....in a pinch Sue-Ann Levy!
Miller takes cowardly way out
Case Ootes charges mayor with the union 'in his heart'
By SUE-ANN LEVY, TORONTO SUN
At the end of March a gang of 10 city councillors -- wanting to be known as the Responsible Government Group -- shopped around an alternative budget plan that called for a pay freeze this year for all city employees.
They figured the move -- if applied equally to the 30,000 full and part-time CUPE 416 and 79 workers in the midst of contract talks -- would save the cash-strapped city some $65 million.
"It's incumbent on the mayor to send a very strong signal to our unions that our cupboards are bare," Coun. Peter Milczyn insisted at the time.
But Mayor David Miller and his minions reared their hind legs in self-righteous indignation at the plan. Budget chief Shelley Carroll said setting the tone publicly for the unions was a "very irresponsible way to negotiate," if not "illegal."
Miller, while quite comfortable with the idea of freezing the pay of the city's 4,000 management and non-union staff, repeatedly refused to speak up publicly about whether the same freeze should apply to his union pals, choosing to hide behind his "bargaining in bad faith" mantra.
On April Fool's Day, King David shepherded this year's $8.7-billion operating budget through council, calling it (insert laughter here) "very responsible."
There was no doubt his socialist sheep had taken their marching orders very seriously to spend their way out of the recession. The budget increased spending by $500 million over 2008 and aimed to boost the city payroll by 1,040 employees.
To add insult to injury, a series of wage settlements for employees of other city agencies in the months leading up to the budget did not take into the slightest consideration the recession, or that each award would form a precedent for the next. The TTC workers got a 3% hike this year, as did Toronto Hydro, Toronto Port Authority and Toronto Parking Authority workers.
TEMPERS FLARE
So as the garbage continues to pile up at 19 park dump sites, our brontosaurus recycling bins fill to overflowing, litter fills the downtown streets and tempers flare on the picket lines -- now nearly two weeks into the Great Socialist Republik of Toronto strike of 2009 -- Torontonians can thank Miller and Co. for not "managing the expectations" of the CUPE unions.
Let's be clear. I have absolutely no sympathy for CUPE's demands -- which I'm told include annual wage increases above 3% in addition to refusing to give up their generous sick leave payout.
That said, CUPE workers weren't shown any evidence this city is almost broke. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
Coun. Case Ootes thinks the mayor chose to take the cowardly way out by not being upfront about his intentions and has "underestimated" the determination of the union to get what everyone else got.
"He has to take the blame because he didn't manage the expectations of the union," he says. "He talked about everything being rosy when he put the budget to bed."
Prominent labour lawyer Howard Levitt feels Miller is "playing to lose" rather than "playing to win."
A company (or organization) that wants to win in a strike would be training replacement workers and bringing them in by a certain date, if the union refuses to accept a contract offer. But Levitt acknowledges this isn't likely to happen under a pro-union mayor.
He added it's "illegal" for the strikers to block access to city facilities and transfer stations for more than a minute -- as they've done particularly aggressively this past week at all entrances to City Hall. The city should be seeking an injunction to prevent this from happening, but again is not.
'SOCIALIST PROCLIVITIES'
Levitt feels by cancelling city events and council meetings (as has been done with tomorrow's council meeting) the mayor is also playing into the strikers' hands.
"His socialist proclivities are getting in the way of what he should be doing as CEO of the city," said Levitt, adding the mayor has behaved "abominably" so far during the strike.
Ootes, too, is unimpressed with how Miller has handled the strike.
He said the mayor is "hardly visible," ducking the issues and doesn't look like a mayor that's in command of the situation.
"He's at a loss as to what to do," Ootes added. "The problem with David is that in his heart he's with the union ... he hasn't come to grips with the fact that he is the mayor."
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