Garbage Collection

[Michael Cayley]

Clearly there are many different ways that the community can pull together during this strike. Please share with us how you and your neighbors are dealing with the situation ...

Should we be thinking about organising private collection or another alternative method of collaboration through Riverdale Rapids?

Is this a ideological question for you? I.e. is this question related to your support for this strike or collective bargaining in general?

How do you think we would go about it self organising? Who has a truck? Do we look towards a private contractor?

Do you have any other views to express about this garbage strike?

[Sharon Howarth]

In the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) the number one is to “Reduce”.

Households all need to be composting for a start so that takes care of food waste.

I agree with much of what Boris says and that the expiration of whatever collective bargaining agreement is reached now, there would be another walkout and service interruption the next time around. It is “overpackaging” that is the source of much of our garbage.

Grass-root efforts such as unwrapping and leaving packaging at the store must still be continued.

Supermarkets and large chain stores are the only link in the supply chain between the manufacturer and the consumer that can “exert pressure” on suppliers to reduce the packaging. Until they have their noses pushed into it they will ignore the problem and pass the cost (social, environmental, and financial) on to us.

Also as Julie says, corporations should be forced to buy back their packaging as they do in other countries such as Germany. This law would have to be Federally enforced as manufacturers are from all over.

A neighbour who has been working on this issue is Karen Buck and individuals meet regularly. She was instrumental in setting up the blue bin program. Who would be willing to meet up and strategize on this ? Please contact me [e-mail]

[Michael Cayley]

Sharon,

Will you please invite Karen here to share her thoughts and explain the work of her group. That will be a more open way to get engagement I think. It will give her a better chance to connect with people of interest and all of us her will get a chance to learn more about her work.

Thanks,
Michael

[Julie McGregor]

http://www.thestar.com/article/660864

We could be composting in our backyards. I'd like to ask Paula Fletcher why Toronto residents were not made aware of this situation until an investigative reporter from the Star revealed the truth about our compost going to landfill?

[charles fajgenbaum]

In order to hire a private company, we would need lots of garbage to fill a bin to make things worthwhile. The Danforth By The Valley BIA makes arrangements for every business to be able to put 3 bags in a dumpster brought in for one hour every Friday, a very good service, but expensive (I believe about $700.00), with members bringing bags to the dumpster. R Rapids people are all over the place, and we would probably need 100 households or more to fll a bin. Then paying for it---Michael, are you volunteering to organise that end? Thought not.

Perhaps though we can ask our councillor to arrange for a dumpsters to be placed in various places through the ward on specific days and times so that we can dump our garbage. And since we are have already paid for garbage pick up, our portion of the taxes could pay for this private service.

O rmaybe we can simply dump our garbage on the lawn of the union heads that think that while everyone else is losing jobs, and seeing less business, they can go on strike. Banking sick days not taken, then getting paid for them is rediculous, but I bet there are lots more examples of dumb stuff in the contract that we are not aware of. I am sure it would be eye opening to see all the absurd clauses that are in the agreement. Of cours I don't want to do that job, but then again I got an education so that I would not have to. Ever so often, you just have to go back to the beginning and start fresh, and maybe this union contract needs to be looked at from ground zero .

[Antonia Zerbisias]

I am uncomfortable with the idea of private collection. (I have seen signs for $4 a bag pick-up, BTW. Look on the telephone poles. Posters are there.)

Fortunately, I have an airtight garage. I can manage, like I did last strike. If it gets really bad, I'll drive down to the temporary dump near Cherry Beach. Sad because, yesterday I was at the beach with my dog, and when the wind changed, I could get a whiff.

I don't think these workers have received a fair shake in the media regarding their situation. They had no pay increases for years, gave up plenty as well. I wouldn't want to do half the stuff they do.

Not that I believe that public workers should hold us hostage, and not that I believe that I should not get a refund on my tax $, but technically we are the employers. That's why I am opposed to private collection. It's tantamount to strike-breaking.

[David Creelman]

The value of total compensation package of public employees (including benefits and perqs) should be comparable to the median for comparable jobs in the private sector. I've worked as a compensation consultant so I know this is not a simple matter but it is the day to day business of consultancies like my former employer, Hay as well as Watson Wyatt, Hewitt etc.

The reason the public is upset is that we suspect their total compensation is far above the private sector. If we thought they were making the minimum wage with no benefits we'd happily let them replace "sick days" with what is called Paid Time Off (and if quite common in the private sector in the US) which lets them use the days even if they are not sick.

Legislation should require that compensation experts assess the comp package perhaps once every 3 years to ensure pay in fair relative to the private sector. If workers strike then we should have the right to replace them.

[Boris Stefanovic]

I would expect that this would be the (sensible) model employed if the matter goes to an arbitrator. The tricky part in scheduling binding arbitration in advance (i.e. every 3 years) would be getting all parties to accept the findings of compensation experts without questioning the impartiality of those experts or the validity of their calculations. There's a reason bargaining is usually preferred to arbitration.

The public is, as you say, upset because of what they suspect. The details of the exact points of contention are hard to find and this speaks again to our role in this dispute: we are spectators to be manipulated by the selective dissemination of details as they serve the disclosing party. In this way the union is portrayed as greedy and the city is portrayed as hypocritical.

As in previous posts I am interested in identifying how an "upset public" can be put to constructive use. The media knows that one such use is to drive the consumption of their product. I suggested aggressively attacking the related overpackaging issue but this was only a suggestion. Others might see this rare occurrence as a financial opportunity ($5 per bag?) but I see it more as a social one.

How can we use this brief "alignment of the planets" to influence meaningful change in our quality of life as a society?

Perhaps it's already too late this time but we can be sure that it will come around again.

[Michael Cayley]

Thanks everyone. Good adds to the conversation ...

[Michael Cayley]

So what does everyone think about the www.onetoronto.ca initiative?