More Mail Please

Hmmmm, which file is being handled worse, the CUPE strike or the border file? They are both being handled so incredibly poorly! They do have a common denominator though don't they--there is a common, official Voice of Council who is calling the shots! Perhaps that explains it.

In the interim, more mail coming in for you to read! A ton of it.

Oh and if you are wondering, my inside sources tell me that the vote was well over 80% in favour of NO in both CUPE locals! But for the CUPE constitution which did not permit I am told, many were prepared to vote "refuse to vote" and not have the vote at all.

As you will see, it was in effect an anti-Eddie vote pure and simple. CUPE members do not trust him at all after the Back To Work Protocol fiasco. I believe that reasonable people could reach a labour agreement. But with Eddie around.....

The issue is no longer wages, benefits, PRBs or anything else. The issue is Eddie Francis and how can a Mayor who pulls the stunts that he did yesterday with the lack of language in the Protocol and having the managers appear at he vote-site before the vote was taken be trusted. What RESPECT for workers!

It will be laughable to see how the sycophants and hangers-on try to justify what Eddie did. He may also have single-handedly undercut as well the anti-union strategy of Governments!

Oh pshaw, one can say that Eddie merely made an error in judgment. Is that an excuse that is acceptable in a 14 week strike? What does this say about his advisors as well if they were even consulted.

And about the Councillors. Will they ever get off their asses and run this City because the Mayor cannot?

1) I'm hoping this doesn't mean another 3 months on the picket line. But if Eddie really means about what he said about getting us back to work he'll get off his ass and give us a contract we can say yes too.

2) Dear City Councilors

You may recall a letter with the subject line "The Land of No Opposition" that I sent all of you July 15th.
To refresh your memory, here it is again.


=================

Please, please tell the whole story about Eddie's power over you. You ALL voted to send what appears to be an insult to CUPE to vote on on July 16th.

I thought that councilors Postma, Jones and perhaps Marra and Lewenza actually cared about the city's long and productive association with its labor community. That now appears to have been a charade. Why are all of you so enamored about Eddie?...

Who will protect those who oppose Eddie if all of you, capitulate in the end.

I can only hope that all of this is said and done, the real story will come out....or is there one???

===============

I did get three responses (much appreciated.):

Its amazing that you would send an email like this before you even know the details. How pathetic.
Sincerely,
Drew

Hi [Name of person]. Are you familiar with the framework of the offer we tabled to CUPE?

Bill

The vote was 8 to 3 not unanimous as reported by the media.
(from Ron Jones)


It now appears that Councilor Dilkens had it right all along, your decision to vote unanimously to offer CUPE a proposal that they could not accept because it was insulting and totally disrespectful, was PATHETIC!

You even screwed up the protocol part of the offer. Wow. I wonder if sucking up to Eddie for so long is affecting your intelligence.

Look, you can do the right thing now and reject Eddie's "vision." I know you can do it. He's just a kid. You can stand up to him and do the right thing. You could have all saved face and voted to accept CUPE "final" offer. Nonetheless, you still have time to redeem yourselves.

Separate yourself from Eddie's spell. He is making all of you look really really bad. He is not running for Mayor again, or so he says. Some, perhaps all of you are. You have well over a year before the next election day. Be brave. It's 10 against one. You can do it. Other than Eddies "base" the rest of Windsor's citizens will see your decision to put Windsor back on track as the right decision.

3) We had to sign in and show our CUPE card. Everyone received a stamp to show before gaining entrance at the door.

The meeting started on time despite the happenings outside involving the managers. I was not there during that (I just missed it) but everyone was still buzzing.

Jean Fox went through the collective agreement changes as outlined and handed out to each member. There was a discussion about the back to work protocol and how that all happened. All members were very frustrated with this...

Jean also mentioned you Ed... She made an off-hand remark to a member that you should run for mayor.

4) Ha, you don't even know the half of it!! You'd be way more than shocked at what was in the City's offer even without the Back to Work Protocol! It was set up in a fashion that absolutely no one in their right mind would ever accept either of those offers! Not a chance in hell. I find it difficult to imagine our Mayor actually believing we would accept it. There were too many other major factors that must be corrected prior to any acceptance and he should know what they are. Btw, these major factors are not including PRB or wages. That should tell you just how unacceptable his offer was.

5) Hi Ed, what an interesting day for the City of Windsor! I am a CUPE 543 worker, and I attended the 4pm vote (very pale in comparison I must say).

I have been following your blog for quite some time now and I enjoy it very much. It is nice to read the truth of what is really going on in this city. Please don't ever stop writing in your blog. You sir, were even mentioned at our 4pm vote today!

I think Eddie has shot himself in the foot this time, and hopefully as you point out, council will take action and rid us of this clown. I too wonder if they knew of the flyer proposal. If Eddie really wanted to squash those fears out there, he could have asked for the vote to be postponed for this amendment to the contract. The union has also told us this contract is a lesser offer than the last one, in May I believe. Ah yes, and back-to-work protocal for CUPE local 82 asks that they work alongside scabs (private contracters to get everything back in order, parks, facilities, etc)!

I was hoping for an OK contract, I'm not expecting any big wage increases... But there is a lot of language in this contract that really aims to eliminate the liabilities of PRBs. Temporary workers would have been let go in my opinion, and new ones hired in their place so that any temps going for full-time jobs would only be those who are new hires, therefore, less liability. Seasonal recreational staff (daycamp, program instructors, lifeguards, etc) would only be called back on a need-be-basis. Why would they vote yes to a job that might not be there when they get back? These are not the student lottery positions, but hey, why pay a seasonal rec when you can pay a student (goverment funded program) knowing you only have to honour a 2 year contract with them.

What a farce this whole operation has turned out to be! By the way, the union is already collecting signatures for people who want to volunteer their time for the 2010 election. I can give you my endorsement right now!!!

...I hope we hear from Dalton soon, not that I enjoy him much but right now he's better than Eddie in my book...

Looking forward to more reading!

6) Did you see the part about the Temporary Part Time in the protocol? We will be called back if needed? WTH?? So I am supposed to vote yes and have no job to go back too?? I think not. Here on the picket line I am guarenteed money why would I give that up. What an idiot Eddie Francis is thinking we would vote for this! That is putting it mildly.

7) Hey ED :::

good day unto you, sir.

you are doing a most remarkable job with your coverage of
this city's ongoing labour dispute. bravo and kudos to you
once again. if i don't always agree with everything you say,
it must be said you do infuriate me least of all of those in
the region adding their (mostly useless and unsolicited)
commentary to the entire imbroglio that is this strike. your
perspective is always sharp, always on topic and tends to
dispense with the boring rhetoric we've all grown accustomed
to seeing reflected in our local media. may i here implore
you to keep on thinking through and beyond the stories that
interest you and offering your valuable and much needed
perspective to this community. no one can begin to calculate
what it is really worth.

from my own perspective in the 543 camp, i know there were a
scant few who voted yes today; but, overwhelmingly, it would
seem most were rather adamantly inclined to vote a
resounding, if not near deafening NO. NO to EDDIE and his
farce of a contract. NO to council for their blind
complicity in this fiasco, NO to the windsor scar ad nauseum
for their irresponsible and jugheaded views, NO to the
intellectually challenged citizens who have always harboured
resentment for government and its affiliates and have chosen
to side with farmer ed. NO to penny-wisdom and pound-foolishness.
NO to the double standards. NO to the mean-spiritedness of it all. NO to bad
faith. NO to hostile employers. NO to bad government and the
standard bearers they supposedly represent, NO to all the slime,
NO to all that is backwards, NO to all
that is ANTI-LIFE unless you pull a cool quarter of a
million a year.

that's a lot of NO-ing, but a quick look at all the
slanderous negativity we've been up against for the last 90
days and it should come as no real surprise.

despite the fact that the contact really wasn't anything to
write home about, the lack of back to work protocol seemed
to be the major issue with both locals. when the managers
showed up with the said "attachment", many many many it
would seem who had every intention of voting yes today had
no other choice but to vote it down. and said so in front of
the membership. and thusly, the 'frivolous' file on the bad
faith negotiations complaint against the city grew another
inch. (that bomb sure just continues to tick louder and
louder. eddie is in big trouble. his reckoning will one day
come. that it will happen in my lifetime gives me a lot of
pleasure. but alas, i digress...)

one thing i've reflected on is your question to me regarding
the exit strategy. when does it all end? first things first,
i think it ends when we are furnished with a contract that
does not throw the baby out with the bathwater. me, for
instance, i have not engaged in any illegal activity during
the course of the strike, but because of the late role i've
adopted for myself, i have no doubt that mine is one of the
names on the city's rumoured 2 page shit list. ergo, there
will not be a job for me to return to because i most
assuredly turn up on video and in photographs in their
various 'undesirables' dossiers. simply for assisting my
union in this struggle i will be one of the ones sure to be
"punished". and i am far from alone... so clearly, that
won't do.

secondly, it must be said that most members, on average,
have lost the better part of 10 thousand dollars in lost
wages owing to this strike. if we have to lose more to gain
in the long term then we will. the majority feels this way.
that's a big part of our latent strength. the summer is as
good as over. does anyone really think we'll be out until
the snow falls? this city fell apart already. what's another
month out on strike? what's the difference between 10 k and
14 in the face of what is at stake? (it doesn't even seem
like PRB's are the "threshold issue" any more. -- a fair
settlement is.)

thirdly, the "popularity" of the city's position has been
grossly exaggerated and criminally distorted by all who've
stuck their oars in right from the get-go, with very few
exceptions. if the media is the real arbiter of taste within
our governments, as suggested, then canada is in even worse
shape than anyone really imagines. and so maybe some things
are worth fighting for, against all odds and in the face of
ongoing animosity and peril? maybe this really is the fight
of our lives? if it is, i can assure the enemy that i've
never been one to lay down quietly. and it seems many of my
comrades in both locals are cut from the same cloth...

had we signed up today to go back, there would be no end to
the lack of peace and justice in our respective lives. not
only could we not live with ourselves, but we'd be digging
ourselves an even bigger grave down the road when the next
contract comes up in four years. no one wants to engage in
this confrontation again in 4, 8 or even in 12 years time.
we need something that we can all live with today and
tomorrow, and until that offer is set in ink, the city can
pound salt. sooner or later people are going to begin
wondering what they're getting for their tax base. sooner or
later the much put upon managerial class will become
exhausted. sooner or later something really nasty and
terrible will transpire that will set the stage for
government intervention.

i think the union has been well behaved up to this point.
picketing the mayors house was no big deal. the youtube
videos that show union members in various states unbecoming
of civil servants are also no big deal. the under-reported
belligerence of city hall consistently shown to CUPE in the
past 3 months -- that's what isn't so easily dismissed. in
fact, that's the biggest deal. those are the wounds that
will take longest to heal. as long as the city wants to
continue playing games and shilly shallying about in these
negotiations, the deeper those wounds will become.
intractable positions are no longer tenable. the union has
negotiated fairly. the union has worked to find a solve. it
is the city now who needs to give an inch. and, if that inch
isn't given, i think we will try and take a mile. and we
just might take it, too.

i think that's what's going on.

hope you are feeling hale and hearty,

8) A resounding no on 543's and 82's contracts. No numbers released just a resounding no.

9) I'm sure I am not the only one who noticed, but it seems your blog has somewhat indirectly affected some of the decisions and thoughts of many CUPE members. For good reason that is. It simply makes sense. In recent union meetings I have heard members bring up ideas straight from your blog, and the most recent example being today at the vote. Had you been this popular amongst CUPE members from the start of this strike, we may be in a different situation right now, perhaps a better one.

10) You Reap What You Sow blog. Guess what, when CUPE sent their proposal to council they included a much more detailed back to work protocol so why the hell didn't council do the same?

...We will be continuing our pursuit of bad faith bargaining. It was scheduled for Thursday but due to negotiations it was postponed. Also, Eddie wants the charges dropped.

This morning was hilarious in the Caboto Club parking lot. The union chased away these managers and threw the so called back to work proposal in the air (what a farce it doesn't adequately address our biggest concerns re: return to work, job loss and disciplinary action re: strike action). The 82 proposal states that the union agrees to hire contractors to assist in grass cutting. Can't wait to watch A channel to find out if they show that disrespect to the union. It was nowhere near a riot just a lot of shouting and I'm thinking that this is further proof that Eddie is bargaining in bad faith only now it was in the faces of the union membership instead of behind closed doors.

He is now stating that he wants us back to work... Now he is trying to act all sympathetic. I'm now wondering if his contingency plan has run its course and he has no more tricks up his sleeve. Does this mean he'll finally agree to arbitration or call a supervised vote in a few weeks time? Or will he hang us out to dry and hire enough replacement workers to do all our jobs and after ten months say au revoir. Well I guess time will tell

10) Jean met with Helga for a good half hour yesterday morning in Charles Clark Square. Wonder if thatis where the back to work protocol got its beginning.





11) at this time we don't know the result of the vote but I would like to say the elected officials of the city of Windsor are very irresponsible dragging the city in such state of depravation in a tug of war pull with the union. The interest of the city as all and the rights of the taxpayers comes first and not the personal position that they are taking. Being elected official arbitration should have been the solution but they prefer a tug of war attitude familiar in the city administration ignoring all the rest of the city needs specially in summer time with many tourists and many activities that they may not be back in the future.

12) We were also told that some of the city negotiators wanted to stay on Tuesday and continue to negotiate but the city did not allow them too. The city also wants CUPIE to drop the bad faith bargaining case! The city just keeps giving them more ammunition.

13) [Copy of a note sent to Councillors] OMG WHAT WERE YOU PEOPLE THINKING. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU (wait maybe you were joking, no you didn't do this on purpose?????)

Taking donations to get my "do not vote for".......... signs ready all those who can donate please do, I have a free printer but need to pay for the blank signs and posts.,those who want signs on your front yard let me know. Please see the captain of each of your neighbourhoods.

We will be prepared to end the reign of Eddie and the puppets.

14) At the CUPE meeting we were told that it was unconstitutional (CUPE constitution) to vote not to vote. Therefore, we had to vote on the Council's offer.

15) I just returned from the 543 Caboto vote! It seems you are quite popular. There were cheers when your name was mentioned and there was a call to endorse you for mayor!!!! I want you to know that your no vote idea was pursued! We did try! It seems that CUPIE national would not allow it saying it was a ratification meeting and not to vote would not fly.

16) Hi Ed, just got back from voting. First of all, at around 10:30 when most people were going to be entering the hall, a few mgmt. staff showed up with the City's Back to Work Protocol. They attempted to hand them out to the members who were still outside the hall. All the local media was there. A member (I'm not sure who) grabbed all the papers and threw them in the air, there was a billow of management papers floating around the Caboto Club. Then we proceeded into our meeting and the doors were locked.

I can only tell you how I voted, which was NO. NO to wages which were insulting given how much money the City has saved with us being out, and NO because of the Back to Work Protocol, which was missing some key points (i.e. no actions to be taken against strikers).. If they think that we are going to sell out some of our members for juveniles, they are sadly mistaken. As well, we have many temporary staff members, who in the protocol it was stated, they would be called if their services were needed. WTF?? Do you have any idea how many temp. employees we have? This would also sell out the temporary staff and ECE's whose services may not be needed at this time either. It was NOT ACCEPTABLE.

We were told that the leadership called CUPE National and were told that we were not allowed to make a motion for "NO VOTE", this was a ratification meeting, we HAD to vote. But a resounding NO would send a message to the City.

And the Back to Work Protocol would have to be revised to protect members more specifically. As for our Bad Faith Bargaining complaint, this we will NOT be giving up, no way.

Anyways, I will be awaiting the results like everyone else. And hopefully it was a resounding NO. We were VERY close to getting a contract that would be satisfactory. But even if it was everything I hoped for, I would still have been so tempted to just vote NO to let Eddie know HE HAS NOT BROKEN THIS UNION. Hopefully the City will revise the offer and we can all get back to work.

17) Councillors,
I must start this communication by stating that as a resident, taxpayer and trade unionist I am outraged by the fact that city managers showed up today at a union ratification vote. I would hope that I would not have to explain how absolutely inappropriate for any reason this tactic is. For members of council who have been or are currently members of a trade union you should share this outrage. It is now abundantly clear that our mayor hasn't the faintest clue how to conduct negotiations with our workers. In his news conference this evening he spoke of respect for our employees. That statement would be laughable if it wasn't so deeply insulting. This mayor, empowered by you our councillors has from day one divided our city. He has turned neighbour against neighbour. He has exploited the legitimate pain of this recession for his (and your) own purposes. This is not leadership! It is quite frankly sickening.

I will reiterate for those of you that have not heard this from me before that I am not concerned with the details of this contract. Whatever deal is reached between the city and CUPE is fine with me provided it is reached in an environment of fairness and respect. My angst is soley with the absolute disregard for fairness and complete lack of respect shown by our mayor toward the collective bargaining process. Whether you like it or not this is a right granted to each and every Ontarian by law. You must respect that right as you would any right enjoyed by our citizens and employees. Thus far you have not even come close. I would site for you the unfairness sanctioned by council when you passed the by-law prohibiting burn barrels just prior to this dispute. That burn barrel is an iconic symbol of union job action and that by-law was clearly not intended to enhance public safety but was a shot across the bow at all trade unions in this city. Conversely the city saw fit to completely ignore and our mayor flat out lied about the enforcement of the by-law prohibiting residents from cutting public grass. Eddie Francis stated publicly that this was not being enforced because the enforcement officers were on strike. That by-law clearly states that police are also obliged to enforce it. This activity exposes our residents to extreme liability in the event that there is some injury on city property. That liability is clearly strengthened from a legal perspective when the mayor admits that he knows it's happening and refuses to stop it. You don't need to be a lawyer to figure that out. This is just one example of you and the mayor looking the other way on broken laws when it enhances the city's intractable position and helps turn public opinion against our workers. That is most shameful. The law is the law and all of them must be enforced, period!

Mr Halberstadt and Mr Valentinis as my representatives on council your job is to represent me whether you agree with me or not. I am a taxpayer. This is a democracy. My emails have been repeatedly ignored. In particular Mr Valentinis you have not returned a single one in 14 weeks. Thanks for nothing. This will be remembered next election. It is your job not to speak only for those who sing from Eddie's hymn book but for your entire constituency.

Mr Halberstadt although you have been somewhat more responsive you have yet to provide me with figures I requested in the first weeks of this strike. I will formally ask of you and the rest of this council again for the savings realized by the city on the elimination of PRB's for new hires. I am demanding to see to the dollar what the savings on a year to year basis would be starting in year one and through year 10 or 15. Mr Halberstadt you stated at one point that all the numbers have been made public. Where? You have all been party to the misleading of the residents. It would be my contention that if the entire program of PRB's was never funded since it inception then it must we must be paying the bills as they arrive. That would mean that any new hire's retirement benefits would not cost this city one dime untill that person retired. That would obviously mean there would be zero savings from the elimination of this benefit for many, many years down the road. I would love to be corrected on this point. Please provide me the funding structure for post retirement benefits. I have an absolute right to see this information. The entire city has the absolute right to have this information...

Well councillors you have some choices to make here. Do you choose to do the right thing and shed light on this issues? Do you remove the power you've given this mayor and begin to engage in real negotiation fairly and respectfully? If you refuse then I demand this contract be sent to arbitration. Mayor and council have proven to be incompetent when it comes to negotiation. It is time this process be taken from your hands and a settle that puts our workers back to work tomorrow is achieved through arbitration. Don't give me the lies that were intitially put out about arbitration and how they "give away the farm". I have done my own research I know the facts about arbitration. I am still waiting for Mr Marra to retract his statement and correct the record regarding having someone from Toronto arbitrate this. There are fully qualified labour arbitrators right here in Windsor. I have read the decisions handed down by many arbitrators and they all uncannily come out about 50/50 union and management. So enough with that malarky.

I will not go away. I demand answers to my questions. I have a RIGHT to know. It is my money you people are playing games with and I have had enough!!!

18) The mention of you running for Mayor in the next election was brought up today at the meeting/vote. What do you say?

19) All your articles are distributed daily among the crews; you've motivated us on plenty of bad days :) But there it was, your late night advice in the hands of Jean herself. Said she checked with Sid Ryan, who advised not to use NON VOTE. There was a straight explanation of the proposal, (it was the sort someone desperate could vote yes on, and sleep that night. Then the Return to Work protocol issue came up. Emotions skyrocketed. [Name of person] stood up to speak, mild mannered, logical) while expressing his disgust, anger and humiliation, broke into tears, threw his cap and stormed away. We were voting no unanimously....

20) You may already have been told but your name came up at our meeting with great applause and a call for you to be the next mayor. The contract the Union was requesting was more then fair but the city still couldn't manage to do the minimum. The support in the room was strong.

21) Another problem with the return to work protocol is the absence of any mention of all the information gathered by the private security firm hired to monitor strikers over the last few months.

Normally it would be stated that any information gathered or any misdeeds committed during the strike would be absolved and everyone would start with a clean slate upon returning to work.

I don't think I am alone in saying there is a real fear that it is the intent of Mr. Francis to discipline any employee, up to and including termination he believes to have perpetrated an act with which he has photo, video or audio proof.

I have been told (by supervisors) that cameras had been added to their normal security systems immediately preceeding the strike that were not on line with the rest of the security system. Basically, the supervisors knew there were cameras placed in various areas that they could not monitor or have access to using there current system.

If this is true (I don't believe the supervisors were lying), where was the video feed going, who had access to it and what was the intent of it's use.

I know there are security systems that allow remote access via the internet...

I do believe this would play on the minds of anyone voting today.

These are just a couple of my thoughts for what they are worth.

22) NO NO A THOUSAND TIMES NO

WE WANT EDDIE'S [EXPLETIVE DELETED]

23) Just heard Eddie turning his major goof on return-to-work protocol into CUPE's fault. Accusing of fear mongering and sabotage of the vote. Sending managers to a union meeting? That was a well conceived idea.

24) I’ve been pushing “Do Not Vote”. There’s a large contingent who want that.

25) There had been some yes leaners prior to the managers handing out the protocol.

Rational members are those who are not vociferously parroting the union dogma but raising legitimate questions and trying to explain their own financial dilemmas.

Just read your blog. No, there’s nothing in it about not being fired except in the covering letter. More tricks and chicanery by Eddie.

So much about not blogging until this evening.

26) You "Woodward" needs a "Bernstein".

27) They just brought you up and said arditti for mayor!!

28) ALL CITY MGRS ARE THERE ON INSTRUCTIONS FROM EDDIE TO HAND OUT PAPERS DOCUMENTING THAT THERE WILL BE PROTOCAL AND THEY WILL NOT BE REPRIMANDED OR FIRED WHEN RETURNING TO WORK.
THE ACTUAL STMT HE LEFT OUT OF THE OFFER.
THE STRIKERS SCREAMED AT THEM AND SADLER SAID HE WAS TOLD TO BRING THE PAPERS AND THEY SAID GET OUT OF HERE YOU AS A MANAGERS HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE, THEY ARE SCREAMING AND THROWING THE PAPERS ALL OVER THE PARKING LOT.
THEY SAID THEY ARE VOTING NO TO THE CONTRACT.

29) Bad bad vibe. Police and media

30) You're right on the money with your last blog post...the back to work protocol
is weighing very heavy with the negotiating committee. We'll just have
to wait and see what the outcome is.

31) I'll keep it short. A City of Windsor management person from the West Windsor Polution Control plant came out to chat with our fellow CUPE Brothers & Sisters at that picket site to brag about and show off his latest overtime cheque in the amount of $25,000.00 plus. Nothing like rubbing salt in our open wounds.

This happened before when a supervisor came to work with a brand new Chrysler and thanked all the CUPE workers in our yard for buying and paying for his new car with all his overtime. It didn't sit well with CUPE members then and certainly doesn't sit well now.

Eddie Francis has created a pissing match between himself, CUPE members and taxpayers. Most taxpayers after getting the true facts are very understanding and supportive of our cause. If the PRB are not settled for new hires and we are going to have a two teered system amongst co-workers I'm voting NO on this contact offer.

In all my years with the City of Windsor I have never seen a Mayor be involved or his the arrogance from the beginning of talks. City Councillors seem like they have no backbone to stand up for what they believe and are allowing the Mayor to play with them like his puppets on his strings (his way or the hyway).

Anyhow, thanks for your Blogs, you definetly stir up the thought process, rather that reading the Windsor Star rag paper, which I and most of our membership cancelled and will never have in our homes again due to their one sided reporting.

Thanks again for showing that you check the facts and Blog accordinglly.

32) So let me get this right. The city has sent an offer for a vote and they are still tweeking it with protocal language????????

33) I'm not a religous man, but I'm praying my friends in CUPE have one more round left in them!

34) I have been following your blog for quite some time now. I appreciate your ability to present both sides of the story.

Funny thing is that your blog today is the sentiment of many people I picketed with today. Although we did not come up with refusing to vote on a crappy contract.

As for tomorrow's vote...I personally cannot vote yes for a contract that does not have a back to work protocol. I also know that both Jean and Jim our presidents do not support the proposal. I also know of several people who will also vote no and this is even before knowing what the content of the proposal is!!! We have not walked the line for 13 weeks to fold now although we recognize that we could be out for a very long time. We are expecting that a strong NO vote could force Eddie's hand into arbitration.

I am fed up with the lack of leadership from the union and all their mistakes (which is a really nice way of putting it). I am equally fed up with the lack of negotiating on the City's side and this strike has become very personal to me at times even clouding my judgement. It's a good thing I have your blog to read to bring me back to reality. I believe that this strike will only be resolved by arbitration or back to work legislation. Tomorrow will tell us if we are heading into the lion's den on Friday or Monday or if CUPE's membership has decided to stick together and remain strong.

I for one want to see the OLRB filing resumed and a class action suit started and at the same time negotiations continue.

This is indeed a very scary time to work for the City of Windsor.

35) Cheers,keep writing and many more will keep smiling

36) Do you know any labour lawyers you could send to CUPE?
Big fan of your opinions.
Take care and if anything you have been writing has true merit I hope Cupe legal is already talking to lawyers.

37) Personally I am hoping for a no vote. The mayor is acting like a bully and I learned a long time ago that the only way to get a bully to leave you alone was to stand up to them! If you give a bully a candy or chocolate bar they will return for money the next day.

In my humble opinion unions across Ontario need to lobby the provincial government to end an employer’s ability to bring in replacement workers. Also, picketing Sandra’s and Dwight’s offices for the odd day is not enough. We need a constant presence! They need to know that they will not be left alone until the government forces arbitration!

No matter how things turn out tomorrow thank you so much for your fair and even coverage.

38) I refuse to vote unless it is a supervised vote by the Ministry or the offer is endorsed by my union executive.

39) A very large, bitter pill to swallow. I'd been looking forward to this for weeks! Now all I feel is dread. If I could count on our union to be both sensible and strong, NO would come much easier.

Very well written ED.

40) Thank you for your blogs!!!

I fully agree that CUPE members must stand up and vote a strong NO!

41) I've already passed your link on to a couple of CUPE members and asked them to go viral with it.

42) [RE: CUPE: yes, no or no vote today] S**t, I think you've got a really good point there sir. (I'm an educated professional woman, that language comes from 3 months on the picket lines!)

PS - read and enjoy your blog everyday.

43) The Council and Mayor have tossed the Williams Report outlining progressive ward boundary changes. Most Windsorites would agree that unfairness exists in the present setup with some counselors representing thousands more citizens than others. Despite hours of deliberation and lost motions, city council could only agree to disagree, keeping the status quo.

At some point the municipal workers strike will end, likely on the mayor's terms and he will declare victory. At that point he may ask Council to join him in planning a victory parade. To make it simple I offer these parade suggestions.

One man parade.
Two car parade.
One car, one man.
Two men, no cars, one garbage truck.

Do you think our civic leaders would be able to agree on one of these celebratory options? With the mayor's help do you think they could organize it?

44) I don't know if you watched city council this past week, or if you did you may have missed an off handded comment Eddie made during the many failing votes on the ward restructuring.

If there is any way you need to get a copy and replay it. Towards the end, between one of the last votes, when it looked like everything would fail Eddie said something to the effect of maybe it should just be a one mayor system. To that there were some short laughs. I don't know if it was just him or councillors laughing at the comment, but I think with everything he has done he was more serious than not.

45) We signed up for the election program while at the Caboto today... CUPE had a table at the back. Going to approach it by ward by ward AND mayor. Provincials will be next. Outside before the meeting a nice fellow was there collecting signatures for the ward petition too. We couldn't write our names on there fast enough. I was one of the survivors of the 3 hour "we can't decide on a simple thing even when a pro puts the study together for us" council meeting last week. I need a
survivor shirt for that one!

Not going to get into the attempt by the City to undermine our vote today. There's enough about that everywhere. All I can say is a very nice fellow handed me a paper and when I asked him where this paper was from he said that it was a message from the mayor. That's when all hell broke loose.

Just who our leaders are was quite on our minds as today, we were voting on their very own election platform for 2010 after all. Wonder what options were given to council for them to vote 11-0 for that insulting offer to employees? Is he leading our councillors with his voting?

Really suspect that it was a "You're either with me or against me vote"? As in, "Should we make an offer? Yes or No?" and what could they say to that but yes. I understand that no council meeting was held for the protocol document either...

And just so you understand, the offer is not about money even though that is in there too. The insults throughout the offer are many. Inside these offers they find it completely appropriate to signal out classes of jobs (aka people) and discriminate against seasonals, temporaries, part-timers like it is an okay thing to do. Like it is okay that they be removed from fair and equal treatment.
I understand that it is common practice to do this but that does not make it the right thing to do and I think that people have had enough.

THE MAYOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MANY HARDSHIPS THROUGHOUT OUR CITY FOR THE PAST 6 YEARS. HE TWISTS AND SPINS AND MAKES HIMSELF LOOK LIKE A HERO WHILE EVERYONE ELSE IS SHAKING THEIR HEADS WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED. HAVEN'T WE ALL HAD ENOUGH?

46) My words for CUPE would be to ask membership to vote one more time to reject the offer. The Mayor is only holding a bluff hand. CUPE is so close now to calling that and laying down a royal flush. If the Mayor does not get his way on Thursday it will be a major blow to his campaign. One last time. One last effort. Thats all. CUPE has more support than they know. REJECT THE OFFER. Send this Mayor scrambling. Keep pushing Ed. Maybe between now and tomorrow CUPE members can be convinced. You have their ear.