CANADIAN LABOUR- WINDSOR:

WILDCAT WINS VICTORY:

Quite often it is not only advisable but also necessary to step outside of the well trodden path. An example of this from the Windsor Star follows. The astute reader will note that the "unauthorized" strike- the wildcat- won its demand. The sacked worker is back at the job. Point proven.

The dismissal was probably a trial balloon on the part of the company to see how many workers they could bounce off the list of those they have to pay out when the plant closes. The other workers have spoken...everyone. Now if the talk of the floor was about workplace occupations if the company's offer isn't fair I can see victory in that case as well. Here's the story.

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Fabco workers walk off job
May 12, 2010 WINDSOR, Ont. — A wildcat strike erupted at Windsor's Fabco plant Wednesday afternoon in support of a worker the union says was inappropriately suspended.

About 70 employees walked off the job just as the afternoon shift was beginning, said Gerry Farnham, president of CAW Local 195, which represents the workers.

Police said the employees briefly blocked access to the plant, but they quickly dispersed and there were no injuries.

The action was organized to support a 24-year veteran of the plant who was indefinitely suspended on Friday. Farnham said the company issued the suspension after determining the worker was not meeting production goals. But the employee had not received a verbal warning about his productivity, Farnham said, and the company didn't take the appropriate disciplinary steps before issuing the suspension.

The worker was back on the job later Wednesday. The union plans to file a grievance against the company over the suspension.

Farnham said the wildcat strike revealed tensions at the plant, which is scheduled for closure on June 30. "With the plant being prepared to close, the membership is already not in the best frame of mind. The reality of it is, you discipline someone with an indefinite suspension and the possibility of termination, obviously the membership got together and said, ‘We're not going to take that.’"

Farnham said the union will continue to fight the plant closure.


Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/entertainment/Fabco+workers+walk/3020133/story.html#ixzz0o8466F2z

CANADIAN LABOUR-WINDSOR:

WINDSOR CIVIC WORKERS STRIKE ENDS:

Workers employed by the city of Windsor Ontario have voted to accept an agreement, ending a 101 day long strike. While much was gained, especially as compared to the City's initial offer the union conceded on their demand that new workers hired be covered by a defined benefits retirement plan. The plan that will be accepted is "self-financed". While this provision obviously doesn't apply to the present city workers it is, unfortunately, a serious concession on a matter of principle. Here's what the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has to say about the settlement.

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CUPE ratifies Windsor agreement:
Members of CUPE 82 and 543 voted Jul. 24 to ratify an agreement with the City of Windsor and end the 2nd longest strike in the city's history.

Jim Wood, President of CUPE 82, said: "Wrongly blaming workers for the recession, Mayor Francis and Council tried to cut real wages and benefits and impose a double standard with retirement benefits for themselves but not workers. That's what forced this strike."

Wood and CUPE 543 President Jean Fox both said: "We're proud of our CUPE members who stood up for fairness and equality and resisted unjustified concessions."

The new contract includes a $2,000 lump sum payment up front, wage adjustments of 1%, 1.5%, 1.8% and 2% over four years and improvements in job security.

If CUPE had given in to the Mayor last April, there would now be reduced real incomes, reduced benefits, worse job security, and the complete elimination of any program of Post Retirement Benefits for all future new hires at the city. Instead current city workers and their families are permanently protected with retiree benefits and at the same time, new hires will enjoy employer paid benefits to age 65 and then, after 65, a new Post Retirement Benefit program will be in place and administered by the city.

Jean Fox, president of CUPE local 543, was looking forward: "The strike is over and we need to rebuild the spirit of this community that was hurt by the Mayor and Council's attack on workers. We hope the return to work will be smooth but some wounds take time to heal."

CUPE local 82, representing outside workers, were on strike for 101 days, starting April 15th. Local 543, the inside workers, joined the picket line on April 18th.

CANADIAN LABOUR-WINDSOR/TORONTO:

ONTARIO CIVIC WORKERS STRIKES CONTINUE:

Here, from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is the latest news about the civic workers strikes in Windsor and Toronto.

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Windsor workers reject city offer:
CUPE 82 and 543 members voted Jul 17 to reject the City of Windsor's latest offer.

Members of CUPE 82 voted 77 per cent against the offer while CUPE 543 members were 85 per cent against.

CUPE 82 president Jim Wood hopes this will convince the City to bargain seriously.

“Our membership just sent a clear message to Mayor Eddie Francis,” he said. “Our workers are ready to return to work but not at any cost. The City is asking for major concessions and offering nothing in return. We have been fighting for fourteen weeks and this should finally make the City understand we are not giving up.”

Wood said after Wednesday's events, where city managers were leafleting CUPE members out front of their union meeting, the locals are considering another unfair labour practice complaint.

"These tactics from the Mayor have to end," Wood said. "He’s the one who provoked the continuation of this strike.”

CUPE 543 president Jean Fox said “We need to resolve the strike as quickly as possible and resume services for the citizens of Windsor. Our members showed today how serious they are about fairness and respect. It’s now time for Mayor Eddie Francis and Council members to step up to the plate.

The locals which together represent about 1800 inside and outside workers at the City of Windsor, have been on strike since mid-April.

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Here, once more from CUPE, is another story on the rejection of the city of Windsor's offer.

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CUPE members reject the offer presented by the City of Windsor:
WINDSOR, Ont. – Yesterday, members of locals 82 and 543 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) were voting on an offer presented by the City of Windsor. After the final count, 77 % of local 82 members rejected the offer and 85 % from local 543 also voted against the City’s proposal.

Jim Wood, president of local 82, hopes this outcome will convince the City to bargain seriously: “Our membership just sent a clear message to Mayor Eddie Francis”, stated Wood. “Our workers are ready to return to work but not under any condition. The City is asking for major concessions and offering nothing in return. We have been fighting for fourteen weeks and this should finally make the City understand we are not giving up.”

After some of the events that took place on Wednesday, where management members were handing out flyers to members waiting to vote, Wood was upset at the City’s attitude: “At the moment, we are discussing with our legal counsel the possibility of filing an unfair labor practice. These tactics from the Mayor have to end. He’s the one who provoked the continuation of this strike.”

After the vote, Jean Fox, president of CUPE local 543, was pleased by the support of her membership: “Today we sent a clear message to council members: Start bargaining seriously”, said Fox. “We need to resolve the strike as quickly as possible and resume services for the citizens of Windsor. Our members showed today how serious they are about fairness and respect. It’s now time for Mayor Eddie Francis and Council members to step up to the plate. The two locals are committed to returning to the table but the City will have to be serious in getting an agreement and offer a fair package that addresses our members concerns. ”

CUPE local 82, representing outside workers, have been on strike since Wednesday, April 15th. Their colleagues of local 543, the inside workers, joined the picket line on Saturday, April 18th.
For information:
Luc Tittley

CUPE Communications

519-564-7468

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And finally, from CUPE in the city of Toronto where another and more mediagenic civic workers strike is also ongoing, comes the union's side of what the city is demanding. Molly is most impressed by the "118 pages of concessionary demands" part. There is the old "pound of flesh nearest the heart", but this has to be at least three pounds.

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City of Toronto’s concession demands made strike necessary, says Local 416:
Mayor David Miller got one thing right in his remarks to media this afternoon.

“We have said from day one that this strike should not have happened,” said Mark Ferguson, president of Toronto Civic Employees Union Local 416 CUPE.

“But it did happen because the city waited until we were three weeks into the strike to table an offer that gave us something to work with. And that is what we have been trying to do since last Friday. If that offer had been tabled before the strike deadline, we may not have had to strike.”

Mayor Miller is deliberately misleading Torontonians when he suggests that the city is no longer demanding concessions from the members of Local 416, Ferguson said.

“There has been nothing fair about the city’s proposals. Taking away our members’ accumulative sick plan is a huge concession,” he said. “And the city is still trying to force senior employees out the door on layoff while junior employees remain on the job. Let’s not forget, well into the strike we were still trying to fight off a total of 118 pages of concessionary demands – and the mayor wonders why we continued to bargain even after going on strike.”

The longer the strike continues, the more resistant members are to giving up hard-won benefits and working conditions, Ferguson said.

“We all want a resolution to this strike. The best way to achieve it is for the city to stop its rhetoric and put in some real work at the bargaining table.”
For more information, contact:
Pat Daley,

CUPE Communications,

416-616-6142

CANADIAN LABOUR-SOUTHERN ONTARIO:

CIVIC WORKER STRIKES IN ONTARIO:

The strike of city workers in Windsor Ontario has now now entered the realm of "months" while that of city workers in Toronto is working towards the one month post. The provincial government of Ontario has been reluctant to legislate the workers involved back to work. Molly suspects that this is because, in a climate of economic crisis, the province hopes that the end result of the strike will be the "breaking" of the unions involved. Perhaps the conservative provincial government is more realistic than the so-called "leftist" administration of Toronto who no doubt would welcome any face saving intervention from the provincial government.

As these strikes drag on and more are threatened (see below) Molly's main question is how can the workers involved bring the situation to a successful conclusion, and do more "radical" tactics have to be employed. Molly is a "libertarian socialist". What that means in plain English is that she believe that the majority of the economy should be "socialized", not by nationalization, but rather by converting it to producers' cooperatives. I have often harped on this blog about the utility of "workplace occupations", and there is little doubt that these tactics are much more effective than traditional picketing and strike action in bringing the bosses to heel. can these be used in a 'public service' situation ? I'm agnostic about this, but it is something to consider. On a greater note, is it possible that the public services of various cities could be better delivered by self-managed workers' cooperatives ? Could garbage collection, for instance, be better managed by a cooperative in which the workers are the "shareholders", rather than having it managed either as a government enterprise or a private business ? It may be a thought to consider as these strikes drag on and on.

Could a producers' cooperative be "competitive" with private enterprise. First of all it would be better for the consumer than a government monopoly simply because it would automatically shed hugely expensive layers of bureaucracy. Its costs would also be transparent, unlike present municipal operations. I personally believe that, in the end, it would also be competitive vis-a-vis private contractors because there would be no need to produce profit for non-workers.

Is such a "solution" in the interests of the workers involved. I am not too sure of this. Setting out on your own as a cooperative involves the same sort of willingness to take risks as is involved in setting out in business on your own. Could the benefits so far gained from previous city contracts be preserved ? Maybe yes. Maybe no. The balance of whether taking such a risk is worthwhile depends upon just how savage the city administrations want to be. What Molly suggests, without demanding any ideological certainty from the people involved, is that the workers in these situations do some calculations as to the costs and benefits of trying something quite different. Not being immediately involved it is hard for me to suggest any firm way to go. All that i suggest is that there is an alternative to simply holding out on strike. Should people want to "take the risk" the FIRST action would be workplace occupations.

OK, that's the ideological prologue. Here's the news from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) about the latest offer from Windsor city workers to resolve the dispute in their city.

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CUPE puts settlement to City of Windsor:
Negotiations between locals 82 and 543 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the City of Windsor have been adjourned today.

The union has put forward a proposal to resolve the labor dispute and have requested the employer bargaining committee to bring the proposal for settlement to City council members.
No details of the proposal will be released by either party at this time.

CUPE local 82, representing outside workers, have been on strike since Wednesday, April 15th. Their colleagues of local 543, the inside workers, joined the picket line on Saturday, April 18th.

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The antagonism between city administrations and their workers is hardly confined to the cities-Toronto and Windsor- in which there are active strikes. Many other cities, in Ontario and elsewhere are presently in conflict with their workers, either in contract negotiations or in a "propaganda war". The claims of city adminstrations actually have very little to do with the present financial crisis. In some cases, such as here in Winnipeg, they are the long standing result of a "tax freeze". In some cases there is no "crisis whatsoever. In some the "crisis" is the result of civic give-aways to private interests In others there is no "crisis" to speak of, and the "crisis" is only a bargaining excuse. Where there is not a strike situation Molly's "radical remedy" of a producer cooperative obviously has less appeal- to say the least. I would, however, like to implant this idea as an alternative to consider.

Here's another story from CUPE about yet another city in southern Ontario where the city is trying to download a real or fictitious crisis onto its workers.

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Open letter to the Mayor and Council of the City of Brantford:

Dear Mayor Hancock and Councillors Littell, Kinneman, Sless, Bucci, McCreary, Martin, Carpenter, Calnan, Bradford and Ceschi-Smith:

We are writing on behalf of over 500 Brantford city workers who provide vital public services to the residents of our city.

The unions representing public works, housing, welfare, libraries, water and hydro, city transportation and parks and recreation workers have formed a Labour Coalition to stand up to the City’s public positions against unionized workers and their collective agreements.

Collectively we are requesting that city leaders stop using the recession to target workers and our collective agreements. As city workers and long-time residents of our community, we are happy to work with senior elected officials and management to overcome this global economic downturn. But we will not participate in any actions that undermine the collective bargaining process including the City’s request to open up existing collective agreements.

We are fully aware of the global economic downturn that is affecting everyone. We remind you this global recession was not caused by workers. We expect the leaders of this city to show leadership and work with us to find innovative ways to overcome this downturn. Targeting unionized workers and undermining the collective bargaining process is simply a non starter and could set back labour relations for years to come.

As city workers and full-time residents of our community we know intimately the strength, vibrancy and the current and potential growth of City of Brantford. So it came as a surprise and disappointment when senior management shared the City’s ‘Economic Position and Budget Direction’ report with us.

We question the ‘doom and gloom’ picture the report tries to portray. This predominantly negative report seems to be missing important sections including current stimulus activities (such as the approved federal stimulus plan for the re-build of the Wayne Gretzky Arena and others that create local jobs) and a pro-active strategy by the City to combat this economic downturn. Surely a report of this nature should show a full and complete picture including jobs created in growth sectors and what the leaders plan to do to attract new investment to lead us out of this economic wilderness.

As public servants, we are happy to help senior leaders and work with management to outline the current growth in our diversified economy (a pro-active diversification strategy adopted by the City to combat the recession from the early 90’s) that is not identified in the report and help you find savings including bringing back many public services that have been contracted out to private companies that cost more to the city. This is an opportunity to bring these contracted services in-house so the city can have cost savings with more control and greater accountability over public services.

As requested by the City, we are in the process of identifying savings that will help the city finances and will be happy to share this with you once our report is completed.

In closing, this coalition is urging elected officials and senior management to work respectfully with city workers. As city workers begin negotiations on Monday, July 13, 2009 we expect a fair bargaining process that will lead us to fair collective settlements.

Working together, like we have done with our coalition, is the positive solution to move the City of Brantford forward.
Respectfully,
The City of Brantford Labour Coalition
Phil Hotte, President of Amalgamated Transit Union 685

Ryan Hantz, Vice-President of International Brotherhood of Electrical (Power) 636

John Longo, President of International Brotherhood of Electrical (Water) 636

Jeff Van Wyk, President of CUPE 181

Jane Davidson, City Hall Unit Chair of CUPE 181

Angelo Mancini, Parks, Cemeteries and Recreation Unit Chair of CUPE 181

Glen Quackenbush, Public Works Unit Chair of CUPE 181

Karen Gamble, Library Unit Chair of CUPE 181

Shawn MacKeigan, Ontario Works Brant Unit Chair of CUPE 181

Anne Derosse, Housing Unit Chair of CUPE 181
cope491

CANADIAN LABOUR-TORONTO:

TORONTO CIVIC WORKERS STRIKE:

Two days ago the city of Toronto became the second major community in Ontario to been visited by a civic workers' strike. this follows a strike by workers in the city of Windsor that is edging towards three months. Like in Windsor, both Toronto inside workers, represented by CUPE Local 79, and outside workers represented by CUPE Local 416, have gone on strike. Interested readers can follow the progress of the strike from a labour point of view by visiting the sites of these two locals. What follows below is the official announcement of the strike from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). But before that, here's a little Molly aside....

New Brooms Become Old in a Few Years ?

A little backgrounder on this strike is in order. The last civic workers' strike in Toronto occurred in 2002, and it lasted 3 weeks before the provincial government legislated the strikers back to work. A year afterwards an aspiring municipal politician rode discontent with the city's handling of the strike (amongst many other issues) to victory as the new mayor of Toronto. His name...David Miller, the present Mayor of Toronto. He rode to power on a slogan of being a "new broom" to sweep clean the entrenched cronyism, corruption and unresponsiveness of City Hall.

The years have passed. The Toronto civic workers have demonstrated their disgust with Mayor Miller's record of broken promises by "breaking brooms" at their recent solidarity rally, a media stunt that says what they think of him now. It must be admitted that Mayor Miller rode to power on a set of promises, almost all of them unfulfilled, that were more of a vague lefty "greenishness"(sort of the colour of lower small intestine bile), rather than a traditional socialist program, let alone a libertarian socialist one. As far as I can see a socialist program, traditional or libertarian, is pretty well a non-starter in terms of electability anywhere on the North American continent if one is vying for a mayor's chair. A vague lefty "greenishness" can, however, swing into power in some situations.

Is it, however, worthwhile to devote more than a few nanoseconds of one's time to helping such sparkling politicians to power ? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the example of Mayor Miller example number 86,953,284,631 of the treachery of leftist politicians. I might be out by a few million ! No doubt a lot of the civic workers who are now opposed to the Mayor were great supporters of his as little as 6 years ago. Is electing lefties to power any worthwhile way to spend one's limited time on Earth ?

But anyways, here's the story from CUPE.

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Toronto city workers strike:
City of Toronto inside and outside workers walked off the job just after midnight tonight in a fight against management demands for concessions.

“After six months at the bargaining table, the city has not heard the message from our members that they must be treated as fairly as all other unionized workers who provide public services to the people of Toronto,” said Mark Ferguson, president of CUPE 416.

“This city cannot treat their direct employees, our members, like second-class citizens,” said Ann Dembinski, president of CUPE 79, representing about 18,000 inside workers. “We had two choices – roll over and play dead or stand up and fight for our rights.”

In all, about 24,000 workers are on strike. Other unionized public employees in the city, ranging from Toronto Community Housing, Parking Authority, and Port Authority to police and firefighters have achieved collective agreements with wage increases of at least three per cent and no concessions.

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Here's another interesting item, this one from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). Here they state their solidarity with the Toronto city workers, and they also say more about the so-called "progressive" Miller Administration. History is full of examples of such treachery, as too much of the "left" is more concerned with becoming a new ruling class through political means rather than actually carrying out the ideals that they profess.

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OCAP STANDS IN SOLIDARITY WITH TORONTO CITY WORKERS:

The members of CUPE 416 and 79 who work for the City of Toronto are now on strike. The business media has begun its inevitable campaign of misinformation to produce the greatest possible backlash against these workers. We are encouraged to focus on uncollected garbage and suspended services but not, of course, to give any regard to the rights of public sector workers or to think as working people about what is at stake in this strike.

OCAP, as a matter of basic principle, stands in solidarity with workers' struggles. We don't hate or blame workers who have been able to win a living wage or support calls for them to be driven into poverty. Rather, we want to see the poor provided with wages and incomes that raise them out of poverty.

This strike occurs in a context that makes it especially important for all of us that it end in victory and that the concessionary demands of the 'progressive' Miller Administration be defeated. The Mayor defended his shameful efforts to gut the collective agreements of City workers by pointing to rising welfare caseloads brought on by the economic downturn. What a disgusting statement. To pit City workers against those who are being forced to turn to the wretched sub poverty pittance that welfare provides is an outrage. This comes from a man who boasts that there are more cops on the streets under his regime than every before and who is taking us towards an obscene billion dollar a year police budget, while he has frittered away the welfare reserve fund to a fraction of where it was when he took office.

The Mayor points to the state of the economy to justify his attack on City workers. In doing this, he makes clear what side he is on when it comes to who should pay for this economic crisis. As unemployment shoots up, we face the situation with an empty shell of an unemployment insurances system that shuts out most of the unemployed and with a post Mike Harris welfare system that fails to provide the necessities of life. None of the 'solutions' to the crisis involve meeting the basic needs of the unemployed and poor. For those who still have jobs and unions, the bankrupt corporations they work for will be bailed out at vast public expense while their rights as workers are destroyed and they are presented with massive concessionary demands.

The process of attacking workers started in the auto industry and other parts of the private sector. The drive for austerity is now spreading, inevitably, to the public sector. Beginning with militant fights by postal workers in the 1960s, public sector workers have spent decades struggling for decent wages and conditions. The present crisis of capitalism will mean an all out confrontation to take back those gains. Moreover, an attack on the workers who deliver public services can't be separated from the attack on the services themselves and the rights of those who receive them. (NB-Molly )

That is the context of this strike and we in OCAP know what side we're on. We call for full support for the City workers.

Send messages of solidarity.

Be there with them on their picket lines.

Stand with them in their fight because they are fighting for all of us.

CANADIAN LABOUR-WINDSOR:

CUPE FILES LABOUR BOARD COMPLAINT IN WINDSOR CITY STRIKE:

Outside (CUPE Local 82) and inside (CUPE Local 543) workers with the City of Windsor, Ontario have now been on strike for over two months. The strike has been a bitter one, and CUPE has called for online solidarity in the past (see previous articles on this blog and at the website of Local 82). In response to recent actions on the part of city management CUPE has filed a Labour Board complaint. Here's the story from CUPE.

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Labour board complaint in Windsor:
CUPE has filed an unfair labour practice complaint against the City of Windsor over its negotiations with CUPE 82 and 543.

The 29 page complaint describes the challenges of bargaining with the City whose negotiators and city councillors' behaviour has almost certainly prolonged - if not caused - the strike, now in its second month.
Some of the allegations:
***Windsor's mayor and two councillors made offers on post retirement benefits at a hallway meeting, May 18. The union came back to the table with a compromise of its own, but the City only re-tabled its initial demands.
***Windsor's mayor has misrepresented the union's position on job security and rescinded agreement on job security provisions.
***The city reneged on picket line protocols agreed to with the union and instead demanded more restrictive protocols, reneged on its commitment to maintaining access to health benefits and made further restrictions on lawful picketing a condition of continued negotiations.
***The city has on several occasions leaked information to the media that it had agreed to embargo about bargaining proposals.

“The locals have made many attempts to resolve this labour dispute but they can no longer negotiate with themselves, the media and people who have no authority to resolve this dispute," CUPE Assistant Regional Director Linda Thurston-Neeley said. "The behavior of some of the City employees and some of the elected members makes it impossible for us to continue discussions.”

CANADIAN LABOUR-WINDSOR:

RALLY IN SUPPORT OF CITY OF WINDSOR STRIKERS:

The following story from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is actually from yesterday, June 12. So far City of Windsor employees have been on strike for 8 weeks, and their struggle is one that pits workers against the idea that the present economic crisis can be used as an excuse to attack all workers, even those who are not in industries that are facing any sort of "cash crunch". Here's the story.

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Over 2,000 rally for Windsor workers:
Over 2,000 people from across Ontario rallied today in Windsor alongside members of CUPE locals 82 and 543, the City of Windsor workers who have been on strike for almost two months.
See photos from the rally.

After a walk on Riverside Drive, the crowd assembled in front of City Hall, where it was time for music, food and an impressive demonstration of solidarity.

CUPE National President Paul Moist was among those who addressed the participants. “I’m proud to be here in Windsor again today and bring you the support of all our membership,” said Moist.

“After eight weeks on strike, you are obviously going through some very difficult times. I simply want to acknowledge one more time the excellent work that has been done by your local union leaders. We are all proud of what you are doing here and we realize that your fight today will determine the future of generations to come.”

“You are doing a great job for the people of this community,” added Moist. “You do not deserve the kind of disrespect you are getting right now. You do deserve post-retirement benefits. If these are good enough for city councilors, they are good enough for city workers.”

Sid Ryan, president of CUPE Ontario, also took the stage and addressed the crowd. “Do not allow this mayor to divide our union,” said Ryan.

“This has been an unfair and unjust strike. I don’t think this council realizes the strength of the labor movement, but they will have to reconsider after this great show of solidarity. Only two options remain: get back to the table and bargain fairly, or accept arbitration.

CANADIAN LABOUR-WINDSOR:

INSIDE WORKERS JOIN LOCAL 82 ON STRIKE IN WINDSOR:

Inside workers of the City of Windsor, Ontario, represented by Local 543 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, have joined the strike initiated by outside workers of Local 82. The story from CUPE follows below. There is still an ongoing online solidarity campaign. See THIS LINK to send your message of support to Windsor City Council. There will be a rally in Windsor tomorrow at 5pm for CUPE members and their supporters. See the website of Local 543 for further details.

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CUPE 543 joins local 82 on strike in Windsor:
CUPE 543's 1,400 inside workers are now on strike against the City of Windsor.

Jean Fox, president of CUPE 543, was disappointed with the outcome of April 17's mediation: "It came down to a few issues but one major: post-retirement benefits", said Fox. "The City refused to move and kept asking for concessions without offering anything in return. They left us no choice but to go on strike."

The City is looking to impose a two tier system for post retirement benefits, which will not result in any savings for the Corporation for approximately 30 years. The City refused to discuss any wage increase until the Union would agree with this proposal.

Contrary to the Mayor's statement, the Union was not seeking a 3% increase: "We brought many cost saving initiatives to the table, which were simply ignored by the City representatives", added Fox.

"Windsor's Mayor and City Council are looking to use the recession as a cover to demand rollbacks that will stay with city workers long after the economy has recovered. Cutting back on public services at a time when our City needs them most shows a lack of vision and leadership."
Members of local 543 now join outside workers - CUPE 82 - on the picket line, who are now on their fourth day of strike.

CANADIAN LABOUR-WINDSOR:

SUPPORT WINDSOR CITY WORKERS:

Outside city workers in the city of Windsor, Ontario have been on strike since Wednesday, as per the following item from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

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CUPE 82 on strike in Windsor:
Outside city workers in Windsor Ontario are on strike today after mediated talks failed to reach a settlement.

CUPE 82's 385 members have been asking for a modest wage increase and refusing to accept a two-tier benefit scheme for newly hired employees.

"We have cooperated with the City for over fifteen years on cost saving initiatives and we have once again proposed initiatives to assist with reducing operating costs, some with potentially large savings, but they simply refused to look at them, said CUPE 82 President James Wood.

Meanwhile, CUPE 543's 1400 inside workers are also in a legal strike position, but they have a mediation session scheduled for Friday, April 17.

The locals have been running an online action, asking supporters to email Windsor City Council.

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CUPE, meanwhile, is asking supporters to email the Windsor city council, telling them to get back to the bargaining table. Here's the story from CUPE Locals 82 and 543.

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Support Windsor city workers:
Windsor's Mayor and City Council are looking to use the recession as cover to demand rollbacks that will stay with city workers long after the economy has recovered.

The city is looking to institute a two-tier system for some benefits so that new-hires are worse off than their colleagues.

They want to stop paying for benefits for retirees.

And they want a wage freeze.

None of these rollbacks fights the recession. None of them put any more garbage trucks on the street.

None of them speak to the union's proposals for reducing operating costs.

Please take a second to send a message to Windsor City Council and tell them to get back to the table to negotiate a settlement that gives Windsorites their services back .

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THE LETTER:

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to Windsor City Council.

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I support high quality public services that are delivered locally by public sector workers who work hard, take pride in their work and who are part of our community.

I think Windsor City Council is using the current economic climate as leverage to score a victory against its employees, the effects of which will be felt long after this recession is over.

This is the sort of unkind opportunism that can harm union-management relations for an awfully long time.

If saving money is so important to council why won't you consider the cost-saving proposals CUPE 82 has put forward?

Please reconsider the rollbacks you're asking for and negotiate a reasonable settlement.

CANADIAN LABOUR-WINDSOR:

STOP THE LOCKOUT IN WINDSOR:

The following appeal for online solidarity is from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). It's about the plans of the City Council in Windsor Ontario to lock out municipal workers later this month. You might call it taking advantage of hard times. Here's the story...

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Windsor City Council: lockouts are bad for the economy‏:
le français suit
Municipal workers in Windsor Ontario are poised to be locked out by their employer but there's still time to get city council back to the table.

Windsor's Mayor, Eddie Francis needs to hear from CUPE members across the country that public services like those delivered by CUPE locals 82 and 543 are important supports for people in the community who are struggling with the effects of the recession.

CUPE 82 and 543 negotiators are waiting at the table for management to come back as each day brings them closer to a mid-April strike lockout deadline.

City representatives are acting irresponsibly and it could paralyze public services when the citizens of Windsor need them most.
Send an email to Windsor City Council now.

Please forward this message to friends and family in the Windsor area who share your concerns.

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Conseil municipal de Windsor : les lock-outs sont mauvais pour l’économie:
Les travailleurs municipaux de Windsor, en Ontario, pourraient bientôt être mis en lock-out par leur employeur, mais il est toujours temps de convaincre le conseil municipal de revenir à la table.

Les membres du SCFP de tout le pays doivent faire savoir au maire de Windsor, Eddie Francis, que les services publics comme ceux que fournissent les membres des sections locales 82 et 543 du SCFP sont des soutiens importants pour les citoyens qui luttent contre les effets de la récession.

Les négociateurs des sections locales 82 et 543 du SCFP attendent le retour à la table de la direction car chaque jour les rapproche de la date-butoir d’une grève ou d’un lock-out à la mi-avril.

Les représentants de la ville agissent de manière irresponsable car ils pourraient paralyser les services publics à un moment où les citoyens de Windsor en ont le plus besoin.
Envoyez un courriel dès maintenant au conseil municipal de Windsor.

Veuillez transmettre ce message à des amis et à des membres de votre famille de la région de Windsor qui partagent vos préoccupations.

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THE LETTER:

Please go to the link highlighted above (en anglais ou en français) to send the following letter to the Windsor City Council.

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I support high quality public services that are delivered locally by public sector workers who work hard, take pride in their work and who are part of our community.

I do not support cutting back public services at a time when our city needs them most.

I do not think freezing wages will improve our local economy and I do not support City’s efforts to take away retiree’s benefits.

I support a quick resolution of these negotiations and support the workers in their effort to reach a fair deal.

WINDSOR ONTARIO:

AUTONOMOUS TREE PLANTING:

As the North American anarchist movement matures and draws back from the enforced and pointless "militancy" of set-piece theatre where they lose against the police in tiny riots and from childish vandalism, more and more people are coming up with a great variety of practical proposals that put the ideals of anarchism into practice much more effectively and attractively than pretending to be a match for the police can do. The following is one such effort from Windsor, Ontario.

Windsor: Autonomous Tree Planting Campaign - 2008

by ROAD Windsor - Windsor Guerrilla Gardening Collective Windsor at roadnetwork dot org

No one is going to improve our living space except for us. Businesses see our environment as a resource, not a place to live. It is up to us as a community to bring nature to our city. Urban decay can be seen everywhere in Windsor. The once beautiful land is now home to miles of parking lots, mountains of trash and clouds of smog. The modern city is designed to facilitate the free movement of capital, not the freedom of people. Autonomous tree planting is a chance for us to reclaim our living space for community and nature.

Click the link below to download a printable PDF pamphlet about our tree planting campaign.

Why Plant a Tree?

-Trees do a large part in fighting global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Planting 10 trees a year can offset your total carbon footprint

-During a 50-year life span, one tree will generate $30,000 in oxygen, recycle $35,000 worth of water, and clean up $60,000 worth of air pollution

-Prevents or reduces soil erosion and water pollution

-Depending on location, species, size, and condition, shade from trees can reduce utility bills for air conditioning in residential and commercial buildings by 15-50 percent.Windbreaks around homes can be shields against wind and snow and heating costs can be reduced by as much as 30 percent

.-Trees and shrubs properly placed and cared for on a residential or commercial lot can significantly increase property values.

-Trees also provide nuts (walnuts, pecans, hickory), fruit (plum, peaches, apples, pears), berries for jams and jellies (chokecherry and buffalo berry) and maple syrup.

-Trees add beauty and grace to any community setting. They make life more enjoyable, peaceful, relaxing, and offer a rich inheritance for future generations.

Why Plant Trees Autonomously?

No one is going to improve our living space except for us. Businesses see our environment as a resource, not a place to live. It is up to us as a community to bring nature to our city. Urban decay can be seen everywhere in Windsor. The once beautiful land is now home to miles of parking lots, mountains of trash and clouds of smog. The modern city is designed to facilitate the free movement of capital, not the freedom of people. Autonomous tree planting is a chance for us to reclaim our living space for community and nature.

How Can I Help?

Join WGGC in its campaign to re-green Windsor, autonomously. You can help in a number of ways, either by helping us plant trees, spreading the word, or donating supplies. Here is a wish list of supplies we are always in need of:

-Dry Leaves or other organic matter

-Tree Saplings

-Shelf stands

-Soil-Potting containers

-Used lawn hoses

-Gardening tools like shovels

-Flourescent Lights

-Photocopying paper

WGGC – History and Philosophy

For 2 years WGGC has been planting gardens and growing food in forgotten tracts of land around the city. Our core philosophy has always been that people and communities can find better ways to use urban land than business and economy. Other environmentalist groups see nature as something far and away, an abstraction that must remain distant from human culture. WGGC seeks to bring nature back into our living spaces, and seeks to reintegrate our life-ways with nature. Communities who grow their own food have an intimate relationship with their bioregion, and this relationship is what fosters a truly sustainable society. The alienation and complexity brought by global money-based economy has made people forget their biological right to grow their own food and live wholly with the local ecosystem. The separation of people from land is the process which brought us to our present situation, where we are so dependent on wages and economy that we have no choice but to pack up and move when we can't find work. We have largely forgotten that the land provides everything we need, for humans are beings of nature, not beings of economy. Of course, the land can provide nothing unless people have free access to it. Private property labels our right to live as “trespassing”, and appropriates our environment as a resource from which profit can be made. Economy then sells the world back to us as commodities, and limits our ability to provide for ourselves to a “job”. It even goes so far as portraying itself as the essence of community, but in truth economy exists not for the benefit of all of us, but for the few at the top. WGGC seeks to build true community and seeks to establish a closer relationship with nature by redefining how we use our living space. PAMPHLET:

http://wggc.resist.ca/sites/wggc.resist.ca/files/tree_p...r.pdf
Related Link: http://wggc.resist.ca