There's more to the Toronto City Workers strike than the Sick Bank

On the first day of the strike, there was a big line-up for picket duty registration at Scarborough Civic center. The general sentiment at the lineup was that nobody seemed to want to go on strike.;There was definitely a sense that we were forced to walkout from the job.

However, few people seemed to articulate what issues are at stake in detail other than the fact that we are not getting the same deal as other city agencies such as police, firefighters, etc...Maybe that's more than enough...for now.

I chose my picket duty at morning shift at East York Civic Center, worrying about getting up early.

On the second day at East York Civic Centre, I met people from other departments whom I wouldn't meet otherwise. Some people I was talking with who work for the social service department were worrying about their clients not getting a cheque in a timely manner.

There were summer students who just started their summer job with the City. They seemed to be nervous about the prospect of their summer job. I watched one picketer telling a person,who became irate at the closure of farmers market due to the strike, to phone her councilor or Mayor David Miller to get the farmers' market resumed.

While we were walking around, wearing a sign, Two OPSEU people approached to us, asking for more information about the strike. They expressed sympathy for us, pointing out the bias of mainstream media during their strike in the past and they wished us good luck.

At the end of shift, we were told to go either city hall or Metro Hall as East york civic Center is shut down. I decided to go to the Metro Hall with my coworker.

People on the picket line have raised concerns about not getting enough information come through from the union leadership and seemed to be frustrated with the media's slanted portrayal of city workers. Because of this, we spent time sharing bits and piece of information which was picked up from all over the place to get a whole picture of the strike.

My experience at the Metro Hall has been a mixed one; Half of the people who tried to enter metro hall have shown respect for the 5 minute protocol, sometimes carefully raising the issue of sick day bank. The other half seems neither to have 5 minutes nor be happy at all with strikers (or any thing else).

I don't have hard feeling for those who disrespect the pickets. Let's face it. If you are not involved in the strike, it would be hard to get all the facts from the media. I wish they gave us some time to discuss the issues.

Even though the strike is much more than just the sick day bank, the media have focused on this exclusively.

People seem to make an argument that it is not right for us to keep the sick day bank especially given the current economic condition.

It seems to me that these arguments are a reflection of main stream media have been perpetuated over the last 3 months or so without giving any background of our collective bargaining agreement.

Contrary to the myth that sick day bank is a luxury or "bonus" for coming to work, in fact, historically companies have used sick day banks to defer wage increases since the second world war. For CUPE Locals 79 and 416 this a was a benefit conceded to at the bargaining table decades ago in return for no upfront wage increases.

So it is a deferred wage like pension as Thomas Walkom in the Star writes, "Toronto's sick-pay deal, for instance, benefited the city and its taxpayers for years. Instead of paying higher wages over that period, the city was able to defer this particular portion of its labour costs until employees retired. ...........Now, with the city's largely middle-aged workforce close to retirement, the bills are coming due. But instead of paying what it owes, the city wants to scrap the arrangement. No wonder the workers are miffed"

In addition we need more discussion of some of the other issues that are more central to why we have gone on strike ... such as the attempt to introduce lower level benefits to temporary workers ... etc

My First Strike

I'm a member of CUPE 79 and I work in Public Health. I've been on the picket line since June 22nd and I decided to start a blog because I think our cause is a good one.

I hope this will be a place where we can share information, pictures, and ideas to make our strike stronger.