Strike update from our councillor

Just got Adam Vaughan's July newsletter. Here's an update from his office on the strike

Some of the things that my office has been working on during the strike include:
- working with resident associations’ and business improvement areas’ across the ward to organize & obtain permits for dumpsters to get rid of waste to prevent accumulation
- supporting residents who have been conducting community clean-ups in their neighbourhood
- worked with Scadding Court Community Centre to host a community compost site to divert some organic waste
- personally picked up and removed 22 bags of garbage that accumulated on the street and in planter boxes at College and Augusta in advance of last week’s Pedestrian Sundays event in Kensington Market
- daily bike patrols through the ward to find and report locations of illegal dumping
- regularly communicating with Toronto Public Health and connecting them with local businesses proactively working to maintain cleanliness standards
- reaching out to businesses that have been improperly storing their garbage to request clean-ups to prevent rodent problems
- meeting with representatives of Tim Horton’s and Starbucks (both head-office representatives and franchisees in Ward 20) to develop a program where these businesses help divert and collect garbage on the street. (Some of the outcomes from these meetings include a community clean-up conducted by Tim Horton's staff, and posters put up in stores that encourage people to either throw their disposable cups out in the store, hang onto them until they get home, or bring a re-usable cup. Posters developed by our office have now been put up in Tim Horton's stores across Toronto. Starbucks took a city-wide approach by mandating their staff to clean up around their storefronts and initiating a radio and print add campaign to promote incentives for customers using re-useable cups).
- We also compiled and circulated a listing of all of the organizations in Ward 20 that offer summer day programs for children in an effort to assist parents who have been affected by the strike (the list is online here: http://adamvaughan.ca/AV-newsletter/newsletters/Whatskidtodo.pdf)
As of today, the City has negotiated tentative agreements for four collective agreements with CUPE 79 and also with TCEU 416. The specific details of the settlements still need to be ratified by the memberships of the respective unions and City Council. A Special Meeting of City Council will be held this Friday July 31st (assuming that the unions ratify the offers on Thursday July 31st). More information is available on the City of Toronto’s website at http://www.toronto.ca/labour-relations/index.htm

We all look forward to a better fall, but a busy one. If you are vacationing: safe travels and see you soon.