Unions offer a three-year wage freeze, finally making a play in the public relations battle with city hall

CUPE 416 recently came up with a way to relate to hard-working taxpayers in the city’s labour dispute: it offered a three-year wage freeze, and did so in an overtly public manner. The news came at a press conference on Friday after weeks of public bickering between city unions and city hall. The full implications of the offer aren’t clear yet, but the National Post’s political panel raises a good point: the union scored a PR point, countering Ford’s repeat attempts to tap into lingering resentment over the 2009 labour strike. Of course, with the so-called “jobs for life” clause—which the city attempted to axe for workers with under 25 years seniority in a counter-offer today—still on the table, a labour stoppage is likely still in the offing. Read the entire story [National Post] »