HAPPY EARTH DAY TO YOU…
HAPPY EARTH DAY TO YOU…
HAPPY EARTH DAY MOUNT FRANCIS…
HAPPY EARTH DAY TO YOU!
What a mess. There is no one involved in this strike who doesn’t reek of garbage.
As someone who’s been out of work since the end of 2008, I really find it hard to any sympathy for them at all. I would gladly take a job with them tomorrow at the reduced benefits the city offered. Times they are a changin’ and the Windsor sense of entitlement needs to change too…
Maybe Windsor can be the next Naples!
I’ll tell ya, if I was mayor, I’d privatize the garbage collection (along with parking enforcement)… It can be done, cheaper and more efficiently by the private sector. After listening to the call in show the other morning on AM800, it sure seems like they don’t have public support on their side…
From a CAW member they have my full support as long as it takes.
I’m with you Andrew. There’s probably no better time to make this happen, especially in Windsor.
Hey, how about “Andrew Foot for City Council”? Newly elected Councillor Foot has a nice ring to it!
The funniest part is when you hear the CUPE reps saying that they are against the city, not the citizens…. Well, the way I see it, the city IS the citizens! We are the employers of these people, and enough is enough. Union demands on wages and benefits have had a huge part in the auto crisis, and the financial crisis, as companies are looking for cheaper labor for manufacturing. (Why are the CITIZENS, these people’s employers, not out there protesting this madness?) Times are changing, and NO public servant should have the expectations that these people have. Benefits for unskilled labor? not on my dime. With only 3 Canadian cities offering full life benefits to their employees, why should Windsor be one of them? Now is the time for Windsor to stand up and say: NO to Unions. Maybe then, businesses will want to come here. (I do not think that it is far fetched to say that the union presence has caused many companies to look elsewhere). ps. Andrew, I find your reference to the garbage pile as ‘mt. Francis’ a bit backwards to your opinion. Remember, it was not the mayor or council that decided to strike, start a garbage pile, or even throw eggs at private garbage collectors like BFI. Maybe it should be called Mt.CUPE. (ps. im all for privatization until we can rid of the union, then maybe look into bringing the workers back)
>Union demands on wages and benefits have had a huge part in the auto >crisis, and the financial crisis, as companies are looking for cheaper >labor for manufacturing
Sorry, labour’s ONLY 7% of the cost of a vehicle,find another scapegoat..
Bob C.
Hi BobC, even if that is true, it is a 7% advantage for the foreign companies, and right now, its all about too many companies and not enough customers. If labor wasn’t so high, would the foreign auto makers even be here at all?
Ps. lets stay on topic with the CUPE issue (sorry for the distraction… got ahead of myself there).
When a city needs to cut costs, we all need to make sacrifices.
As a libertarian, my heart fluttered with Andrews suggestion of privatization of the garbage collectors (and parking enforcement). Let’s cut the size of the city’s government and make it more attractive to businesses.
I’ve been suspicious of the mountain of garbage from the beginning. Given the timing of the strike (midnight) and the appearance of the garbage in time for the next afternoon news, who exactly had the time or motivation to deliver all that crap? I suspect it was uniuon organized to begin with and they probably arranged for the provincial health inspection as well.
Why is this all Eddie Francis’ fault personally, anyway? I think he’s done a better job overall than the previous two administrations and he’s honest. He’s also trying to keep the city alive through a lot of nasty stuff I don’t think he can be blamed for by his harshest critics and he (they, the council; he’s not the only one involved.) isn’t proposing anything that hasn’t already been done in plenty of other municipalities.
Union members I’ve seen interviewed are IMHO selfish and short-sighted in their demands. Why would that surprize me?
it is a 7% advantage for the foreign companies,
JP> I didn’t know foreign companies paid 0 to their workers
>>If labor wasn’t so high, would the foreign auto makers even be here at all?
Do you REALLY believe that??? 7% is ‘so high’??? Maybe,just maybe the foreign companies were/are looking to expand their markets???
Unbelieveable…..
Clare – The mayor is anything but honest. Since he’s been mayor there have been more secret “in-camera” meetings than there were under any other mayor.
He’s the head of the city, a city that’s the worst in Canada for access to information:
http://www.cna-acj.ca/en/news/public-affairs/cna-releases-4th-annual-freedom-information-audit
Look here on Page 37:
http://www.cna-acj.ca/en/system/files/CNA%20National%20Freedom%20of%20Information%20Audit%20-%202008_0.pdf
Windsor charges $103,420 for the same information that Victoria, BC charges $60 for or Vancouver charges $160 for. In fact the second most expensive city is Calgary, and they “only” charge $7909. Windsor charges more than 13 times the amount of the number 2 worst city.
What about Enwin? http://www.windsorstar.com/Enwin+keeps+meeting+info/1203736/story.html
Here’s the full document: http://www.windsorstar.com/pdf/EnwinMeeting.pdf
Now he’s keeping strike information from Councilors?
http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Councillors+trusted+with+strike+binder/1519801/story.html
During his first election campaign he promised to get rid of the Zalev Brothers Scrapyard, 6 years later, we don’t even talk about it. If you want to see what a liar he is, wait until next year when he runs again for mayor… despite his two term promise…
The man is an arrogant egomaniac. The sooner Windsor is rid of him, the sooner this city can move forward.
He is not honest, he’s manipulative and deceitful. As much as everyone hated Mike Hurst, I’d take him back as mayor in a heartbeat!
Re: ‘in-camera’ meetings.
Some things are best left out of the public spotlight. Our saving grace must be that we elected trustworthy and responsible councilors who are educated to make the right decisions, and represent the values and goals of their constituents. If we can’t trust our council and mayor, maybe we should take a harder look at who we vote in and try to get a better voter turnout.
I’m not against in-camera meetings so much, as long as they are productive. When I was in a different Ontario city, the same was being said about the mayor there: “too many in-camera’ meetings… BUT these meetings are sometimes needed to make important deals with investors and etc.. that want to remain in private so that these deals are not jeopardized. This city is now one of the cities that is less impacted by the recession. These secret meetings had put into place some policies and deals that are the best for the overall good of the city in question. Why would the mayor and council do otherwise? If they do something for personal gain, they will go to prison for it. I hope they understand these consequences. Eddy has certainly not done everything perfectly, but he has done some good things. One of which is standing up for the CITIZENS of Windsor against CUPE. I think its going to be tough to be a mayor of a city with many backwards-thinking residents and strong resistance to change.
>the cities that is less impacted by the recession. These secret meetings >had put into place some policies and deals that are the best for the >overall good of the city in question. Why would the mayor and council do >otherwise? If they do something for personal gain, they will go to >prison for it. I hope they understand these consequences. Eddy has >certainly not done everything perfectly, but he has done some good >things. One of which is standing up for the CITIZENS of Windsor against >CUPE.
Nice troll work…..I hope!!
JP – That’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it, but as a taxpayer, when my tax dollars are being spent, I can’t see any reason why I can’t know what my government is up to?
Take the arena, $65 million tax dollar spent for what basically amounts to a new home for the Spitfires, and the tax payers who built it don’t know the details of the true cost and the lease deal the Spitfires signed…
Nothing about the arena should be secret IMO. If it’s a deal that could be negatively affected, that’s fine, but once the deal is done, so should the secrecy.
You stated:
How so? We’ve got the highest unemployment rate in Canada?
Andrew, sorry, when I said “this city” I was referring to the city that I mentioned above about the ‘secret meetings’, not Windsor. sorry for the confusion.
http://thelondonfog.blogspot.com/2004/04/more-dirty-dealings-in-london-ontario.html
In London, ON, 1994, 60% of meetings were in private. The public was pissed, but I think much of those meetings had to do with buying property to revive downtown and build their downtown arena. I think Londoners are happy now.
-ps. I agree that the council should be more transparent, especially after these in-camera meetings. (and i do wish the arena was downtown… they let us down on that one)
I’m just saying that in times of transition, sometimes things need to be out of the public eye. Public meetings often hurt the city’s negotiating position.
And, yes, i know this is my opinion, and not necessarily yours or others, but that’s why I like blogs, its a chance to voice all opinions.
I couldn’t have said it any better myself Andrew.
The 7% labour cost to auto’s is a fallacy. It is much higher when added into the larger equation of costs in vehicles. As a person who is deeply involved in this sector I should know. But I will leave it for another day.
What is galling to so many of us is that not only do they make a good wage. There is little to this contract that is reducing anything they have other than legacy costs to the very employees who want the golden pensions for their future brethren. Much like Sid Ryan has stated to the mayor about why he is in arms over something that will impact us in 30 years and therefore to the councillors who won’t even be here in 30 years. The same can be said about his own members.
The truth is legacy costs are killers to cities especially one’s that are in dire econimc times. As it is, public sector employees on average make 36% more than the private sector workers. So why the fuss. They already have a leg up on most workers in this city. Add in some of the best pension plans in the world (compare to employers who were polled that showed 88% will be reducing and/or removing pensions from their companies altogther in the next few years) these people really have it good.
For those who say Manager’s got a 15% raise. Well, they also had a pay freeze as well as reduced pensions. Plus I think it was mistake in the first place, should the city make a second mistake just because the first was made? What kind of union logic is that?
Sorry but some things need to be privatized especially in a city with such high taxes and high unemployment.
As a last idea, I think we should bring back residency requirements; these same workers who demand, demand, demand the majority (as indicated by city hall) don’t even live within the city boundaries. They are not even affected by their own strike! It is wasn’t for weak-kneed liberal judges this would still be in effect. The problem is the city is too chicken to challenge it in court!
If you ask me, CUPE is getting off easy with no wage cuts. The city should be adding asking a cumulative 1% reduction per day for each day CUPE is on strike.
Do you know how Windsor fares in property taxes with other cities?
Res. Multi-Res Commercial Industrial
Brampton 1.195419 1.852070 2.762082 3.150304
Toronto 0.8528434 2.3521901 4.0932775 4.3692841
Richmond Hill 1.023412 1.023412 2.409507 2.701276
Mississauga 1.002521 1.577668 2.595117 2.941159
Milton (Urban 0.913584 1.733293 2.320775 3.462572
Markham 1.020416 1.020416 2.405891 2.697160
Res. Multi-Res Commercial Industrail
Windsor 1.741741 4.179205 4.731402 7.888734
We have the highest property tax rates in Windsor. We also have the highest unemployment. Do you think this has any corelation? Where do you think the money goes? CUPE?
A new report out of Edmonton shows that Toronto takes the dubious honour for having the highest property taxes in Canada…..
Toronto ranked first with the highest taxes paid at $3,912, followed by Brampton at $3,826. Ottawa was third at $3,532; Hamilton and London were fifth and sixth at $3,305 and $3,078 respectively. St. John’s Newfoundland deserves credit for taking last place with the lowest average tax at $1,540, and Surrey, BC was second last at $1,814….
When paying taxes one cares less about the rate paid or the details of the complicated formula used. Instead, one cares about how much money is being taken year over year. That is the only comparison relevant to a taxpayer, not whether the rate is 0.82 in one city versus 1.15 in another city.
The rest of the article is here: http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/1517
Bullsh-it. You think if the Chrysler plant in Brampton is paying a property tax rate of 3.15% and the Chrysler plant in Windsor is paying a property tax rate of 7.9% that what each plant pays in property taxes won’t play a factor on which Chrysler plant to shut down if it comes down to getting a negotiated settlement on payroll, but there still being too much production in Canada? Multi-res, commercial and industrial rates are based on the gross incomes of what’s coming out of these plants/businesses. It’s the same with any private sector industry in Windsor. You’re cutting your own throat when you’re here implying that Windsor has competitive rates when it comes down to the property taxes it pays to Windsor to support CUPE Windsor’s payroll.
I just read that report Guido. It only talks about the residential property tax rates, not multi-res, commercial, or industrial when it says Toronto is the highest, and it’s also saying Toronto’s residential rate is highest overall because of value of houses in Toronto. Windsor has high end housing too. I can find you $2million home neighbourhoods on Victoria near Cabana or Riverside Dr in Windsor. Sure we have cheap pockets of old housing. But, we also have high end housing and they’re getting raped by Windsor’s residential property tax rates.
I think Garbage collection in Naples is private!! Careful what you wish for.
JP – Your last comment got held up in my spam filter… If you or anyone else posts a response and it doesn’t show up right away, send me an email…
Guido, when Torontonian houses cost 3X’s more than Windsor’s your arguement doesn’t factor. My taxes are $4,000 but my house is worth less than 1/3 as it would be in T.O.
Windsor’s taxes are outrageous! Especially for what we get in return. We also have some of the highest water bills and don’t get me started on Enwin, the “back door tax” company that the city of Windsor owns.
ME–I have family that live in Toronto and Vancouver and I would not trade my property taxes for either one. I have an average home 3 bedroom 2 baths attached 1.5 car garage and don’t even pay over $3,000 dollars a year in property tax.
I will agree with you on the water rate’s we pay here.
Ahhh, yes! I miss the union discussions on your site, Andrew!
I don’t.
But I will say, I am thankful that everyone doesn’t have your scab attitude. Times are a changin’ and they will change back to the better eventually; this isn’t the first recession in history. If everyone was willing to cross a picket line because they were out of work, we’d all be working for minimum wage eventually.
the whole thing is stinky! leadership needed now!
Wow. More knee jerk, reactionary bullsh*t from the balcony. I expected better here in “progressive land”, from the ranks of the “creative class” lol. My bad. So let me get this straight, because you are out of work everyone should work for less… I bet if you had a job you wouldn’t be so generous with your wages. I would like to know what your opinion of the unemployed was before you joined their ranks… lazy, no good etc. etc…
The easy answer is always, gut the unions, privatize everything, let THEM work for less and all will be well in the world… unfortunately that ain’t working. For 30 plus years this has been the way and well here we are. Neo-liberal nonsense.
I couldnt agree more JR its a race to the bottom. But according to god richard florida we wll all be alright in his “creative class” pipe dream
The 12% of the population that own and control 75% of all the wealth, must laugh their heads off at the rest of us when we attempt to hang onto the scraps that are left. When worker is pitted against worker for relative peanuts, the elimination of any middle class must surely happen. It will be a sad day when a job at Walmart is the most coveted in this city. Oh, by the way, where is the outrage directed at the 400 odd city hall managers who rubber stamped their own up to 15% raises a few short months ago. Imagine scraping by on a mere 170 grand a year.
I am sorry. Eddy or Eddie or whatever he changed his name is has been the absolute WORST Mayor of Windsor. Absolutely the worst. I am not a CUPE member or a member of any union for that matter, just a retired Ford supervisor (non-union).
Eddy Francis has done absolutely NOTHING other than bring the Red Bull air races to Windsor. Beyond that, what has he done?
– stalled the new border crossing with a myriad of political campaigns against anybody and everybody involved.
– stalled the extension of the 401 with his Greenlink fiasco. The province has offered virtually everything that Eddy has demanded except for the full length of the tunneling that Hizzoner wants. Several hundred million more and that is still not enough for Eddy.
– Eddy can be directly blamed for all those closed houses on Indian Road. He has fought the Ambassador Bridge company who in spite of what they are saying are simply trying to build a new bridge immediately next to the existing structure which is clearly obsolete and approaching it’s centennial if nobody does anything. I agree with the second bridge but the first one needs to be rebuilt.
– Eddy is now fighting with the Town of Tecumseh about the rebuilding of Manning Road. If this was the other way around, Eddy would be leading a vicious campaign against Tecumseh. It’s all about control, isn’t it Eddy?
And the list goes on.
You can squarely blame the Mayor of Windsor and senior administration for the current strike of City workers. Yes, a City council back in the 1950s created what has become a mess for the 21st century. But what union or group of workers or individual business owners or anybody will give up something without a fight? If the issue is that cut and dry (forcing the workers to give up their paid benefits….wonder if the provincial and federal legislators have given their benefits up?) then lay it out, make a real offer and send it to arbitration. If arbitration agrees with the city, end of story. If it agrees with the workers then deal with it at the next round of collective bargaining. The city has suffered enough. What the hell do you think CUPE is going to do? Sit back and take up up the butt? Get real Eddy. This mess is on your shoulders.
And to the owner of this blog, are you completely stupid or totally stupid? You clearly must be an anti-union-moron for saying that you’ll do the city workers jobs for less benefits, etc, etc, etc. Would you do it for ten bucks an hour like some other anti-union-morons? If so, there are lots of Tim Horton’s and McDonald’s out there who will pay that much and more and you won’t have to hump garbage like the city workers. Get a job you lazy bum!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t try and steal other people’s jobs. Service Canada recently advertised 105 federal jobs for their downtown Windsor office and were inundated with 3,500 applicants. Were you one of them? What about all the other employers in this city who are hiring? There are jobs out there, you just have to get off your lazy butt to get one. The farms out in the county will hire you immediately instead of having to bring in thousands (tens of thousands!) of workers from Mexico, Thailand and the Caribbean. But not you! You’re too lazy collecting EI or probably welfare and spending all your time complaining about others, aren’t you??
This has been a great web site with loads of great information. Your stupid opinions of other people’s job are not what is needed to get this city moving forward.
But then again, I suppose if a construction company offered you a solid paying job putting stucco on buildings you would say no and rather sit on your butt doing nothing but bitch!
What a hump!!!
Thanks for the laugh I LOATHE!
Funniest thing I’ve read in a long time…
Andrew would probably take a job putting stucco on the CUPE union hall. 😉
May I suggest to those who think the Mayor and Council has done a horrible job to run for election in 2010? It’d be nice to see some real competition at the polls.
the reason the new arena is where it is because sir eddie’s buddy from london wanted a piece of the riverfront lands and he offered the east end property to the city in a straight up swap