Let the games begin

I’m not sure what report the Star’s lead anti-CUPE crusader read; but the contracting out report destined to council for November 16, raises some very important points that councillors must consider – especially in consideration of  the Collective Agreement they must all be familiar with.

But do not look to Mr. Vander Doelen to give you all the facts before launching his unending tirade against CUPE.  I suppose as an “opinion” writer, that is his perogative; but perhaps I expect too much of local media to assist residents in making informed decisions.

Mr. Vander Doelen writes:

The report, distributed to council on Friday, says the city could save between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of the $4 million it spends annually collecting household garbage and yard waste.

Not entirely accurate.   The report actually states:

A review of literature would suggest that savings anywhere between 10% and 20% could be expected in the contracting out of waste collections services. In Windsor’s case, this would translate to approximately $400,000 to $800,000. (10% – 20% of waste collection ($3.2-million) and 10%-20% of yard waste collection ($800,000). However, without bids in hand to evaluate, it is impossible to definitively provide any detailed financial analysis.

It is not as cut and dry as  the columnist suggests.

According the report, the city has been engaged in discussions with CUPE since 1977 to continue their quest for “continuous improvement” in making garbage collection more efficient and as a result of these discussions, further savings could be found:

The concept of ‘continuous improvement’ has been a doctrine in this work area for over 30 years and productivity gains and cost reductions have occurred every year during this period.

But Mr. Vander Doelen portrays this as something that was only started because the contracting out issue was raised:

And in the decades since, every time council has threatened to contract out more work, CUPE suddenly finds a way to bring its labour costs down.

Isn’t that a good thing?  That’s the negotiation process this Mayor and council continually fail at.

Mr. Vander Doelen also failed  to outline the potential pitfalls should council proceed with contracting out.

Pitfalls that could see any savings realised in contracting out garbage/yard waste collection eliminated by increased labour costs in other areas because of the collective agreement negotiated by this council specifically Article 26 of the agreement which guarantees that no CUPE member can be laid off for any reason – something I wrote about on August 20, 2009 in “Contracting Out:  A Political Diversion?’

How would this play out? 

Well, if you contracted out garbage service the city would have to find jobs for the employees affected and this suggests taxpayers would also have to pay additionally for the collection of refuse.

And contrary to the whining image Mr. Vander Doelen is attempting to paint of CUPE (which is rather funny considering it was signed off by non-union employees); the report recommends, if council chooses to do so, phasing in the contracting out regime as employees retire:

Phasing in the contracting out of services will most effectively manage Article 26 (Job Security) issues. The phasing in of contracted garbage/yard waste collection services would result in a hiring freeze in Environmental and required staffing reductions would be achieved through retirements, normal attrition and employee transfers. This phasing option will allow the transition to occur in a structure fashion that will minimize impacts on other departments, corporate budgets and employees.

And the report states that beginning with the contracting out of recycling would be the least disruptive as it relates to the collective agreement and funding for student employment.

Contrary to the image the columist is desperate to portray; the report does give several options to councillors – but you wouldn’t know it.

Failure to negotiate

Millions of dollars have been spent by this Mayor and council simply because they have failed to negotiate – with the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel negotiations and the ongoing border battle as fresh examples.

Mr. Vander Doelen uses his catch-all argument that we will not be held hostage by a CUPE strike.

Well, it doesn’t have to be that way, as the report suggests.  Alternatives do exist.  The report reads:

If the main impetus for contracting out is the concern of maintaining service continuity at all times, even during a strike, then an option could be to pursue talk with the Union aimed at making ‘garbage pickup’ a critical service.

Although declaring something as an “essential service” could mean arbitration -  a 4-letter word for the majority of this council.

But being held hostage by CUPE? 

Please. 

It takes two to tango,  and if you actually read the in-camera minutes of the strike – a vast majority of this council including the Mayor  refused to allow the city’s negotiating team to discuss any option that could realise their goal and inflict the least disruption on residents. 

In fact, the exact opposite occurred.

You know, I can appreciate that people are upset – even angry - over the strike – both sides screwed up royally and both sides deserve to be held accountable for how this strike unfolded.

I can also appreciate the various ideological positions being expressed from the left and the right.

But in the end, one would hope that all factors would be considered as cooler heads prevail - especially factors that could actually increase costs to ratepayers.

Residents deserve to have that information to make a fully informed decision and given the Star’s stance on openess and transparency, one would think they would ensure this on the pages of their own paper.

If certain elected officials could get over their adversarial selves, as history has shown as outlined in the contracting out report, their objectives can be met.