collector rakes in $100Gs last year - the base salary for this very easy job is posted as $54,000. This job does not warrant this kind of pay scale. I don’t care how it is explained.

Management refused to consider any of our proposals because they knew we were going to be legislated back to work. They did not consult us about the back to work legislations.

You came back to the table with a new list of demands. You were offered a good deal that included good benefits, guaranteed 3% a year increase, better compensation, parity increase if the drivers in another city (Mississauga) get an increase and more. Want more? How about this:

3 per cent raise in each year of the three-year agreement; $300 every two years for vision care; $2,500 for dental care; up to $4,000 for orthodontic; $1,000 for physiotherapy and chiropractic care and $2,550 (maximum) for long term disability.

The TTC also agreed to top-up workers’ compensation benefits to 100 per cent of take-home pay. The TTC pension, was to have been addressed during the 2010 and 2011 TTC operating budget.

The agreement also contained a controversial GTA clause that would have guaranteed TTC drivers 5 cents an hour more than the highest paid operators in the region.
The Toronto Star Apr 26/08

You knew you would be legislated back to work - you were in the last strike. The government said it would consider such action again. Why was this such a shock? Are you blind? Are you willingly dumb on the matter. The TTC is an essential service in this city. Did you really expect the government to stand by while you paralysed the city? If you did, then you are hopelessly naive and should not be in the job you hold.

Did you really think the people of Toronto would idly sit by and let this nonsense happen? Do you think we are such a bunch of spineless sheep that we would not respond? Why are you so shocked by the anger? Your lame excuse about protecting your Union members simply does not wash with us. You endangered lives, you caused massive problems throughout the city, you forced people who made plans for the weekend to cancel them. The public is not stupid. We are not willing to sit by and be blind sided and abused by you or your Union.

You better wake up and start thinking about your actions and how they affect your front line workers and the public at large. We are not happy, and your arrogant response fuelled our anger even further. Take that insane message off your website and offer a conciliatory apology to the public. Then go back and negotiate fairly.

Stumble it!