And not just because of our gutless city councilors and mayor but because many of the taxpayers don't want garbage piling up on the streets, having to fight even more traffic during a transit strike, etc. We had a wildcat TTC strike and there was a hue and cry but has the city collected the lost revenue from the transit union? The amount spent on benefits for unions is probably more than a lot of taxpayers take home in wages.
| July 22, 2007 'Have to take on the unions'Toronto is desperate for cost containment, and it comes down to staff and wages |
The city's laughable propaganda sheets on so-called efficiencies achieved at City Hall during the socialist reign (of fiscal terror) said it all.
The set of seven backgrounders were sent to councillors in advance of last Monday's council meeting to convince those who dared question Mayor David Miller's proposed new taxes that the city is a finely-oiled machine.
The tax tools didn't quite get rammed through the way Mayor David Miller had hoped. (Council voted narrowly to defer any decision on them until after October's provincial election.)
Nevertheless, the propaganda sheets did anything but help the mayor's cause. What they did was provide further proof of how bloated this city is with highly-paid unionized staff providing services, several of which could easily be contracted out to the private sector.
One backgrounder -- entitled "Contracted Services" -- indicates that nearly 50% or $3.9 billion of the city's operating budget represents salaries and benefits of employees who deliver city services. When I added up the list of operating costs contracted out, it amounted to $444 million or a mere 5% of this year's $7.79-billion budget.
According to the city, the number of council-approved positions (permanent and temporary) grew from 47,141 in 2003 when Miller came to office to 50,192 this year -- a 6.4% increase. More than half of the increase this year is attributed to services (including those at the TTC) enhanced or newly created by the mayor.
The backgrounder also notes that a city of Toronto cleaner makes on average $20.91/hr., a parks labourer $20.45/hr. and a garbage collector $23.38/hr. Needless to say, these allegedly "competitive" salaries (which do not include some 23% extra in benefits) far surpass what's paid for similar duties in the private sector.
1 comment:
I would have to agree with this. My belief is that unions have long outlasted their usefulness, and it's time to recognize this is 2007, not 1930.
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