Windsor CUPE Workers Reject Contract Offer

I have been saying for some weeks now, including my post of yesterday, that CUPE workers in the City of Windsor have been taking a real beating from our friendly news folks over at the Windsor Star. The orchestration of these attacks has been, in my view, so blatant, one would think Windsor Star management is part of the Windsor City Council. CUPE workers had no real way of fighting back until yesterday. I, along with many others, underestimated their deep-seated anger.

Yesterday, I said CUPE would accept the City offer by a vote of 64%. I ran into a couple of my readers while grocery shopping in Amherstburg yesterday afternoon, who thought my number was very low. My reply was "64% may be a bit high." Well, obviously the no vote carried the day, and the contract offer went down in flames.

There were some odd things about the vote, though. No real count was made public, and nearly 700 of the almost 1800 strikers did not bother to vote.

The big question this morning: where do we go from here? If CUPE will not accept signing bonuses, more than 6% in wage increases over 4 years, pension and holiday protection for the time on strike, and more, then what is their bottom line?

The answer to that question is easy: CUPE workers want to overturn the obviously successful Windsor Star campaign, to polarize and vilify. Unfortunately for the Windsor Essex region, this is not the first time the Windsor Star and its management have overplayed their cards to the detriment of our community. A lot of unnecessary poison has been created.

Will CUPE Windsor Vote to End Strike?

Well, it's been over 100 days since CUPE Locals 82 and 543 went out on strike. In retrospect, for CUPE workers, the strike was lost before it started. You could call this "the Battle of the Little Bighorn".

I have written several posts about this strike, and have kept my neutrality throughout, as I wanted to see this strike with clear vision. I especially wanted to understand the "politics" of this strike.

Right out of the starting gate, CUPE was attacked by the Windsor Star. Star opinion writers, editorial writers, headline writers (if that is what they are called) and news reporters, boy, they all piled on. Every real or imagined mistep by CUPE leaders and workers was amplified on the pages of the Windsor Star; believe me, they went all out. This is not to say that CUPE leaders were error free--they were not--and some CUPE members did some real goofy stuff.

Recently, a Windsor Star Editorial admitted that sometimes "Polarization is not always bad and it has often been a necessary step in important causes and movements." That sums up their position, clear as day.

As I have said many times, the Windsor Star and other such papers have a right and duty to publish strong opinions via editorials and opinion writers; they have several of them, and they get lots of space. But for management to use the news reporters and the full weight of the newspaper itself to attack and vilify an organization is wrong. In case we had forgotten, the Windsor Star reminded us (by their actions) that strikes are not only about about money, benefits, and working conditions, they are also about power.

With political cover from the Windsor Star, it was easy for council members like Alan Halberstadt to jump on board as the train left the station. CUPE has promised retaliation against such council members next election. My advice to CUPE: "speak softly and carry a big stick".

There will be a strike vote today on the City of Windsor offer to CUPE workers. CUPE workers will vote to go back to work, my guess 64% in favour.

Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien Honoured

The "little guy from Shawinigan", as former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien is affectionately known, was recently honoured by Queen Elizabeth II, receiving Canada's highest civil honour, The Order of Merit.

The Order of Merit, is a British and Commonwealth Order given by the Monarch. Canada is one of the 53 independent members of the Commonwealth. The Order was established in 1902 by King Edward VII. It is the Sovereign's personal gift, and ministerial advice is not required. This means that the current Prime Minister Stephen Harper need not be consulted. However I would guess and it's just a guess, Prime Minister Harper was advised and or consulted.

The Order is a reward for distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, the promotion of culture and public service.

Chrétien practiced law in Shawinigan until he was first elected to the House of Commons as a Liberal from the riding of Saint-Maurice–Laflèche in the 1963 election. He would represent this Shawinigan-based riding, renamed Saint-Maurice in 1968, for all but eight of the next 41 years. Four of those years were spent in retirement, 1986 to 1990, four more were spent representing the riding of Beausejour, New Brunswick, as he made his comeback.

I first met Jean Chrétien during his visit to Amherstburg, Ontario, in 1976 or so, when he was a cabinet minister and I was a newly elected MPP. This was the first of many meetings with the former Prime Minister. My most memorable visit with Prime Minister Chrétien was around 1988, in the privacy of his hotel suite in Toronto, just he and I. During this meeting he told me of his planned comeback, which was already public knowledge, and I pledged to him my support.

Chrétien was elected Prime Minister in 1993 as he lead the Liberal Party to victory. He was elected Prime Minister two more times before retiring in 2003.

Prime Minister Chrétien's very long and successful political career included many highlights. He was justice minister during the repatriation of the Constitution and the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. He stopped Canada's big banks from merging, read my post dated of May 21, 2009. But most importantly, he fought for one united strong Canada.

Windsor City Council Fails to Change Ward System

According to a report in this morning's Windsor Star, Council members spent 3 hours and nearly a dozen failed motions, before happily giving up on changing the current bloated and numerically distorted ward system.

I am sure the Council members were exhausted, and the reporters too, but at the end of it, every Council member position and chance for re-election was preserved.

This whole thing started out well enough. Council admitted that the 30 year old system was outdated, they hired a consultant, allocated $50,000 from the grateful taxpayer, and said a new ward system should be in place before the next election. Read the paragraphs below which I copied from the City of Windsor website.


Ward Boundary Review
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Introduction

On December 8, 2008, City Council approved CR497/2008 with a recommendation for a full comprehensive ward boundary review to be undertaken in the City Windsor with the assistance of a consultant.

CR497/2008,

That the City Clerk BE DIRECTED that a full comprehensive Ward Boundary Review BE UNDERTAKEN which could result either in the creation of new ward boundaries or the dissolution of the existing ward boundaries for the 2010 election, and a possible change in the representation of council members. Such a review would be undertaken with the assistance of a Consultant and the project would have an allocated budget of $50,000.00 to be funded from the unallocated 2009 balance as a pre-commitment to the 2009 Budget. In this option, the City Clerk would be directed to engage a Consultant pursuant to the provisions of the Purchasing By-law, and, the Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager would be directed to execute a contract for such consulting services satisfactory in technical content to the City Clerk, in financial content to the City Treasurer and in legal form to the City Solicitor.

Since that time, CAO report #1084 authorized Council Services Department to engage the services of Dr. Robert Williams, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo to provide the consulting services required to direct an independent review of the City’s ward boundaries. Dr. Williams specializes in municipal affairs, Ontario politics and electoral systems.

Objective

To conduct a comprehensive review of the municipal ward boundaries in the City of Windsor in order to arrive at an effective and equitable system of representation. Insofar as possible, the review should accommodate for growth in the City for at least the next 10 years. The revised ward structure is to be in place for the 2010 municipal election.

Parameters

The review will be conducted within the following parameters:

Respect the principle of "effective representation" as enunciated by the Supreme Court in its decision on the Carter case;
Build from the experience gained through other municipal ward boundary reviews and the outcome of OMB hearings in those cases where a review has been appealed (Best Practices);
Insofar as possible, develop a ward structure that will accommodate growth and population shifts for at least 10 years;
Conduct all steps in the work program including research, public consultation, review of options with the public and provisions for a final report and recommendations to Council no later than July 2009.

Guiding Principles

Subject to the overriding principle of "effective representation" as set out in the Carter decision, the following criteria will be referred to for guidance in the conduct of the review:

Communities of interest and neighbourhoods: It is desirable to avoid fragmenting traditional neighbourhoods or communities of interest within the City;
Consideration of representation by population: To the extent possible, and bearing in mind the requirements for effective representation, wards should have reasonably equal population totals. Given the geography and varying population densities and characteristics in the City of Windsor, a degree of variation will be acceptable;
Consideration of present and future population trends: Insofar as possible, the ward structure should accommodate growth for at least 10 years;
Consideration of physical features as natural boundaries: Wards should have a coherent, contiguous shape and the boundaries should be straightforward and easy to remember.

Contact:

Dr. Robert Williams, Consultant: windsorwardreview@hotmail.com
Windsor City Clerk's Office: clerks@city.windsor.on.ca
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In my opinion, there is only one thing that stopped the Council from moving to a new ward system, reflective of current population trends and the need for fewer elected officials: self interest.

Let's see if the Windsor Star polarizes the community over this issue. After all, what could be more important than how we are governed?

Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis should not let this stand. He should show the same determination on this important issue as he has shown while debating the Canal Project, the new Windsor Arena and the current CUPE strike.

Let me repeat what I said yesterday. The City of Windsor could get along just fine and very efficiently with 6 Wards, one elected official per Ward and a Mayor. As a matter of fact, City Council proved my very point last night.

Windsor City Council and the Ward System

There will be lots and lots of politics tonight at Windsor City Council. According to the Windsor Star, the Council will be dealing with a $50,000 consultant's report on the overhaul of the current "Ward System".

It goes without saying that the current way Windsor citizens elect councillors is outdated, but not for the reasons some Council members will tell you. Yes the 5 wards, with 2 council members per ward is unbalanced as far as population numbers are concerned, but that is a pretty easy fix.

The current system is outdated primarily because we have too many Council members, who basically make full-time wages when committee pay is factored in. Yes, and don't forget one third of their wages is tax free. That is why Council members like Alan Halberstadt, who basically has no other work, other than one column a month and some scuttlebutt (which is a Halberstadt specialty) in Biz X magazine, continue to favour a large council.

A Mayor and 10 Council members for a medium sized Canadian city like Windsor is too large a body to be effective. My bet is that Halberstadt will support 8 wards and one Council member per ward. However in my view that is not the right balance, is wrong for Windsor, and self-serving.

The City of Windsor could mange just fine with 6 wards and one Council member per ward plus the Mayor.

News, Bias, and the Windsor Star

If you took a look at our very own Windsor Star, both yesterday and today, you would not know that world leaders had gathered, and were meeting in L'Aquila, Italy, for the 2009 G8 Summit. One would think, that for such a major event with possible significant business consequences, assistant chief honcho and editor Marty Beneteau would have dispatched supersnooper Grace Macaluso to do a real, in-depth story about the whole summit. Something may still be reported in tomorrow's paper; we will have to wait and see.

So far, I guess, the news reporters are too busy beating up on City of Windsor striking CUPE workers and polarizing the community. Yes, I know CUPE has behaved badly, wrong strike at the wrong time, public sector wages and benefits have to be in line with the private sector. I agree with all that. That is not the issue with me, and never has been.

The real issue is how the Windsor Star has reported all this, and the ethics behind it.

This is what I think: Chief Honcho and Publisher Jim Venney should write a front page editorial and build on the recent admission from the Windsor Star editorial pages that sometimes it is good to polarize the community. He should explain further, and tell us what he really means by that.

You see, the more readers understand, in my view anyway, that normal operating procedures at the Windsor Star are all about editorial and management opinion driving the news, the better able readers in Windsor-Essex will be in detecting bias. What could be more important when trying to understand a subject matter or the news of the day??

The G8 Summit in L'Aquila Italy

The G8 Summit started yesterday in L'Aquila, which is located in the central Italian region of Abruzzo. The summit includes more than 8 countries, but more on that in a moment.

L'Aquila, the beautiful medieval city, which is near Abbateggio, the small mountain village where I was born, was recently devastated by a series of earthquakes; surrounding towns were also smashed. In L'Aquila alone 294 were killed and more than 50,000 left homeless.

L'Aquila, which means the eagle in Italian, was initially completed as a city in 1254. It is the capital of the region of Abruzzo and the cultural centre as well. L'Aquila is home to the Spanish Fort (Forte Spagnolo),which was constructed in 1534, and the church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, built in 1270. The church is a magnificent structure, and it is also where the hermit, Pietro del Morrone, was consecrated as Pope Celestine V.

In 1989, as Minister of Revenue in the David Peterson government, I assisted Premier Peterson on a trade mission to Italy. We brought more than 200 business leaders from Ontario on this important trade mission, and the entire delegation spent time in L'Aquila. As well, over the years I and my family have made several trips to L'Aquila.

The G8 Summit was originally planned to be held on the beautiful island of Sardinia. However, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi moved the location to L'Aquila, so Italians and others around the world would not easily forget the devastated city.

I have to tell you, I am getting a little sick and tired of all the protesters at the G8 and other world summits. Protesting, and strongly protesting, is one thing, no problem with that, but trying to stop these meetings from taking place is something else. If all of us stopped every meeting we didn't like, not even the protesters would be able to have a meeting.

Anyway, the G8 Summit was originally started in 1975, as a conference of the world's industrialized democracies, and includes, Canada (which joined in 1977), France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia, which formally joined the group in 1997. The G8 is informal in structure and does not have a permanent secretariat. But when leaders get together, important ideas are discussed and some of these ideas move forward, that is why non-member countries request invitations to these meetings. After all, G8 countries represent 49% of global exports, 51% of industrial output, and 49% of the assets in the International Monetary Fund.

The leaders, of course, get all the attention, but the agenda includes ministerial meetings, and ministers responsible for various portfolios discuss issues of mutual and global concern. The topics include health, labour, energy, terrorism, trade and much more.

The G8 has kind of a sub group, which includes Mexico, China, India, South Africa, and Brazil. Speculation is that the G8 will formally grow in size to anywhere from 13 to 16 members. Anyway, at this year's summit, 39 countries were invited, which in my view makes for a logistical nightmare and takes away from the original intent of the group. Democracies in the Northern Hemisphere do have common issues and concerns that they as a group should deal with. There are many other forums where other countries are included.

Some of the main topics for the 2009 G8 Summit are: the economic crises, how to boost international trade, climate change, development in the poorer countries, and for a complete agenda please click here. Whatever we think of these conferences, let's hope the results improve our world.

Where is Your Car Made??

So you think you know where your car is made? Maybe not.

Essex County Council recently passed a motion supporting a buy Canadian policy. The motion was loudly supported by the two weakest performers on the County Council, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Tecumseh. These two have recently become famous over dog poop, read my post of June 25/09.

The "dog poop duo" were promoting a resolution that was making the rounds at the behest of the Windsor and District Labour Council. So it wasn't even their idea, just playing to the grandstands. Canada is an exporting country: we sell more than we buy, so we need to be very careful about stuff like this.

The United States Congress passed the American Automobile Labeling Act, in 1992. This legislation requires automakers to disclose the percentage, by cost, of U.S. and Canadian parts in most cars and light trucks. In the U.S. you can find the numbers listed on the window stickers. The Americans are running huge trade deficits, so I understand their motivation, and it's nice that they include Canada as part of U.S. content. But the legislation in my view is a nightmare.

The folks over at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, are focused on the auto industry, world wide. While serving as Chairman of the Board of the Windsor Essex Development Commission (WEDC), I and the Commission staff worked very closely with the Center for Automotive Research. They are an important group, both on a regional and international scale. I hope the new WEDC board, when appointed, continues to foster a close working relationship with CAR.

The Center for Automotive Research recently stated that things like research, design, and assembly and where these things are done is also important information for consumers. Currently this is not factored into the content rules. So, in addition to research and design, excluded from this U. S. legislation, is something as basic as the value of the labour of autoworkers assembling the vehicle. This is not Fair Play, if the goal is to do a comparison, and for sure gives a distorted view of where the car is made. So, as you can see, trying to figure out where your car is made is complicated.

Just one more thought before I conclude. The Honda Accord, is built in Ohio, for a company headquartered in Japan. The Ford Fusion is built in Mexico for a corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan. Both cars are similar in size, quality and price. Under the new rules passed by the Essex County Council, which car must be purchased??

Buy Local Food Initiative Wins Support

I was very happy to see the provincial government announce a $47,000 grant to promote local food. This initiative was brought forward by the Windsor Essex Development Commission (WEDC) some months ago. At that time, I was serving as Chair of the Board and Acting CEO. The work in preparing this initiative was done by the Agricultural Sector Committee, one of four Sector Committees established by the hardworking and dedicated members of the previous Board. The WEDC Board member who served on this committee, with community volunteers, was local greenhouse farmer and businessman Anthony Cervini.

With strong leadership from the previous Board, strategic and innovative ideas such as this were encouraged, advanced, and promoted for implementation.

The Basic Facts about Olive Oil

Three recent stories in the Windsor Star, one about the new Windsor Farmers' Market, another about Locavore, a group promoting the importance of fresh local products, and today's story announcing provincial government support for the local food industry, got me thinking about "healthy food products".

As some of my readers will know, I was born in a small mountain village, in the central Italian region of Abruzzo. The village is near the city of L'Aquila, which sustained terrible earthquakes just this past April. Probably because of my heritage, I am a big fan of olive oil. Not only is this a healthy food product, it is also very tasty. Hey, so let's learn a little more about olive oil, and let's use it with freshly grown Essex County products.

The olive is a fruit produced by a Mediterranean evergreen tree. This tree spread from places like Syria and Iran to Southern Europe about six thousand years ago, and is one of the oldest cultivated trees in the world. The Romans loved olive oil, and as they spread their domain, they brought the olive tree with them. In my travels through Spain, Greece, and Italy, I loved driving past olive groves--the trees looking majestic and the farms well cared for. My favourite olive groves were in the Italian region of Puglia, just pure music.

My youngest daughter Bianca spent about six months in Italy some years ago, attending a private school in the beautiful city of Lanciano, in Abruzzo. One of her fondest memories is attending an olive farm, and watching the production of olive oil.

Greek mythology tells us that Athens is named for the Greek Goddess Athena who brought the olive tree to the Greeks as a gift. If it is good enough for a Greek Goddess, it should be good enough for us.

Olive oil is like wine: it comes in many different types of bottles, different varieties and different pricing. You can go upscale very fast: $30 a bottle is common for very good olive oil, but there is lots of good stuff at $12. Although olive oil can be broken into many sub-categories, for my personal use, and ease of explanation, I find the main types are:

• Premium and Extra Virgin - is oil from the first pressing and with very low acidity at 0.8% or less. It is fruity and with nice flavour. This oil should be used on salads, fresh Essex County tomatos, as a condiment, or for dipping bread, which you can buy fresh every morning from the bakeries on Erie St. in Windsor.
  

• Virgin - also from the first pressing, must have good flavour and the acidity rate must be less the 2%. This oil is also good for uncooked foods.

• Pure or Plain Oil - is a blend of Virgin and refined oil. Refined means it has gone through a chemical process. It is low in acid but has very little if any flavour. This oil is good for cooking.

• Light or Extra-Light - does not refer to calories or fat content. These oils are refined and should be used for cooking only.

Finally, olive oil should always be stored in a cool, dry, dark place and should last for up to one year.

Oh, and don't forget, it should be used primarily on Essex County products.

Michael Jackson: The Glove, The Love, and the Genius

GUEST COLUMN by Michellyne Mancini

The very first time Itzhak Perlman's wife heard him play the violin, the two of them did not know each other; indeed, they had never met. Toby happened to be backstage at a concert Perlman was giving, and after the concert was over, she walked straight over to him and promptly asked him to marry her. They began dating, and the rest is history. (Toby, a classically trained violinist herself, married the renowned virtuoso. They have five children and still live very happily ever after.)

Michael Jackson, the great King of Pop, who passed away on June 25th at the age of 50, was unfortunately not as lucky in love. A shy person off-stage, he struggled all his life in attempting to find an appropriate partner, eventually, at age 38, deciding to have children on his own, with the help of a friend who had agreed to marry him and bare children for him as part of an arrangement. And it seems that in the end, those things that Michael Jackson really had were his children and his fans.

But Michael Jackson was not simply the Itzhak Perlman of his time. No: he was the Bach, the Mozart, the Beethoven. He changed--and improved--the face and the course of pop music and pop culture in such a way that it would not be recognizable today had it not been for his influence.

Among his colossal accomplishments, Michael managed to bridge black and white music in a way that no other artist has been able to do; indeed he fused the two, so that we no longer kept track of whether we were listening to black soul or white pop, and we didn't care. For those like me, who were born around the time of the Thriller album release in 1982, we never even knew any different: by the time we were listening to music, he had sufficiently affected the pop genre so that the music of our youth was colour blind.

In a world obssessed with all things cool, Michael Jackson epitomised the very essence of it, inspiring an entire generation the world over with his songs, his voice, his dancing, his videos, and his fashion. This was a cool not of superficiality, but a cool of substance.

For among the sequins and the shades, Michael Jackson was not a typical pop superstar: Michael Jackson was different.

His idols included Fred Astaire, Gene Kelley, and James Brown, and he studied their moves until he had perfected them and innovated beyond them, incorporating the highest level of dancing into his own performances and videos. His work ethic was legendary. He was soft spoken and disliked profanity. On his own time, he listened primarily to classical music. And while he cared deeply about his image, there were a great many parts of himself that he refused to conceal: even at the height of his sex appeal in the 1980s, he never allowed himself to be boxed in to a "tough guy" image off-stage--he wore his heart on his sleeve, and he was never too immodest to accept a hug from a loving fan, much to the ire of his bodyguards.

This love that Michael exuded for his fans was probably in a symbiotic relationship with the love they had for him: after giving so much of himself to his music from the early days of his childhood, he needed them as much as they needed him. On June 25th, 2009 and in the days since then, spontaneous outpourings of grief and commemoration have broken out on every continent of the world, mourning the music genius who wore a single, sequined glove. Perhaps Michael Jackson wasn't so unlucky in love after all.

Michellyne Mancini is a freelance writer based in Windsor, Ontario, and the president of Mancini Communications. She can be reached at michellyne@mancinicommunications.com.

Happy Birthday U.S.A.

Our U.S. Neighbours are Celebrating

A great list of July 4th weekend activities in Michigan, click here.

It was a Great 1st of July

Canada Day, a time to celebrate and enjoy. We are really lucky in this "Great Country". Yes we have our challenges and they are many. From the cab drivers strike in Windsor, Ontario to our brave men and women in uniform fighting in Afghanistan. But more than any other place in the world, we have peace, order and stable communities.

Yesterday, throughout the country millions celebrated, some with family gatherings, some playing golf, some at the cottage, some worked in their flower gardens and there were lots of fireworks to end the day.

Right here in Amherstburg, a small beautiful town on the Detroit River, many residents gathered along the shoreline as dusk signaled the end of the day. When darkness finally came, the multi-coloured flashes in the sky lit up the river, and filled the airwaves with delayed thunder. This went on for nearly 30 minutes, all the while you could see ice cream being enjoyed and hear the giggle of children and adults. When it was all over everyone gathered up their belongings and families and headed home.

It was a Great 1st of July.

Happy Canada Day!