Flim-Flam Man

How to deal with this man? He has changed so much, but has he, really? Or does he just shed principles like so much unwanted weight? Let’s see…

The media narrative during this strike has been essentially two-fold: 1) the workers of the City of Toronto are over-privileged scum with a bad case of entitlement, and 2) Mayor Miller is just a really incompetent boob. Even Marcus Gee, the Globe’s ever-present court jester, who started his strike coverage just absolutely fawning over Miller the way he used to do over George Bush has turned against him lately.

What The Hell Was That All About?

Well, just when we were settling in for a new career as professional strikers, the warring parties brought out the ol’ peace pipe filled with some primo Toronto Grow-Op Gold. Good stuff! Maybe! Anyway, we won’t know the details until, what, tomorrow? Because it’s top secret! The public isn’t supposed to know. Shhh! Now everyone gets to act all cagey and pretend they “won”. Hurrah! Nevertheless, we has a sad because now we have to go back to work just when we found something we were good at (Yelling, “Shame on David Miller; Shame Shame!”), and also this blog will come to its inevitable close. Unless we don’t ratify the deal, but that’s really too depressing to even contemplate at this point.

Tune in later for more coverage of the aftermath. Meanwhile, there’s still some beer left to drink, and possibly a bucket of purple jesus…

The Environmental Impact

what stinks more Toronto or Miller?

Toronto does stink, the world has noticed it, the media is slamming it, and the public is pissed off. This sickens me. I’ve picketed the Villiers street dump site and have witnessed (as I’m sure the city has records of this) the city environmental inspector go into the dump, look around, take measurements and leave. In and out in less than 10 minutes. So I guess that makes it okay, the site is inspected and approved right? I mean – according to this certified inspector hired by the city,  the dump site is safe and has “Zero” Environmental Impact (otherwise it would be closed). Now do keep in mind that this dump is only about 200 meters from our Lake! - SEE MAP HERE -

The shocking video, produced by Bill Steele, seen at the end of this article, sums up the sad state of the city-run garbage dumps and those who are running them! View the video and judge for yourself, then ask yourself: How can this City Manager, Joseph Pennachetti and City Mayor David Miller

“I Support You Guys”

Really? Do you really support us? We don’t think so. If you supported us, would you be crossing the picket line? Your lips say, “Yes, yes!” but your body says, “No, no!” If you supported us, why would you have accepted a union job when all you can think about is yourself? Have you thought about this? Joining a union means giving up the right to put yourself first in all cases. It gives you the duty to think of your fellow workers as well as yourself. Can’t accept those terms? Then you shouldn’t have accepted this job. If you are standing proudly with your fellow workers, then why are you saying, “Please don’t take my picture.” We get our pictures taken all the time here on the picket line. In fact the City has hired a private investigator to keep a video camera running behind us. What could you possibly have to worry about?

Mayor David Miller’s Package

Yes, it’s completely wrong and yes there’s nothing in it (package that is).  Please don’t try to fool us with that cheap material you use, it really is see-through in the right light and does wrinkle easier than the bags under your eyes (from lack of sleep), – nothing personal, you’re still handsome to CUPE. Well, at least they’re not pink…  Keep trying Mr.Toronto Mayor! Change the material, trim the sides, tighten the elastic, give it a brand name and you’re golden! We’re waiting…

Oh yea – Make sure there’s enough substance in the package to fill them…

Yes we’re all felling a bit delirious – does it show?

Let Me Tell You About My Package!

There’s this thing that happens whenever some group goes on strike. The public wants to find out what ‘the issues’ are, and then based on their assessment of the issues and their various underlying biases, they come to a judgement based on absolutely no personal experience in the specific matter at hand. It’s easy! This sort of assessment allowed us to judge whether OJ was guilty or not, and how Michael Jackson died (hint: Tito).

Inconveniencing The Public

Look, please don’t take this personally, the strike, that is. We don’t hate the public and we really don’t enjoy using taxpayers as scapegoats, even if that appears to be the consequence of us withdrawing our labour. Believe us, it hurts us more than it hurts you: not only do we the workers not get our own garbage picked up or get to use any other city facility affected by the strike, we don’t get payed (or get benefits) for the duration.

So, when people turn red, then purple just because they are asked to wait a few minutes before entering City Hall, we wonder what’s going on in their heads.

Translation Required

At Mayor Miller’s press conference today on day 30, he said he was frustrated by the glacial pace of negotiations and that things could be resolved if only the union would begin to “bargain seriously.” Seriously.

So we had to look this up in our handy Politician-to-English dictionary. Turns out, what he meant was that things aren’t going his way and why don’t the unions just give up already? It isn’t fair!

A Children’s Treasury Of Ironic Garbage Bins

Have you noticed? Our fair city, Toronto the good, Toronto the beautiful, has turned into a complete dump over the last 30 days. Detroit is starting to look like it might be a good place to relocate. No one is emptying public garbage bins because the City has refused to offer its workers a fair contract after over six months of negotiations. Luckily, the public service ads that the city regularly produces are the most common adornment for garbage bins since the private sector isn’t spending very much on advertising during this recession. These ads continue to grace our garbage bins, a.k.a. “street furniture!“, providing us with hours of ironic entertainment which will surely continue to make the laughter non-stop however long the strike goes on.

Curious about your city government? The City of Toronto invites you to learn how the city works and how you can make a difference.

Ironic because: The city isn’t working. In fact it’s completely broken, and you can’t do a thing about it. Or maybe you can. Write to the mayor. Tell him you want this strike over!

It’s Just Easier To Be Angry All The Time

Antonia Zerbisias had a nice column in the Toronto Star a few days ago where she attempts to educate the public about the workers who are on strike. She concludes nicely with “Walk a few hours in their shoes, will you? Show some support.”

Well yes, absolutely. We agree with everything in her article. The only problem is that some people (and we meet a few every day) just would prefer to be outraged by workers who dare inconvenience their lives in any way by exercising their democratic right to withhold their labour.