June 11, 2009 - No. 116
City of Toronto Must Withdraw Its
Dictate for Concessions from City Workers!
Defend the Right of Toronto City Workers to
Fight for Their Just Demands!
• City of
Toronto Must
Withdraw Its Dictate for Concessions from City Workers! Defend the
Right of Toronto City Workers to Fight for Their Just Demands!
• Toronto Municipal Unions Announce Strike
Deadline, Tell Employer It's Time to Get the Job Done
- Press Release, CUPE Locals 79 and 416
LCBO Workers Ready to Strike
• No to LCBO's Plan for a Completely Casual
Workforce!
• For Your Information: Summary of Opening
Positions of LCBO and LBED in Bargaining, March 9, 2009
- OPSEU Website
• Good Jobs for All! -- June 13 Rally and March
in Toronto
- CLC
• The Steel Beam Mill: We Want it Now! - June
14 Demonstration in Contrecoeur, QC - United Steelworkers (FTQ)
City of Toronto Must Withdraw Its Dictate for
Concessions from City Workers!
Defend the Right of Toronto City Workers to
Fight for Their Just Demands!
TML calls upon all Toronto and
Canadian workers to insist the City of Toronto immediately stop its
campaign
against civic workers to get them to accept anti-labour concessions.
Toronto City workers provide very important services for the people of
Toronto and should be treated with utmost respect and dignity. Asking
concessions from our fellow workers insults us all. Shame on those
Toronto authorities who are in the forefront of this assault on the
dignity of workers! Canadian workers should stand solidly in defence of
the right of civic workers to fight for working and living conditions
acceptable to them and for the expansion
and development of public services.
Toronto workers are organized into two locals of the
Canadian Union
of Public Employees (CUPE): Local 79 represents around 18,000 inside
workers who, among other things do clerical work and staff recreational
centres and seniors' homes; Local 416 has over 6,000 outside workers
who
provide garbage collection, road maintenance, sewage maintenance,
paramedic services, etc. No board report has been issued by the Ontario
Ministry of Labour regarding negotiations between the City of Toronto
and Toronto City workers represented by the two CUPE Locals. This means
that starting June 22, civic
workers are in a legal position to strike and Toronto authorities are
in a legal position to lock them out. Blame for the failure of
negotiations lies squarely with the City of Toronto along with the
Ontario government, which is largely responsible for the budgetary
problems facing the city because of downloading of
services without providing the necessary revenue.
The collective agreements of both Local 79 and 416
expired at the
end of 2008. In 50 bargaining sessions between each union and the city,
nothing has moved. From the very beginning, the City of Toronto has
refused to negotiate based on an agenda presented by the workers.
Instead, the city has
come up with a series of major anti-labour concessions, which according
to the union comprise 118 pages in the case of Local 416. City
authorities insist that concessions are the only issue to be discussed
at the bargaining table, which include hours of work, job security
provisions, seniority and benefits. Just
two weeks ago, over five months since the expiry of both labour
contracts, the city presented a written proposal to completely
dismantle the sick plan and sick bank. These are basic rights civic
workers fought for years to win. This new demand from the city barely
weeks before a strike deadline can only be considered a
provocation.
The arrogance of the city is such that it insists
workers make
concessions the basis of discussions. It has refused to negotiate
anything else unless workers agree first to abide by this dictate. When
civic workers and their representatives refused to be humiliated in
this way, they were called unreasonable
and denounced as somehow being opposed to reaching a "negotiated"
settlement.
Meanwhile, the monopoly media have once again begun
demonizing city
workers calling them privileged and insensitive to the reality of the
global economic crisis during which allegedly everybody is agreeing to
anti-labour concessions that strip rights and dignity from workers, as
if denial of rights
and driving down working and living standards are solutions to the
economic crisis. The mass media depict the prospect of a strike by city
workers in the most vulgar and diversionary way, with horror stories of
garbage piling up on the streets and Torontonians going through the
living hell of a hot summer without
public services. This hysteria exposes the monopoly media as
self-serving mouthpieces for a privileged elite and unworthy public
tribune of a modern cultured city. Yet by raising the importance of
public services, even in such a vulgar way, the mass media hint at the
crucial importance of civic workers and the necessity
to uphold their rights and dignity.
TML calls upon Canadian workers, and
especially all
Toronto workers, to rally around city workers and consider this
campaign against them very seriously. City workers are being pushed
into a corner as attempts are made to isolate them and prepare public
opinion to criminalize individual
workers and their collectives and divert discussion from issues workers
want to deal with and raise for serious debate. Workers are entirely
justified in defending their rights during this economic crisis and for
presenting solutions that favour the working class and nation-building
not nation-wrecking and the rich. Why
would City workers agree to concessions that would result in the
deterioration of not only their working and living conditions but also
public services necessary for the well-being of all? If after years of
struggle they have won a measure of protection and stability for
themselves and the services they provide, should
these positive developments not be the basis for further improvement,
instead of being wrecked. Should dignity and rights that civic workers
have won in courageous battles not be extended to other workers,
especially in the situation of Toronto where precarious non-standard
work has rapidly grown, even undermining
the ranks of unionized workers? Extending rights and benefits to all
would help improve the lives of all Torontonians and the economy.
Better wages and benefits for all Toronto workers means value is poured
back into the city, which raises the standard of living generally and
strengthens the economy. Instead, what
is being proposed under the threat of criminalization and back to work
legislation, is to drag down the working and living conditions of not
just city workers but all workers and to undermine public services
through more and more non-standard work, contracting out, privatization
giving lucrative contracts for the
benefit of wealthy cronies at the expense of the public treasury and
well-being of the people and so on, all of which means value is torn
out of the fabric of the city making the crisis worse and leading to a
deterioration in the lives of all except the very rich and those who
constantly take value out of the city for investment
or private use elsewhere.
All workers must put both the City of Toronto and the
Ontario
government on notice that they are duty bound to defend the right of
workers to fight for their just demands for living and working
conditions commensurate with a dignified life, including the right to
strike without having that right criminalized.
Toronto authorities cannot hide behind their hypocritical breast
beating that they would "prefer" a negotiated settlement while pushing
the workers into a corner and preparing the ground for their
criminalization. These are similar tactics as those used against civic
workers during their 2002 strike and against TTC
workers in 2008. That bitter direct experience is not forgotten or
forgiven. It must not pass again!
Through their struggles and just demands across Canada
and in the
particular case of Toronto, workers are raising important issues of
modern rights and the concept that concessions and wrecking of
manufacturing and public services are not solutions to the economic
crisis. It is unacceptable that workers'
views on these important issues are stifled through diversions,
provocations and abuse of the power of the state and mass media.
TML reiterates its call to all workers to
demand that the
anti-labour concessions be taken off the table and negotiations begin
based on the agenda of the workers who are the providers of public
services crucial to a modern and civilised Toronto.
Toronto civic workers are completely justified to
defend the rights
and working and living standards they have won in the past and their
agenda in the here and now to improve those standards and the city's
public services. By so doing, they are fighting for the dignity and
rights of all who live and
work in Toronto and for a solution to the economic crisis that favours
the people.
Concessions Are Not Solutions!
Public Services Yes! Nation-Wrecking and Privatization No!
Defend the Dignity and Working and Living Conditions of Toronto City
Workers!
Rally around the Right of City Workers to Fight for Their Just Demands!
Toronto Municipal Unions Announce Strike Deadline, Tell
Employer It's Time to Get the Job Done
- Press Release, CUPE Locals 79 and 416,
June 4, 2009 -
Toronto, Ontario. The leaders of Ontario's largest
municipal unions,
representing more than 24,000 City of Toronto employees, announced
today that they will soon be in a legal strike or lockout position
unless the city drops its demands for concessions and gets serious
about reaching a deal.
Both CUPE Local 79, the union for about 18,000 inside
workers, and
Toronto Civic Employees Union Local 416 CUPE, representing 6,200
outside workers, have asked their government appointed conciliators to
file a "no board" report.
"We have been ready to finalize a new collective
agreement since
early April," said Ann Dembinski, President of CUPE Local 79, which has
four collective agreements with the city. "Nobody wants a strike, but
our talks have almost ground to a halt. The city won't talk unless we
agree to negotiate
concessions."
City of Toronto negotiators are also looking for
concessions -- more than 100 pages of them -- from Local 416.
"We have put proposals on the table ourselves that
would see
improved accountability, affordability and availability of city
services for years to come," said President Mark Ferguson.
"Unfortunately, the city is resisting innovations. They're more
interested in gutting contract language that we have won
over decades through collective bargaining, strikes and awards from
independent arbitrators."
Neither local has received a wage offer from the city.
In votes held last month, both locals received
overwhelming strike mandates from their members.
"Nobody wants a strike," said Dembinski. "But we are
not here to
bargain away the rights of our members. Other workers in the City of
Toronto and in surrounding GTA municipalities have been able to
negotiate new collective agreements without concessions. Our members
have said clearly that they
do not want to be treated like second class citizens."
"I'd hoped we were past the days when it was the norm
for the City
of Toronto to attack its employees," Ferguson said. "That kind of
labour relations climate is what caused a bitter strike in 2002 -- the
largest strike of municipal workers in Canadian history. We don't want
to see a return to that kind
of bitter labour relations climate."
It's time for the City of Toronto to get serious about
negotiating
fair contracts and averting job action, the two leaders said.
LCBO Workers Ready to Strike
No to LCBO's Plan for a Completely
Casual Workforce!
December 10, 2008: Left,
LCBO workers in London. Right, John Cartright, President of Toronto
and York Region Labour
Council at LCBO press conference in Toronto.
The more than 6,000 workers of the Liquor Control Board
of Ontario will be in a legal position to strike on June 24. They
are opposing the plan of the LCBO to destroy 2,400 permanent,
full-time, full-year jobs and demanding major improvements in
the working and living conditions of the 3,600
casual workers who are struggling to make two ends meet. LCBO is
seeking to run its operations on a casual workforce with lower pay, no
guaranteed hours, no job security, and no benefits. It is estimated by
the Liquor Board Employees Division (LBED) -- the unit of the Ontario
Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)
which represents these workers, that 60 percent of members in the LBED
unit are casuals who earn less than $20,800 a year on average.
"People can't live decently on that, they can't bring
their kids up
properly on that, and they sure can't think of ever retiring on that,"
said Vanda Klumper, chair of the bargaining team of the Division. "We
have three-tier and sometimes four-tier wages in our stores. In
logistics, the LCBO pays non-union
agency temps $10 an hour to do our union jobs. We even have wage tiers
in a few permanent jobs.... An employer that boasts annual profits of
$1.4 billion a year with so few employees has not just the ability but
also the responsibility to provide good jobs in communities right
across Ontario. Instead, the LCBO
wants to destroy the 2,400 good full-time jobs we do have and is
proposing that not one of our members will have a guaranteed,
full-time, full-year job. This is just wrong."
According to the LBED, 88 percent of all unionized
workers who have
joined the LCBO in the past 10 years are casual workers while 96
percent of those who have joined in the last five years are classified
as casual.
Meanwhile, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008,
the LCBO had
net sales of $4.13 billion and transferred a dividend of $1.35 billion
to the general revenues of the Ontario government. During the same
year, it also collected $383 million in provincial sales as well as
sending $458 million to Ottawa
in federal sales tax (GST). Over the past five years the LCBO has
transferred nearly $6 billion in dividends to the province.
The collective agreement of these workers expired on
March 31,
2009. Throughout this entire period, before and since the expiry of
their contract, the workers have held militant actions to mobilize the
people of Ontario to join them in winning their demands.
In December 2008, they distributed leaflets in front of
many
LCBO outlets and mobilized people to sign a petition that calls on the
Ontario government to pass a law so that employers must pay part-time
and temporary workers the same hourly wage as full-time, permanent
staff doing the same work.
Through this and other actions, they have made it clear that they are
fighting not only for their members but the whole growing workforce in
Ontario that subsists on precarious employment.
On May 20-22 of this year, LCBO workers voted 93 percent
in favour of
strike action if necessary. The voter turnout was 3,672 people, a
record high for the 6,000-member bargaining unit. On June 1-2, more
than 150 activists from the division came to Toronto from across the
province for two days
of training in OPSEU strike policy, picket drills, how to talk to the
media, etc.
Bargaining sessions were held on June 8-10 and will
begin again as of June 15
up to the strike deadline of June 24. If a suitable deal is not
provided by the employer by that date, the workers are planning to walk
out.
For Your Information
Summary of Opening Positions of LCBO
and LBED in Bargaining, March 9, 2009
- OPSEU Website (excerpts) -
The Opening Positions of LCBO
Privatization Protection: Gone
There are three sections in the collective agreement
that protect
OPSEU members from having their job sold to a private company or
individual. The LCBO wants to delete all three, as follows:
1. Finding you a job, enhanced severance, training.
Two letters of agreement in the contract (p. 185, p.
188), provide
some measure of protection to all full-time employees, and casuals with
at least five years' seniority, in the event they lose their job to
privatization. For starters, the employer must try to find them a job
with the new employer. If this doesn't happen,
or the employee declines the job, the affected worker gets enhanced
(double) severance pay. Workers whose jobs are privatized also have
access to retraining for a new career. Full-timers also get a payout of
up to 30 days of attendance credits.
Under the LCBO's new proposal, LCBO workers would get
none of this
in the event of privatization. Their protection measures would be gone
from the contract.
2. Contracting out.
A letter on page 212 of the contract says "there shall
be no new
contracting out of work that is usually performed by members of the
bargaining unit, if a layoff of any permanent full-time employees
results...."
The employer wants to do away with this contract
language as well.
This change could affect any type of work at the LCBO, from one
person's job to an entire Division.
3. Agency stores.
The LCBO now licenses about 200 privately-run "agency
stores,"
mostly in smaller communities, but the pressure is building as these
non-union outlets move ever-closer to regular LCBO outlets. At present
the LCBO is prevented from simply replacing regular outlets with
"agency stores". The collective
agreement, states (p. 211) that the LCBO will not close retail stores,
lay off their full-time employees, or reduce their store hours as a
result of the operation of an agency store.
The LCBO wants to do away with this protection as well.
Retail Hours
Article 6.4 of the contract currently provides LCBO
employees with
the assurance of 12 Saturdays off. The LCBO wants to "reduce the number
of Saturdays off" and the right to assign "additional shifts." Both
these demands would put workers at the beck and call of the employer,
in terms of extra
shifts or changes to start times and end times and would mean greater
uncertainty with work schedules, disrupting family life and other
responsibilities.
Logistics
For those LCBO workers employed in logistics, the
employer wants to
do away with the five-day workweek for a six-day week - Monday to
Saturday at Logistics facilities, Private Stock, and Logistics
warehouse offices. As in Retail, LCBO wants to introduce varied start
and end times for shifts, at
its own discretion. The idea is that logistics workers would generally
have Sunday plus one other day off, which could change from week to
week without any compensation or overtime pay.
To further complicate your life, the LCBO wants to
reduce the
notice for posting of shift schedules to one week -- down from three in
Article 6.4 of the current contract.
Of course, there may not be as many shifts available if
the LCBO
gets its way. The employer wants to expand the use of $10-an-hour
Fixed-Term help in Logistics throughout most of the year. Fixed-Term
workers are a way for the LCBO to get around the contract. Their jobs
should be classified as
casual, seasonal, or full-time.
In another blow against all OPSEU members in Logistics,
the
employer told the union last week that "wash up time in Logistics
Facilities will no longer be practiced." And OPSEU members in Logistics
who are hired after April 1, 2009 will have to bring their own tools to
do the job they are hired
for.
Casuals
Hundreds of casuals (and a few permanent part-timers)
who have
worked at the LCBO for five, 10, or 15 years carry with them the hope
that they will get full-time permanent work through the Permanent
Vacancy Review (PVR). The PVR contract language (pp. 200-203) says that
when a casual works
a certain number of hours in a calendar year, the employer must create
a new full-time position in their workplace. The resulting position
then goes to the casual with the most seniority. Every year, despite
the many shifts worked that don't count towards the PVR, as many as 100
casuals do get full-time jobs.
Under the LCBO's proposal currently on the table, it
may never
happen again. The LCBO wants to change the contract so that only
shifts, which match a regular workday, count towards the PVR. This
means the shift would have to be a full-time shift and it would have to
happen on a regular workday.
Further, the employer wants to count only five days of any calendar
week towards the PVR. With these and others changes that the LCBO wants
to make, some casuals may still get full-time jobs, through favouritism
perhaps, but it won't be through the PVR.
Seasonals
For seasonal staff at an LCBO warehouse who feel
they've at least
moved ahead from being "casual", the employer has a message for you. If
the LCBO has its way, seasonals won't move up the pay grid
automatically. Pay raises will be "contingent on satisfactory
performance and recommendation from
supervisor." For good measure, the LCBO aims to stop paying seasonal
employees for break periods.
Seniority
If there's a common theme to the LCBO's proposals, it's
that this
employer hates the principle of seniority. Seniority was invented for
one reason only: To curb the power of employers when it comes to shift
schedules, training opportunities, promotion to a new job, and so on.
The LCBO is attacking
seniority in several areas:
- Deletion of Article 29. This article says "Permanent
full-time
employees will not be adversely affected by job training opportunities
provided to permanent part-time, seasonal or casual employees." Article
29 also says that full-timers will not be adversely affected by the use
of seasonals. The employer wants
to do away with this article.
- The employer also wants to change casual seniority
rights (Article
31 of the contract) so that seniority is calculated based on hours
worked rather than date of hire. This would allow managers to
manipulate seniority to benefit their favourites -- not the workers who
have been around longest.
- In the LCBO's perfect world, seniority would not be a
factor in
job competitions for casuals. Right now, Article 31.4 (b) of the
contract says that, when two casuals with equal qualifications are
seeking the same full-time job, the one with the most seniority should
get it. The employer prefers to hire based on
the manager's discretion, i.e., favouritism.
Benefits Reduced
The LCBO wants to "reduce the rate of increase in
costs" for the
extended health benefits provided under Article 20. This is a
roundabout way of saying, "cut benefits." In the same vein, the LCBO
wants to get rid of a joint union-employer committee called the Joint
Insurance and Benefit Committee
(JIBC). This committee gives the union equal say with the employer in
several key areas. The committee gives the union access to full
information about benefits, including costings, and gives members a
channel to appeal claims that are unfairly denied. And while the
Ontario government has final say on what company
administers the benefit plan, the JIBC is a forum for the union to
influence that decision on the members' behalf. If the LCBO gets its
way, this committee will be gone.
Firing and Other Discipline Issues
The LCBO wants to "institute an automatic discharge
penalty for
certain offences." In other words, workers could be fired without
recourse to the grievance process.
The employer also wants to delete Article 26.3. This
article gives
union members the right to have a union representative with them at any
meeting with management that could result in disciplinary action
against the member. With Article 26.3 gone, members could be en route
to severe discipline, or
even firing, before their union even knew there was a problem.
Short-Term Layoffs
Currently the collective agreement outlines what
happens when a
worker receives a layoff of more than 90 calendar days but it is silent
on shorter layoffs. It was very interesting that, in its opening
position, the LCBO told the union that it "reserves its right to
administer layoffs of less than 90 days."
The employer says that it "currently" has no plans to
lay anyone off. If so, why mention it?
Union Attacked
As part of its general anti-union approach, the LCBO
now wants any
OPSEU member who needs time off for union business to give three weeks'
notice (up from two). In a stranger proposal, the LCBO wants to delete
a Letter of Agreement called "Leave of Absence for Union Business on a
Full-Time
Basis." The last person to make use of this article was John Coones,
president of the old Ontario Liquor Boards Employees Union. The
employer thinks the article is now redundant. It's not. Many OPSEU
collective agreements, notably the one in the Ontario Public Service,
allow leaves of absence for members to
serve in one of the two full-time elected positions in the union, i.e.,
President and First Vice-President/Treasurer.
Technology Protections
OPSEU members at the LCBO currently have some
protection from the
worst affects of technological change. Under Article 49 of the
contract, the employer must try to minimize ill effects of
technological change upon employees. It must give the union 60 days'
notice of any change, and where a layoff
is to occur, the employee must receive 90 days' notice. Article 49 also
gives the union a way to address reassignment and retraining of
workers. The LCBO wants to eliminate Article 49.
Other "Take-Aways"
The employer's opening position at the bargaining table
is
rambling, unfocused, and vague. But the common theme is "takeaways."
The LCBO says, all new employees in Retail and Logistics will have to
wear and pay for CSA-approved safety footwear. For new employees in
Logistics, this amounts
to an added cost of $125.
The LCBO also wants to replace some statutory holidays
(Easter
Monday, Remembrance Day, and the Civic Holiday in August) with
"floater" days. Perhaps the idea is to avoid paying the statutory
holiday overtime, but as with so many of the employer's statements, the
intent is far from clear.
The Union's Position
Key goals for the union include:
-expanded job security protection, particularly against
privatization;
-a stronger bargaining unit, with union work being done by union
members, not agency stores, private warehouses, temp agency workers, IT
consultants, in-store tasting reps, and the like;
-more and better full-time permanent and part-time permanent jobs
-fixing a multi-tier wage structure that lets the employer exploit
casuals and seasonals
-minimum staffing levels and other health and safety protections;
-improved benefits, vacation time, and early retirement options;
-recognition that workers can lead better lives through a minimum
four-hour call-in, fair rules covering transfers, and compressed work
week arrangements;
-proper pay and recognition for workers doing acting assignments; and
-recognition of the union's role in a healthy modern workplace.
Good Jobs for All! --
June 13 Rally and March in Toronto
Click image to download
poster (PDF)
The Steel Beam Mill: We Want it Now!
-- June 14 Demonstration in Contrecoeur, Quebec
- United Steelworkers (FTQ), June 2, 2009
The United Steelworkers (FTQ) is taking action to
pressure the
ArcelorMittal company into upholding the commitment it made in 2007 to
build a steel beam mill at Contrecoeur. A demonstration, to which the
entire population is invited, will be held on June 14, 2009 in
Contrecoeur. "Québec needs its steel industry
more than ever. We have no intention of backing down. Jobs and the
survival of a community are at stake. We want the steel beam mill now!"
declared Daniel Roy, Québec Director of the United Steelworkers (FTQ).
This family-oriented demonstration will be followed by a
rally at
Cartier-Richard Park, where entertainment is planned. Daniel Roy,
Québec Director of the United Steelworkers and Michel Arsenault,
President of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec
(FTQ) will address the crowd
at around 3 p.m.
In December 2007, ArcelorMittal began consolidating and
restructuring its operations. It announced the closure of the rolling
mills at Contrecoeur. "Dofasco in Ontario took over the hot and cold
mills located in Québec, causing the loss of 450 jobs among union
workers at Contrecoeur," pointed out
Claude Langlois, President of Local 6586. In March 2008, the company
announced the closure of the wire drawing mill in Lachine and the loss
of 120 jobs. On April 7, 2009, it announced that the reduction plant
would shut its doors on April 18 for an indefinite period. The slab
casting unit will suffer the same fate
on June 27, 2009 and 190 people will be laid off. Fewer than 400
workers will be left at the Contrecoeur complex.
DATE: June 14, 2009
PLACE: Gather at 1:00 p.m. at Joseph-Étienne Duhamel
Park, 5280
route Marie-Victorin (route 132) in Contrecoeur for a walk of about 1
km heading west, ending at Cartier-Richard Park (beside the Maison
Lenoblet-du-Plessis, 4752 route Marie-Victorin). For those traveling
the Steel Highway or Route 30, take
exit 160, towards St-Antoine Street, as far as Marie-Victorin.
TIME: Departure at 1:30 p.m.; the walk should take
approximately 45 minutes
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Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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