I Agree,,,,,Eliminate Closed Shops

Let's hire the unemployed

Why doesn't City Hall bring in replacement workers to do the jobs of its striking employees?

By SUE-ANN LEVY

Yesterday morning -- one of those rare, mild, sunny days during an unseasonably cool July -- I stopped by a few city parks to see whether the CUPE strike is keeping people from using them.

David A. Balfour Park was practically deserted. A handful of people were running their dogs through the unkempt, uncut, weed-filled grass -- now well past my ankles. The splash pad was bone dry, the washrooms locked up tight.

Ditto for Ramsden Park, where about a dozen moms sat on park benches watching their kids manoeuvre the playground equipment. Its splash pad was filled with acorns, its grafitti-covered washroom doors bolted shut.

At Allan Gardens, once-beautiful pink and purple flowers and plants were brown and sickly, clearly in need of some TLC.

Still, the park seemed busy, despite the strike by 30,000 inside and outside workers with CUPE locals 79 and 416.

Until I looked more closely, that is. The park's benches were filled by more than a dozen homeless men and their paraphernalia. With drop-in centres closed, they too, have nowhere to go.

A sign pasted to the door to the Allan Gardens Conservatory says it all:

"During the legal strike by members of Local 79 and 416, this facility is closed. All permits and programs are cancelled. The city is committed to reaching a settlement as soon as possible."

That settlement is not happening quite so quickly. It's Day 30 of "The Great Socialist Republik of Toronto Strike" and there's no end in sight.

Mayor David Miller and his minions seem to be quite content with the idea of putting everything on hold or cancelling events, council meetings and city programs for the sake of appeasing their union buddies.

But I can guarantee most Toronto citizens don't see the world the same way.

They've had enough -- and I'm not just referring to having their fill of the union's aggressive tactics at transfer stations.

I'm talking about the cowardice, indifference and lack of leadership from those who purport to run Socialist Silly Hall -- both on the left AND right of the political spectrum.

It's time to call in replacement workers and salvage what's left of the summer of 2009.

CLEAN UP TIME

It's time to clean up our trash-strewn streets to make the city more palatable to tourists and residents; time to cut the grass in our unkempt parks, time to get the kids back to summer camp and students back to their summer jobs. And it's most especially time to haul the garbage out of those temporary dump sites (parks and community centres) which are now filled to capacity.

If the striking CUPE workers want to dig their heels in and continue to make unrealistic demands, let them.

But let the city function as best it can. After all, the 3,800 city management staff must be getting pretty tired of trying to pick up the slack.

Prominent labour lawyer Howard Levitt says if the mayor wanted to -- and that is a big IF, given his union ties -- "of course" he could bring in replacement workers.

In fact, Levitt encourages his own clients to "visibly and openly" train replacement workers before a strike even begins.

He said city officials, if they had the will, could hold a job fair today -- at the CNE grounds, for example -- and invite anyone who wants a temporary job to come down.

He says there's a lot of skilled people in Toronto -- both unemployed and underemployed -- who are looking for work, or second and third jobs to tide them over.

"The mayor would be a hero ... he would be dealing with the city's unemployed," Levitt said.

"He'd be a hero with the citizenry (too) because the garbage is being picked up and their services are being taken care of."

Levitt feels Toronto residents would really support any leader (or would-be leader) who takes a tough stance with the unions.

"It's shocking to me that no mayoralty candidate has come forward and taken this position ... shocking," he said. "I'd be getting replacement workers in as quickly as possible."

Hmm. That got me thinking. Why stop with the CUPE workers? This should apply to councillors too, particularly those in the mayor's camp who are hiding out from the strikers.

Replace them with politicians who have some gumption -- if such an animal exists. The mayor included.