Archive for January, 2010
Everyone Loves to Hate TTC Employees – And It’s Wrong
I’ve said many times over the years that TTC employees, specifically members of the Amalgamated Transit Union 113 are probably the worst treated public workers of any of the unionized municipal employees. On average a TTC employee is assaulted by a rider daily, and we all I’m sure can recall hearing insults hurled, things yelled at, and comments made about transit workers throughout the course of our own travels. It’s shameful.
Now there are photos appearing of transit workers appearing to be asleep on the job. I have to say when I first saw it, my initial reaction was like many, and I was annoyed. But thinking about it, it became clear that I don’t know enough about the individual to know whether this is medically related or what is going on in their life.
Transit users in the city rely on our TTC employees to literally get us where we’re going. Without the TTC I would have a serious problem getting to work, and certainly couldn’t live where I live and work where I work. I know when I use public transit I am thankful for the workers who drive the buses and help me get to where I’m going because I literally couldn’t live my life the way I do if they didn’t do what they do.
I understand the frustration many have had after seeing this photo, but I still think it is totally inappropriate to use a photo of a sleeping transit worker to attack TTC employees or an individual who could quite likely be suffering a medical problem the individual taking the photo did not know about. I agree with the ATU 113 officials who suggested a better plan of action would have been knocking on the glass and asking the individual if he was OK instead of opting to humiliate him.
I agree things could be a lot better with Transit and sometimes customer service is a part of that. We’ve all met snarly drivers, collection booth agents, and others, but the public treatment of TTC workers certainly doesn’t help improve the situation and does put the union in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation that hurts the City as a whole and all of us in the process.
We need transit workers to keep Toronto moving. Mutual goodwill is the best way to ensure the table is set for fruitful, and uneventful negotiations that can see the TTC to operate without labour interruption. As riders we should pick our battles and recognize this incident isn’t worth the alienation it causes or the energy expended trying to get to the bottom of it, in what has largely become a PR exercise that is somehow tied to the transit fare increase. I suspect whatever the reason it appears this individual is sleeping would still exist if a metro pass was $109, and not $121.
I feel bad for the individual whose face has now been published in each of Toronto’s major paper, and gone viral on Twitter, and think each of us needs to recognize that human decency should keep us from humiliating members of the public service. I suspect if the individual in question was a member of a union that is less targeted for criticism, and not a transit worker we wouldn’t be seeing their picture in the paper or on twitter, and someone would have done the right thing, and checked in on them to ensure they were OK.
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Comments OffReaction to Ontario’s Deal with Samsung
Ontario’s deal with Samsung is unprecedented and has even those in support of building industrial turbines in Ontario taken aback. The fact that a Cabinet Minister entered talks with a foreign corporation and negotiated a $6 billion dollar deal with unheard of exceptions and preferential treatment should have all Ontarians concerned. Even Cabinet is split. Samsung’s deal will see grid capacity held for them in two counties where they want to install turbines, preventing other projects. Samsung will be allowed to construct a 100 MWs of solar panels over prime farmland, where all others are not allowed to by law.
Samsung has been allowed to cherry pick where they would place industrial turbines. Local municipalities and citizens with valid concerns have been shut out, because Ontario’s Green Energy Act strips municipalities of their right to participate in planning decisions for renewable energy projects, and prevents citizens from playing a meaningful role as well.
Ontario electricity users will pay Samsung even more than the current subsidized rates given to other wind or solar producers, meaning this project make even less economic sense than the others. The increased cost of electricity will hurt working families and chase even more manufacturing jobs from Ontario to other, more competitive jurisdictions.The 4,000 jobs being proposed doesn’t even come close to replacing the 350,000 manufacturing jobs lost in Ontario since 2003 or the others we can expect to lose when consumers start paying for this.
Over 100 Ontarians report adverse health impacts from improperly placed industrial wind turbines. The Government is in court where they trying to defend their decision to refuse to conduct an independent health study on the impacts of these industrial devices or regulate internationally recognized setbacks for turbines from people, making this deal even more inappropriate.
This isn’t about climate change. Even the President of the Canadian Wind Energy Association recognizes that because just 12% of carbon emissions in Ontario come from energy production, turbines can’t play a significant in addressing climate change.
Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of 42 groups in 27 counties, will not make this easy for Samsung. We have members in the counties put aside for Samsung, and residents in 25 other counties who are prepared to stand up and fight to ensure Samsung isn’t the latest to build a profit driven project, that ignores the legitimate negative health, environmental and economic impacts they cause.
John Laforet is President of Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of 42 groups in 27 counties standing up to irresponsible industrial wind turbine developments facing their communities. For more information on Wind Concerns Ontario please visit http://www.windconcernsontario.org
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Comments OffEra of Entitlement at City Hall Must End
Toronto City Council often demonstrates some of the most brazen abuse of citizens you will find in government. Whether it’s annual tax increases double the rate of inflation, new service fees, unchecked spending and waste, fighting to preserve their pay increases, perks and goodies – even as the City struggles with massive deficits. It’s all wrong and demonstrates how out of touch they are with reality. Our taxes are going to go up again this year, probably by 4-5% to keep up with out of control spending and to solve a half billion dollar deficit that includes crass moves like paying each other’s legal bills.
The Heaps vote demonstrated a new level of inappropriate behaviour among Councillors. They voted for something they knew was indefensible, and not legally allowed, even after being advised by the City Solicitor. Those who stuck around to vote in favour of this motion do have some explaining to do, and let’s hope this current legal action against them will begin to wise Councillors up to the fact that they aren’t lifers with fiefdoms, but instead, representatives with four year terms.
It’s worth noting the legal actions funded by Council for other Councillors have related to election stuff. Councillors are notorious tax dollar abusers during campaigns, whether it’s having their campaign run by a member of their staff who draws their salary and does little City work, or using their office budgets for some final flashy ‘look at me’ pieces just before the vote.
I hope the Toronto Party and others continue to hold Councillors who misappropriate our money for their financial gain accountable. I know personally whether I win or lose, I will never allow myself to fall into the trap of self-service nor will I sit by and condone others abusing or misusing taxpayer money for financial gain. Residents work too hard, get taxed too much and don’t get enough in return already. Perhaps if we had a fresher stock on Council, members would think like taxpayers, and the bubble that allows them to act the way they do could be broken.
I would hope to see the next Council wash it’s hands of the practice of paying the legal fees of Councillors, and for Council to impose internal watchdog standards to end self interested, self serving spending by Councillors for Councillors.
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