As the clock ticked down to a midnight strike deadline Sunday, it became increasingly clear the unions and the City of Toronto were too far apart to make a deal.
Sure enough, at around 12:15am, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Locals 416 and 79 held a press conference to announce the news Torontonians were dreading: its 24,000 members - including garbage collectors - would walk off the job Monday morning.
"It is unfortunate that at this late stage we have not seen a collective agreement offer from the City that would be acceptable to Local 79 members," noted union head Ann Dembinski. "The City continues to table proposals that are far inferior to what other unionized City of Toronto employees received in negotiated settlements. At this time it is clear to us that we have no other recourse but to call a strike, to defend our collective agreements and our working conditions."
"It will be especially disappointing for our members who are already demoralized and for residents who will be inconvenienced by a strike," she continued.
CUPE had addressed the media earlier Sunday accusing government negotiators of wasting time and being "stubbornly unwilling" to come up with a fair offer. And Local 416 repeatedly said it would not budge on the strike deadline despite offers from the City to negotiate beyond that time.
"It's only the City of Toronto that appears not to know what a deadline means," noted CUPE Local 416 president, Mark Ferguson. "Their approach to negotiations has not changed since we started talking over six months ago."
"It's unbelievable that the City is prepared to put the citizens of Toronto through a strike - to put my members out on the street - because they want changes to a collective agreement that is working well."
CUPE Local 79, representing 18,000 inside workers, similarly reported little progress.
"If the provincial mediator called Local 79 and said the City would really like to negotiate with you, we'd be willing to negotiate with a moment's notice," indicated Dembinski.
Both unions have been talking with the City for the past six months to replace a contract that expired on December 31st. The main issue: employees want to keep 18 sick days a year which can be banked and cashed out at retirement. But the City wants to create short-term disability programs instead. Add to that conflicts over of job security, scheduling and seniority rights.
The strike will disrupt City-run daycares, parks and recreation programs, swimming pools and ferry service. But the biggest concern is the interruption of garbage collection in most parts of the city.
In the summer of 2002, garbage workers walked the picket lines for 16 smelly days, while residents illegally dumped their trash in public parks. The government ended that strike by introducing back-to-work legislation.
Now, it seems the City is willing to go down that road again.
"While the City does not want a strike, the City cannot simply agree to all of the union's requests to avoid one," maintained spokesperson Kevin Sack.
The following services will not be affected by the strike:
- TTC
- Police
- Fire
- Long-term care (homes for the aged)
- Emergency 911 calls and urgent EMS care
- Sewage and water treatment
Non-emergency and low-priority 911 calls will be affected.
Highlights of the City's contingency plan:
Garbage Collection
If the strike happens, all garbage collection and recycling will be cancelled, except in Etobicoke, which contracts out the service. You'll be asked to stop using the green bin until the strike ends and if any disruption lasts longer than five days, the City will announce garbage drop off points or you can bring your bags to several
transfer stations.
Two transfer stations are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to accept both residential and commercial garbage:
Bermondsey Transfer Station
188 Bermondsey Rd.
(Eglinton Ave. E. & Victoria Park Ave. area)
Ingram Transfer Station
50 Ingram Dr.
(Keele St. & Eglinton Ave. W. area)
In addition, five transfer stations will be open 12 hours a day from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week, to accept both residential and commercial garbage:
Disco Transfer Station
120 Disco Rd.
(Dixon Rd. & Carlingview Dr. area)
Dufferin Transfer Station
35 Vanley Cr.
(Chesswood Dr. & Sheppard Ave. W. area)
Victoria Park Transfer Station
3350 Victoria Park Ave.
(Victoria Park Ave. & Finch Ave. E. area)
Commissioners Street Transfer Station
400 Commissioners St
(Lake Shore Blvd. E. & Logan Ave. area)
Scarborough Transfer Station
1 Transfer Pl.
(Markham Rd. & Sheppard Ave. E. area)
Officials are urging residents not to drop off trash in alleys, parks or on sidewalks, which took place during the last strike in 2002.
Day Cares
All Toronto-run day cares will be shut down.
Find a full list of the facilities affected here.
Parking Permits
If the inside workers walk, say goodbye to getting permission to do anything, including building permits, zoning changes, or inspections. And parking permits won't be available, but if you get caught in a space you shouldn't be in because you couldn't get permission, your ticket will be cancelled.
But if you've been fined and owe money for a parking ticket now, your deadline won't be extended and you'll still be expected to pay up.
Wedding Chapels
Got a civil ceremony planned? As long as there's no love lost between the union and the City, you won't be able to say your 'I do's' at any of Toronto's wedding chapels located in Scarborough, East York and York civic centres. But Toronto City Hall will be open for the labours of love during regular business hours from Monday to Saturday. Only scheduled ceremonies at the North York Civic Centre will take place and no new bookings will be accepted during a strike.
City Parks
Will be open only for casual use but things like tennis courts, golf courses and outdoor sports fields will all be closed. There will be no maintenance for the duration of a strike. City-run wading and swimming pools will also be closed but some splash pads on timers will remain open.
The City also promises to maintain water quality, have animal services personnel available for emergencies, and insists it still hopes a solution can be reached before a strike takes place.
To see the complete list of all the City's plans,
click here.
Find the list by category here.
Or you can get more specific information at Access Toronto at
(416) 338-0338.
Suggestions on how to deal with the strike?
Click here.