Toronto goes on strike

[Easy Drifter]

Toronto civic employees, both outside workers and inside went on strike on Monday.
Funny in these economic times the only ones to strike are Govt. Employees. Everyone else seems to sort it out.
The main immediate effect is garbage.
The strikers are blocking the transfer stations and allowing(?) one person every 15 minutes to walk their trash in. Apparently this is technically illegal but so what. The socialist NDP Mayor says the city will fine anyone illegally dumping garbage. However he does nothing about the illegal pickets. No injunction. ZIP.
I am sure glad I do not live in the Socialist Republic of Toronto.
Despite that it will affect us up here as the cottagers bring their trash up to their cottages to be dealt with up here, putting extra loads on local garbage collection and dump sites. Further, as happened in the last Toronto garbage strike, the amount of trash illegally dumped down our sideroads will increase probably 10 fold. Guess what? Increased cost to local munincipalities that may cause an increase in taxes next year. Too bad we cannot bill Mayor Miller and the Socialist Republic of Toronto.
Should make Toronto a real nice and smelly place for the Honda Indy race if it hasn't been settled by then.
Most people expect Hizzz Socialist Honour to mount his trusty white steed and ride to the rescue giving his union buddies everything they want. After all it is the unions that elect him and his trained leftist seals on council.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Drifter....I hear ya...not sure if the rest of the gang cares tho. Toronto is no more socialist than London, San Francisco or Chicago.....

[Easy Drifter]

I know. I just had to sound off.
Mind you if it isn't settled by the Honda Indy a few more may care, especially if Socialist Silly Hall decide to use the CNE as a temp. dump site.
At least the LCBO and the Union have decided to keep talking so no liquor strike!
Here I feel the Union is right. Being small town I know the people and even both managers I know agree with the union!

[Hondo]

Easy D, put your garbage in a box. Wrap it up nicely and put a bow on it. Put it in the backseat of your car and take it to work with you. Leave your car unlocked. Garbage will be gone from your car by the time you leave to go home.

[MrJan]

After reading the thread title I can now only think of this:

We want more mohney. What about the internet, give us some of that mohney. Yeah give us some of that internet mohney. :D :D





I'm not your budday, guy.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I know. I just had to sound off.
Mind you if it isn't settled by the Honda Indy a few more may care, especially if Socialist Silly Hall decide to use the CNE as a temp. dump site.
At least the LCBO and the Union have decided to keep talking so no liquor strike!
Here I feel the Union is right. Being small town I know the people and even both managers I know agree with the union!


You Agree with the LCBO union? Just wanted to claify that. For those outside of Ontario (Easy forgets no one in the UK or Alabama would realize the weird way we buy booze in this province) the LCBO is the Liquor Control Board of Ontario; an antiquated notion that the average joe wasn't capable of operating a liquor store and NOT selling to minors so the government chose to do it.

In this modern era, the province owns a crown corporation of LCBO stores and they actually are VERY good stores in terms of selection, if not price (price is clouded by the amount of tax you pay in a jurisdiction anyhow, and god knows we are overtaxed)and the staff actually has a clue. But they are unionized, the same union those twits in Toronto are on strike with.

Down there, the City of Toronto workers with CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees); they are fighting for a raise in a era where no one is getting them, for job security when no one has threatened to lay them off (all god knows we will see now how little work they have done) and to hang onto the privledge of 18 sick days a year, and to be able to bank those over time. I get NO sick days in my job....but somehow I manage. I guess when you are shuffling paper and yelling at people on the phone to pay their taxes, you need those days....

[Easy Drifter]

Yes Mark in this case the Union has some legit beefs. About 40 % of the staff are only part time. Many of those are year round part time and some have been that way for several years.
The part timers have no guaranteed hours. They can be called in for as little as a two hour shift. In the country some live up to 40k from the store or stores they are assigned to. It can be more than one. A fair chunk of the 2hr. pay goes for gas. The pay is $10 an hour, barely over minimum wage. They have to buy their own uniform. They have to pay Union dues but cannot belong to the union. They have no health care or pension benifits. These are some of the main points the Union is fighting, not so much wages.
The Union is fighting for more staff being full time, the ability to join the Union and benifits for the part timers.
The LCBO has a huge profit picture.
Some of the stores are not exactly pleasant places to work. The Port Severn and Port McNicoll stores locally are constuction trailers and have been for many years. The store here in the Harbour is also the beer store so it doesn't have a great selection of either beer or booze.
So for once I side the union.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Yes Mark in this case the Union has some legit beefs. About 40 % of the staff are only part time. Many of those are year round part time and some have been that way for several years.
The part timers have no guaranteed hours. They can be called in for as little as a two hour shift. In the country some live up to 40k from the store or stores they are assigned to. It can be more than one. A fair chunk of the 2hr. pay goes for gas. The pay is $10 an hour, barely over minimum wage. They have to buy their own uniform. They have to pay Union dues but cannot belong to the union. They have no health care or pension benifits. These are some of the main points the Union is fighting, not so much wages.
The Union is fighting for more staff being full time, the ability to join the Union and benifits for the part timers.
The LCBO has a huge profit picture.
Some of the stores are not exactly pleasant places to work. The Port Severn and Port McNicoll stores locally are constuction trailers and have been for many years. The store here in the Harbour is also the beer store so it doesn't have a great selection of either beer or booze.
So for once I side the union.


Drifter...small question. Do part time workers deserve to be part of the union? I think the part timers having to pay union dues for a union that wont represent them is dead wrong. I also believe that management has to be able to have part time workers. Not sure whether it is a union decision or not to decide the fate of the part timers, but in the end, if you don't like your job, you can leave. Plenty of tougher jobs out there than working part time for the LCBO.

[schmenke]

Toronto stinks to begin with :D

[Mark in Oshawa]

Schmenke...spoken as an ex Montrealer moved to Calgary...lol. I woudn't have expected anything less. I agree...Toronto stinks. Lets hold a vote and vote them out of the country....

[Easy Drifter]

Mark: Yes I disagree with people being forced to pay Union dues and not belonging. I had that when I worked for the summer in a warehouse over 50 years ago and had thought that practice had stopped. I am not sure who is at fault here but understand at the present the Union wants the part timers as full members.

As a refugee over 20 years ago from the Big Smoke I agree. Throw them out and make sure McGuinty goes with them. He doesn't comprehend anything but big cities and the nanny state.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Drifter...the union would make me a member if it meant I would pay them dues. The union wants all the part timers full timers so they could get more money. They couldn't care less about those part timers but they are a neccessary evil to handle demand and cover for full timers taking sick days when they are not sick and the like....

[Easy Drifter]

In most cases I agree but with the LCBO the part timers are already paying Union dues but cannot belong. And that out of their $10 an hour.

[Mark in Oshawa]

In most cases I agree but with the LCBO the part timers are already paying Union dues but cannot belong. And that out of their $10 an hour.

That's the union using them as pawns to get management to admit them as full members than demanding they get paid 27 bucks an hour or whatever the fulltimers rate.

Public sector unions are often the most greedy and self serving SOB's in the union movement. Which brings us back to the problems in Toronto, where many of the rank and file are out there walking the picket line knowing the look like idiots...

[schmenke]

Schmenke...spoken as an ex Montrealer moved to Calgary...lol. I woudn't have expected anything less. I agree...Toronto stinks. Lets hold a vote and vote them out of the country....

Ah, Mark, you know that both my heart and sports allegiances are still with Montreal ;)


Having experienced both private liquor stores in Alberta, and stores that are owned by a government-controlled "liquor board" (i.e. the Société d'Alchols de Québec), I'll take the latter any day.
In a privately operated store, the store owner is more concerned with maximizing his profits than providing quality booze. It's faaaaar easier to purchase a good quality wine or scotch at a reasonable price in Québec than it is Alberta. There are few import restrictions on the quality of liquor into Alberta stores, so store owners will source the cheapest booze that they can sell at the highest price :s

[Mark in Oshawa]

Ah, Mark, you know that both my heart and sports allegiances are still with Montreal ;)


Having experienced both private liquor stores in Alberta, and stores that are owned by a government-controlled "liquor board" (i.e. the Société d'Alchols de Québec), I'll take the latter any day.
In a privately operated store, the store owner is more concerned with maximizing his profits than providing quality booze. It's faaaaar easier to purchase a good quality wine or scotch at a reasonable price in Québec than it is Alberta. There are few import restrictions on the quality of liquor into Alberta stores, so store owners will source the cheapest booze that they can sell at the highest price :s

Schmenke...there is an opportunity there then. You open a liquor store and advertise the quality brands and you will get the business then. Either that, or Albertans love their rotgut whiskey I guess!!

I am comfortable with the current LCBO/Beer Store system. They have really worked on consumer service and selection and I have been told by a few Americans they are shocked at the variety of beer up here. If you are like me, and you like the finer and rarer stuff, in beer or wine, then I agree, the government system works. I just wish like hell the unions with them were not so ornery...

[Easy Drifter]

I basically agree on the quality and selection in the larger stores. Locally my store sucks on beer and wine. Too small. Coldwater or Midland are not too bad but not great. Orillia is very good but that is an 80k round trip. Of course Barrie is good.
Funnily enough for the best selection of high end booze, like single malt scotch, is at the Agy. Store in the Foodland in the little town of Craighurst.
Can we say near to Horseshoe Valley and the upscale homes around there.
I have found most US stores to be inferior to the LCBO BUT if you ever get to Premier Liquors in Buffalo (Tonawanda) you will be blown away.
A little difficult with your rig Mark!
At least 20 single malts and a fine wine room bigger than most liquor stores.