Toronto the Good: Toronto the Fair: Oh, the stink of the garbage, City garbage workers on strike

CTV.ca reports on the deplorable strike that is backing up garbage everywhere in Toronto at present. Maybe the strike is valid, but I doubt it. Nevertheless, the law (based on the adversary system of industrial relations, a holdover from the bad old days) almost requires these periodic strikes, in this case especially because the workers have gone without a contract of any kind for some months. Bad practice by the city, to which the union has responded by waiting for the heat of the summer when the immediate consequences of backed-up garbage affects not just residents alone, but visitors and tourists too.

Some city residents angry over how the city has made Christie Pits park a temporary dumping ground say they've obtained a document that shows the city will be expanding such dumps elsewhere.

Govind Rao of the Friends of Christie Pits told ctvtoronto.ca on Monday that his group sent an inquiry about what chemicals are being used to control insects and vermin at the temporary dump sites, one of which is in a hockey rink at Christie Pits, which is north of Bloor Street West and west of Christie Street.

The response came from the pest control company. "In their response, by mistake, they sent us ... a list of all the different dumpsites," he said.

It's time for the province of Ontario which controls labour relations, to dispose of the obsolescent adversary worldview in industrial relations. The province should pluralize the government-related unions, and put the Christian Labour Association of Canada on the secret ballot for garbage workers to elect representation based on labour-relations values (workview), elect representation proportionately from all the union centrals the variously-minded workers choose.

Further Research:

Will strike save city money?