Monday, December 15, 2008

A call for calm

Reports on CBC.ca have said that the largely unpopular president of the ATU Andre Cornellier has received "significant threats" against his person as a result of his position in the ongoing labour dispute with the City of Ottawa, and word-of-mouth rumours state that a group has been threatening physical assault on bus drivers and that picketers were 'egged' while protesting earlier today. Even on this blog, violence is being approached as a reasonable measure during counter-protests, whether jokingly or not.

I would like to remind anyone and everyone that these are not the responses of rational individuals. It's a fact that no one is enjoying the work stoppage, and it is certainly very inconvenient--and in some cases, potentially dangerous to an individual's health--for everyone, but the right to strike is an inalienable right Canadians have to make. Whether or not you agree with the Union or whether you're on the side of the city, I ask that you make your voice heard in an intelligent manner: Comment on public forums, such as this blog; write a letter or e-mail to your city councillor expressing your opinion; write a Letter to the Editor in a local paper; speak civilly to protesters or stage peaceful counter-protests.

There are many ways to express disagreement or solidarity without having to resort to violence, and they will be more effective in getting your point across.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I believe that the most effective campaign is to denounce the president of the Transit Union and his buddies, they wanted this strike.

Most Transit workers are reasonable people like most of us. The Union president and his buddies are THE problem.

The Union denied the right to vote on the final offer to its members, does the Union "respect" its own members? If that's how the Union is run, is it democratic at all?

To the president of the Union: Sir, this is your own opinion (that the final offer is not so different from the previous to warrant another vote, etc.), not your members'. Let them vote and they'll tell you what their opinion is.

To the City and the public: the way the union is run does not inspire any trust, let a third party closely monitor any vote!

Anonymous said...

People, we as citizens of Ottawa need to stand up for ourselves and not be bullied by a union during these hard times. There is nothing civil about what OC Transpo drivers are doing, it is a barbaric method of negotiations.

Make a difference and sign this petition (Go to Link).

WWW.FireOttawaBusDrivers.com