Tensions Rise
Not charging these guys with assault is not acceptable. The more I read about their aggressive tactics, the less sympathetic I become.
Tensions rise at temporary garbage dumps
Martin Mittelstaedt
Monday, Jul. 13, 2009
The long waits strikers are forcing people to endure at temporary dumpsites prompted Toronto criminal lawyer Peter Lindsay to do what many might consider, if told they would have to sit in their cars for hours before being allowed to drop off bags of their garbage.
Sunday morning, faced with the prospect of wasting three or four hours of his time when he had scheduled client meetings, he got out of his car and walked over to the dump, a fenced compound in Caledonia Park in the Lawrence Ave. West and Dufferin area, and placed his garbage inside. He toted in eight bags from his home and his law practice.
For his efforts, he said he was yelled at and eventually pushed around by two strikers. Police were called, and much to Mr. Lindsay's dismay, they declined to press charges against those he say accosted him. And to add to his feeling that justice sometimes works in strange ways, or doesn't work at all, police later called and told him, as the alleged victim, that he wouldn't be charged either.
The whole episode left him fuming.
“The message that gets out to ordinary members of the public is if you get assaulted by the strikers, don't waste your time seeking the police's help because the police will not help you,†he said.
The tension between the city and the Toronto's 24,000 striking municipal workers continues to mount: Sunday evening, the city announced it had taken its third legal action against the striking workers, with Ontario Superior Court granting a temporary injunction allowing the city to clear the garbage that has been illegally dumped outside the Ingram transfer station.
City workers had been preventing management from moving the garbage into the transfer station, but the management now has until 8 a.m. this morning to do so. The city has gone to the courts twice before: to ensure paramedics were at full strength staffing for the Pride Parade, and to continue the spraying of pesticides at the Christie Pitts dump site.
As the strike by the workers who are responsible for everything from trash collection to daycare centres enters its fourth week Monday the latest tactic by strikers to pressure the city to settle the dispute is to allow only one person every 15 minutes to drop off garbage at some of the temporary dump sites.
At the Caledonia dump, that meant a wait of about six hours for those at the end of the 26- car lineup yesterday afternoon.
The union says it hasn't issued a formal order to picketers to impose a 15-minute wait at all the temporary dump sites.
“There is no standard protocol out there at this point in time,†said Mark Ferguson, president of CUPE local 416, one of the two city locals on strike. “They may be at 15 minutes at some locations. They may be significantly less at others.â€
He said anyone annoyed at the length of the waits should complain to their politicians. “I would suggest that those residents contact city hall and ask that their city councillors end the strike,†he said.
A police spokesman said charges weren't laid in the incident with Mr. Lindsay because of a lack of witnesses, other than the participants. “We make arrests at strikes all the time,†said Staff Sergeant Steve Tutchener of the Toronto police's 32 division, where the Caledonia dump is located.
“The officers there examined the evidence. If they don't think they have enough evidence†they don't lay charges, he said.
Mr. Lindsay said he was surprised the police made their decision to do nothing without taking a witness statement from him. He also photographed the two strikers he claims pushed him around, to help police identify them. While the police were at the site, the strikers decided to shut down all entry to the dump, claiming they had to do so because a police investigation was under way, according to Mr. Lindsay.
“Regardless of what view anyone takes of the strike and who is right and who is wrong, it seems to me that these guys are out of control,†Mr. Lindsay said of the picketers.
City spokesman Kevin Sack said he thinks the tactic of forcing people into long delays at the dumps is counterproductive.
“There is no reason in the world why picketers should want to unnecessarily delay residents. For our part, it's not appropriate and doesn't make sense,†he said.
On the strike, he said negotiations between the unions and the city are continuing, but he declined to characterize whether progress is being made.
Mr. Ferguson said a series of proposals and counterproposals have been made by the two sides over the weekend. But he said talks remain deadlocked, with the union viewing the city as taking positions that will make a settlement more difficult. “We would suggest that the city has actually taken steps backwards,†he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sack said the number of city employees applying to return to their jobs continues to increase, although it remains only small percentage of the work force. The most recent figure is 520, or 2 per cent of employees, about double the number at the end of June.
The city has accepted most of those who wish to return, but isn't able to accommodate some because their workplaces are shut and no alternative work exists, according to Mr. Sack.
Mr. Sack said the city estimates it still has plenty of capacity at its temporary dumps, which range from 30 per cent to 50 per cent full. He said many residents are adhering to the city's request that they keep garbage at their homes for as long as possible.
At the line up outside Caledonia Park, Mario Fazari, said he had been waiting “a couple of hours†to drop off half a bag of garbage that had become too smelly to keep in the house. He said allowing one car in every 15 minutes was “terrible.â€
“I hope they get together and solve this problem,†he said.
With a report from Jennifer Lewington
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