The public should have at least some idea what is being talked about around the negotiating table during this strike.
If this were a private company where unionized workers were striking that would be one thing, but what happens at the City affects all of us and for accountability reasons, we deserve to know what is going on.
The City and the union are negotiating with taxpayer money, and their decisions will affect our future and the future of many municipal public services.
Both the union and the City of Cornwall have stated that they want to negotiate at the table and not in the press, while it is fair that they want to protect the veneer of civility, when it involves the public purse, the public needs to see the truth, warts and all.
The public should know how both sides are acting around the table as both sides ultimately work for the public. If the negotiating team for any side is acting in an immature or obstinate way in these meetings, then as a taxpayer, I want to know about it. Right now, there is very little that we do know about this strike other than which public services that have been affected.
There have been very few details about what has gone on around the negotiating table. I was told by representatives of the union that the City of Cornwall initially included in its offer a pay increase of zero percent on a one-year contract. I also know that these elements of the offer have since been taken off the table, whether they have been replaced by an offer of a pay increase or a longer contract, we do not know.
I do find it fascinating that the City had the gall to offer not even a cost of living adjustment to employees who haven’t received a raise in two, and in some cases, three years.
Ultimately, what it comes down to is that both the City and the union are parlaying with public services and public money. The public has a right to know why their daycare, public pool and library are still closed after two weeks of strike. The public also has a right to know if a fair deal is being negotiated not just for the City of Cornwall or the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), but also for the taxpayers.
What do you think of the ongoing municipal strike? Email a Letter to the Editor to nicholas.seebruch@tc.tc
