In a previous post we noted that on November 26, 2012, in a highly
debated judgment, Justice Hackland removed Ford as mayor for participating in a
vote in which he had a conflict of interest. Ford was aware he may have had a
conflict, but his personal arrogance spilled over into his professional life
and he voted anyway.[1]
Justice Hackland stated that Ford had a “stubborn sense of entitlement” and was
willfully blind to the conflict of interest rules. Apparently Ford didn’t
believe the rules should apply to him. While Ford blamed “left-wing politics”
for his ouster, it was arrogance that ended his mayoralty.[2]
Ford has often approached organized labour with the same arrogance that ended
his mayoralty. For a moment, the hardworking men and women of organized labour
seemed to be able to look forward to some respite from Ford’s notoriously
anti-union leadership. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed when, on
Wednesday December 5, 2012, a Justice with the Divisional Court stayed Justice Hackland’s decision and ruled that
Ford can remain in office until his case is reviewed by an appeal court[3].
In our previous post, we described some of the aspects of Ford’s legacy that
have been particularly important to unions. Now that Ford is permitted to
retain his seat as mayor, it’s worthwhile to repeat these aspects of his
legacy.
A Dark Legacy
filling Toronto’s mayoral seat caused thoughts of his legacy, and it is a dark
legacy indeed. Ford has followed a course only the staunchest union-busters
could admire. The focus of his mayoral campaign was to save the City money by
stopping the “gravy train.” Two promises dominated his platform: eliminate the
City’s fair-wage policy and privatize garbage collection[4].
With this platform Ford established unions as a scapegoat for the City’s
financial woes from the start. He has approached organized labour with
hostility and arrogance ever since.
Ford has a
history of distortion and intimidation that would have made Richard Nixon blush[5].
He used opposition to unions as a way to bolster support among constituents
still reeling from the 2009 garbage strike. In doing so, he politicized future
negotiation processes with unions.
for instance, Ford brought his trademark hostility to negotiations with unions
who had collective agreements expiring on December 31st, 2011. The
Ford administration went into the
negotiations with little respect for the collective agreement, with Deputy
Mayor Holyday noting the agreement provided “unbelievable job security.”[6]
Though union members disagreed with Holyday’s
characterization of their job security as “unbelievable”, Ford’s smears had
already persuaded the public. He’d stacked the deck in his favour. The unions
knew this. Ford knew this too, and he leveraged it to gain political capital. On February 5th, 2012 Ford managed to get one of the largest Toronto unions to sign a new
collective agreement on the city’s terms.[7]
this is not an outlier in Ford’s legacy and his hostility to the public service
has often seeped into other aspects of his professional life. Take the case of
Gary Webster, formerly the chief General Manager of the TTC. Two weeks after
voicing opposition to Ford’s proposed subway plan, Webster was terminated. He had been at the service for
35 years and was set to retire in a year. Supporters of Gary Webster describe
him as highly competent.[8] In
other municipal administrations Webster’s input might have been respected. In
Ford’s administration, however, a divergent opinion was apparently too much
handle. The administration’s disdain for labour representatives was once more
on display.
organized labour have never held up well against reality. He once said that 80%
of Toronto’s budget goes to labour costs. In a city that elected Ford largely
on the basis of cutting costs, this comment seems calculated to turn public
perception against organized labour. This figure is fiction. The real figure is
48%.[9]
Not exactly the “gravy” he claimed.
definition of “gravy” has rarely been accurate. Early on in his mayoralty, he
boasted of saving $70 million. Again, this was fiction. Most of the $70 million
came from the cancellation of the vehicle registration tax, which amounted to
$64-million. Ford’s “savings” actually represented a $64 million reduction in
revenues that could have gone to the treasury and the provision of services.[10]
tends to blame unions for the City’s financial woes, the reality is workplace
grievances have recently been down 13% and workplace injury claims have been
down by about 15%. In monetary terms this means unions have saved the City
around $800,000.[11]
views union workers, it’s clear he doesn’t see hard-working men and women that
help to make Toronto great. Just as he was judged to be wilfully blind to his
conflict of interest, so too has Ford been blind to the good organized labour
does for the City. In the face of Ford’s unrelenting efforts to tarnish their
image, unions have done what they do best: they stood together. With the
recent ruling that Ford may retain his mayoral seat
while his appeal is pending, unions will need to continue to stand tall, stand
firm, and stand together.
Grows over why Judge took‘Nuclear’ Option in Rob Ford Ruling” (Globe &
Mail, November 28, 2012). Online: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/11/28/christie-blatchford-controversy-grows-over-why-judge-took-nuclear-option-in-rob-ford-ruling/.
Self-Inflicted Downfall”(Globe & Mail, November 26, 2012). Online: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/marcus-gee-rob-fords-self-inflicted-downfall/article5670796/
Rob Ford or the Labour Unions?” (Toronto Life, December 22, 2010). Online: http://www.torontolife.com/daily/informer/from-print-edition-informer/2010/12/22/who-is-more-deluded-rob-ford-or-the-labour-unions/
Allies Sink to a New Low” (Toronto Star, October 5, 2012). Online: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1267459–mayor-rob-ford-s-allies-sink-to-a-new-low
Troughs of Rob Ford’s Career” (Globe & Mail, November 26, 2012). Online: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/the-peaks-and-troughs-of-rob-fords-career/article5714165/
(CBC News, February 21, 2012). Online: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/02/21/toronto-ttc-meeting-gary-webster.html
Numbers Don’t Add Up”(Globe & Mail, July 15, 2011). Online: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/fords-financial-numbers-dont-add-up/article625903/
Stakes Union Gamble”(Now – Toronto, January 12-19, 2012) Vol. 31 No 20. Online:
http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=184705