Cheryl Tippet
New Member
The CAW union is ruthlessly choking the last breath of life out of live thoroughbred racing at Woodbine. This is what the front gate looked like last night, Weds June 25th at 6:30pm (15 minutes to post time).
The sad thing about this is that the strike is not Woodbine's fault. The Canadian Auto Workers union represents the striking casino security workers who want to keep the OLG (which runs the casino) from reducing full time staff and hiring more part time staff. I agree with their position; the OLG is reflective of our provincial government and this really sets a bad example, esp when good jobs are growing scarce and security at the casino is probably more necessary than ever...
But I absolutely loath the bully tactics employed by the CAW. This summer, when innocent carloads of eager racing fans show up at the front gate of Woodbine on race night they'll be forced to wait for half an hour to one hour, and sometimes longer to get into the racetrack parking lot. I heard the wait time at the Queens Plate event on Sunday June 22 was upwards of two hours!
And of course these guys make no apologies. I was rather intimidated when I got to the front of the line. I didn't know what to say. I was both mad and scared. But I'm glad I didn't complain too loudly - as I drove away I noticed there's guy in a nearby brown sedan with a video camera on maximum magnification recording everyone's actions. He is on radio too I imagine. And he carries a clipboard to write down all plate numbers and vehicle descriptions. This is something I find very disturbing.
The sad thing about this is that the strike is not Woodbine's fault. The Canadian Auto Workers union represents the striking casino security workers who want to keep the OLG (which runs the casino) from reducing full time staff and hiring more part time staff. I agree with their position; the OLG is reflective of our provincial government and this really sets a bad example, esp when good jobs are growing scarce and security at the casino is probably more necessary than ever...
But I absolutely loath the bully tactics employed by the CAW. This summer, when innocent carloads of eager racing fans show up at the front gate of Woodbine on race night they'll be forced to wait for half an hour to one hour, and sometimes longer to get into the racetrack parking lot. I heard the wait time at the Queens Plate event on Sunday June 22 was upwards of two hours!
And of course these guys make no apologies. I was rather intimidated when I got to the front of the line. I didn't know what to say. I was both mad and scared. But I'm glad I didn't complain too loudly - as I drove away I noticed there's guy in a nearby brown sedan with a video camera on maximum magnification recording everyone's actions. He is on radio too I imagine. And he carries a clipboard to write down all plate numbers and vehicle descriptions. This is something I find very disturbing.
.
