Dear Editor
I spent half an hour yesterday morning on the picket line with members of the Service Employees Union Local 2. These are the ‘outside’ workers the Town of South Bruce Peninsula locked out of work on Sunday, April 3rd. These workers include our roads crew, arena workers and dump attendants.
Their morale is high. Coffee and donut donations are flooding in from members of the public and other Unions. Lunch was brought in by a downtown business person.
The irony of these hard working people asking Council to reconsider their less than inflationary offer while the Council deals with expenditures in millions of dollars is mind boggling.
The irony of these hard working people asking Council to reconsider their less than inflationary offer while inside management receives 5%+ raises year on year is also mind boggling.
Council’s initial offer to the Union was 1% for each of the next three years plus a reduction in dental benefits. Yes, that’s true. In these inflationary times and after not receiving any raise in 2021, our Council offered 1%.
What a slap in the face for the same crew who plowed our roads all winter. I’m embarrassed as a taxpayer.
The 4.5% ask by the Union can’t be reduced without these crews seeing a reduction in their real wages year on year. The Council screams ‘14.5% is too high over 3 years’ yet they are underpaid when compared to Bruce County and Georgian Bluffs equivalent jobs. Bruce County is hiring labourers right now at $27.79 per hour; the highest paid TSBP outside worker (with nearly 30 years experience) is making $26.64; a 4.5% raise would pay them $27.84. Bruce County starts at nearly an identical wage than our experienced workers would get right now with a 4.5% bump.
The vast majority of our locked out workers have over five years experience in this type of job. They know our roads and our trouble spots. They receive a pitiful $14 a day for standby pay in the winter and they miss Christmas year after year. Do we really want them to leave to higher paying jobs in Georgian Bluffs or Bruce County? Then what will we do?
Meeting their demands over the next three years will cost the Town approximately $60,000 in year 1.
That’s right. $60,000. All this drama from our Council over $60,000.
Two weeks ago, Council had a discussion about an Aquatic Facility with an estimated building cost of $23 Million with yearly deficits beginning at $500,000. In an ironic twist, it is these same workers who would be performing the maintenance on this facility!
To meet the workers FULL wage demands, it would cost our Council $60,000 in year 1.
Yes, our budget can handle this. Last year, our budget handled excess legal fees of $1.76 million which went to Toronto lawyers arguing re: the Town’s destruction of plover habitat. This extra $60k will go to workers who will spend it in our community.
Yes we have the funds and yes our Council should back down; it never should have been escalated in the first place.
Council is made up of 5 people of which 3 need to agree to turn the tide on this ugly episode.
I implore any and all members of Council to stand with the workers that plow your roads and end this embarrassing saga!
I also implore the Council to listen to your constituents when we say that these workers deserve both pay parity and a wage that increases with inflation. The Council of TSBP is supposed to work for its taxpayers and this is what I demand for our valued workers. Respectfully yours,
Melanie Hepburn
Concerned taxpayer of TSBP
