Days, weeks, months to come will prove that in-house works best — union.
August 7, 2012: As the City of Toronto handed over the collection of solid waste west of Yonge Street to a private firm, officials from the Toronto Civic Employees Union (CUPE Local 416) announced August 7 that the union has set-up a special hotline for people to call if they have concerns or complaints about the reduced quality of service they will receive.
"August 7 wass a bad day for all residents of Toronto and a sad day for working people across the city," said Mark Ferguson, president of CUPE 416.
"It was a bad day for residents because it's the day where we collectively lost control and oversight of a critical public service. It was a sad day for workers because it represents yet another step towards poorer wages, less security and less dignity for all working people," he added.
“Green For Life, the private operator the city handed our members’ jobs over to, is now subsidized by the Toronto taxpayer to the tune of millions of dollars a year for the next decade.”
To ensure residents affected by the change can register their concerns or complaints, Local 416 has established a "Waste Watchers" hotline. Residents who observe shoddy service, mixing of waste streams (garbage, recyclables, organics), dangerous driver activity or other problems are encouraged to contact 1-866-419-2227 and make a report.
"Green For Life, the private operator the city handed our members' jobs over to, is now subsidized by the Toronto taxpayer to the tune of millions of dollars a year for the next decade. Local 416 will do everything in its power to ensure that they have the necessary oversight to be held accountable," said Ferguson.
"For quality, value and effective control, the best way to deal with Toronto's solid waste is in-house. That's not an opinion; that's a fact we are confident will be demonstrated time and again in the weeks, months and years to come," he added.
Related individuals, organizations and significant events
Enzo Di Matteo of Now Toronto reports on the first few days of private trash collection in Toronto and pits the spin against the real deal on issues ranging from costs versus savings to customer complaints to the city's future trash privatization plans: Privatized garbage pickup a disaster from day one — 500 households missed: Ford admin's experiment with privatized garbage pickup gets off to a stinky start.
Links and sources
CUPE 416 announces "Waste Watchers" hotline for residents to report problems
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