TORONTO — The inside-workers union is blaming Mayor John Tory’s city hall for cutting off contract talks with a take-it-or-leave-it “final offer” — though both sides say they’re eager to return to the bargaining table despite finger pointing over who stopped negotiations.
And in an unusual twist, the city has posted its proposed contract online, with Tory appealing directly to union members to read it and decide for themselves whether it is agreeable.
Tory told reporters Sunday morning the city made an offer to CUPE Local 79 Saturday night that addressed the union’s key demands — including job security — and included the same 5 per cent over four years wage increase accepted by the outside-workers union last week.
“We thought we were heading last night to getting a deal,” he said.
“We thought it was time to say OK, here we are, let’s sign this up.”
But Tory said that within hours Local 79 rejected the city’s “fair and reasonable” proposal and then dismissed the lead provincial mediator, putting a halt to negotiations.
But the union disputed that, telling reporters shortly after that the city’s proposal was offered as a take-it-or-leave-it affair.
“We rejected the final offer — we were told it was a final offer, with no further movement. So the city stopped negotiating, not Local 79,” president Tim Maguire said.
Maguire said the union didn’t dismiss the mediator and doesn’t know why Tory said they did, and has clarified with the neutral go-between that “we’re here to negotiate.”
For his part, Tory said the city’s bargaining team is also ready to resume talks once the local returns to the table.
“We’re certainly waiting by the phone and quite willing and anxious to have the mediator back at it.”
READ MORE: City workers will ‘ramp up’ work-to-rule if talks don’t progress: union president
Tory declined to say whether he thought the proposal put the union in a position to either accept it or walk away.
The city also posted the text of their proposal online, with Tory saying the union’s members could read it — amounting to an end-run around Local 79’s bargaining team.
Maguire said the move hinders negotiations, and that the entire list of proposals was never shared before.
“I don’t think its helpful for the city to post its offers. It’s disrespectful for the negotiation process and I have a team of people elected and appointed by our members and they have been given the mandate to represent our members.”
Tory denied the move amounted to negotiating in public, saying both sides have shared details of bargaining offers through the media.
“It was meant to be open and transparent so the members of the union… can see exactly, not an editorialized version of what we’re doing, but the exact wording of what we’re doing and get it without the filter of what I say or what they say on the other side.”
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Tory outlined some of the city’s proposals to reporters, such as a six-month master schedule for part-time workers, but Maguire said that was the first the union has heard of them.
“Some of the proposals that the mayor talked about earlier, quite frankly we haven’t seen them,” Maguire said.
A source briefed on the talks said later the specifics laid out by the mayor are included the city’s contract offer.
Maguire said the city’s latest offer doesn’t do enough for job security, saying it creates a “two-tier job protection system” where some inside workers would be at risk of outsourcing. He said the issue of pay wasn’t paramount in negotiations.
The union is continuing its work-to-rule campaign into a second week Monday, and Maguire said they will they review “all our other options in the days and weeks ahead.”
“We are making best efforts not to disrupt public services,” he said.
When asked if the weekend developments make striking the union’s only next move, Maguire said “we don’t feel that’s our only choice.”
The union’s 23,000 members work in city child care centres, community centres, city hall offices and other jobs.
A legal strike or lockout has been possible since Feb. 20.
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