Our mayor was played for a fool, and we're the ones left holding the bag
By SUE-ANN LEVY
Today, I provide the tale of a battle between two men, both of whom have strong ties to the CUPE locals.
One, Hizzoner David Miller -- his face red and sweaty and his voice often escalating into a high-pitched whine -- looked anything but a "strong mayor" yesterday.
Using words like "astonishingly strong," and "a model for other cities," he desperately tried to sell a deal with the devil -- his 30,000 friends with CUPE Locals 416 and 79.
BULLIED INTO SUBMISSION
With the tacit compliance of his six-figure city manager -- in my view bullied into submission -- he trotted out a set of ridiculous numbers to back contentions that there would be "massive savings" from his contract deal, which after a day-long debate narrowly passed council 21-17.
There were claims that over the next five years the city's sick leave liability would decrease by $140 million -- once the sick bank provision is grand-parented and buyouts are taken by some employees. But, after several requests for clarification, I was left wanting for more details on how those figures were reached.
No councillor bothered to point out that the city would have trouble forking out all this money considering the city's sick leave reserve fund (for all union employees) has a mere $64 million left in it and an unfunded liability of $186 million. The mayor made it seem like the reserve fund was chock full of cash.
"We should be going to the citizens of Toronto and saying it's an excellent deal," he declared, suggesting after the council vote that the public didn't understand the deal.
Meanwhile the other man in my tale, CUPE 416 president Mark Ferguson, sat quietly in council's public gallery -- his face conveying no emotion as councillors duked it out.
And why should the Aurora resident worry?
He and his CUPE national brothers and sisters outfoxed Miller from the get-go. The union won -- handily.
The mayor's heart was never really in a strike -- having made it obvious from the day he got elected in 2003 that he owed his allegiances to his CUPE brethren.
From early on in the strike, Miller sent out signals to the union that he wasn't really prepared to take a hard line either when he refused to seek injunctions to stop union thugs from forcing residents to wait up to three hours to drop off their garbage at dump sites and transfer stations.
But when Ferguson imposed his 48-hour ultimatum, threatening to walk away from the table if no deal was reached, I could have predicted Miller would cave.
I knew the mayor would not be able to stomach a lengthy strike or the thought of CUPE 416 stepping up their aggressive tactics at picket lines.
As the details slowly trickled out about how much the mayor sold Toronto taxpayers down the river, the only thing that emerged as "astonishingly strong" was the CUPE union's continued stranglehold over this city.
"I don't share that assessment at all," Ferguson said when asked whether he got the better of the mayor during the strike. "I don't think anyone wins after a 39-day strike."
The terms of the contract say otherwise. It wasn't enough that all current CUPE employees get to keep their generous sick bank or that they got a 6% pay hike over three years.
RICH DEAL
But the deal is so rich that union members won't have to worry in the slightest about any contracting out of their services or losing a day's worth of sick leave, vacation and seniority credits during their 39 days off the job.
There's no doubt in my mind that Ferguson played Miller for a fool.
Still that's not at all surprising when you consider the mayor's skewed loyalties.
Councillor Michael Thompson put it best in describing Miller's bizarre behaviour during the strike:
"The mayor was merely a cheerleader, not a leader."
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YAY OR NAY
HOW CITY COUNCILLORS VOTED
The count, 21 to 17, was the same as Toronto city council voted to ratify both contracts.
HERE'S HOW THEY VOTED FOR THE CONTRACT WITH LOCAL 416:
THE YES VOTE: Maria Augimeri; Sandra Bussin; Shelley Carroll; Raymond Cho; Janet Davis; Glenn De Baeremaeker; Frank Di Giorgio; Paula Fletcher; Adam Giambrone; Mark Grimes; Suzan Hall; A.A. Heaps; Doug Holyday; Pam McConnell; Joe Mihevc; David Miller; Joe Pantalone; Gord Perks; Anthony Perruzza; Bill Saundercook; Adam Vaughan.
THE NO VOTE: Paul Ainslie; Brian Ashton; Mike Del Grande; Mike Feldman: Rob Ford; Cliff Jenkins; Norm Kelly; Chin Lee; Peter Milczyn; Denzil Minnan-Wong; Ron Moeser; Frances Nunziata; Case Ootes; John Parker; Karen Stintz; Michael Thompson; Michael Walker.
HERE'S HOW THEY VOTED FOR THE CONTRACT WITH LOCAL 79:
THE YES VOTE: Maria Augimeri; Sandra Bussin; Shelley Carroll; Raymond Cho; Janet Davis; Glenn De Baeremaeker; Frank Di Giorgio; Paula Fletcher; Adam Giambrone; Mark Grimes; Suzan Hall; A.A. Heaps; Doug Holyday; Pam McConnell; Joe Mihevc; David Miller; Joe Pantalone; Gord Perks; Anthony Perruzza; Bill Saundercook; Adam Vaughan.
THE NO VOTE: Paul Ainslie; Brian Ashton; Mike Del Grande; Mike Feldman: Rob Ford; Cliff Jenkins; Norm Kelly; Chin Lee; Denzil Minnan-Wong; Ron Moeser; Frances Nunziata; Case Ootes; John Parker; David Shiner; Karen Stintz; Michael Thompson; Michael Walker.
ABSENT
Giorgio Mammoliti, Gloria Lindsay-Luby, Cesar Palacio, John Filion, Howard Moscoe and Kyle Rae.
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