Ottawa Sun
Published: Saturday, January 31, 2009

Vengeance is pointless

To paraphrase the late Herve Villechaize who played Tattoo on Fantasy Island, boss, boss, the strike is over, the strike is over.

After seven-plus weeks of inconvenience for some and a living hell for many others, even semi-frequent bus and O-Train service in the coming weeks will be a welcome change.

History will show that the city and ATU 279 couldn't agree for 50 days. In industrial relations lingo, they were in a negative contract zone. Then, on Day 51, all federal parties were poised to legislate an end to the strike and voila, a deal. Kudos to local MPs John Baird, Mauril Belanger, and Paul Dewar for forcing the issue.

From its cohesion, council deserves credit for standing firm on the issue of scheduling and its right to determine when and how work is performed. And we should all remember the city's bargaining position was not decided by the mayor; it was agreed to by council.

Although I agree with his critics that the mayor will wear the effects of this strike for weeks and months to come and he has burned a good deal of political capital in the process, as head of council, this was inevitable given the length of the strike.

As for ATU 279 members, I respect your solidarity, definitely not your actions, but your solidarity nonetheless.

However, drivers (as opposed to dispatchers and mechanics) who will face the public should be prepared for a cool reception. For angry commuters, I implore you not to engage in verbal abuse as much as the ATU's actions have cost you money, time and in some instances your job and/or your health.

Kill them with kindness if you can with a smile or a hello instead. As citizens we should not diminish ourselves to the actions of petty punks in spite of the enormous pain and loss the strike has inflicted on our community. Those hours, dollars, missed appointments and time with family and friends are gone and we won't get them back. Accept it and rise above it.

And if you must vent, then I implore you channel it through no more than a menacing split-second stare on your first ride back, then please, let it go, get on with life.

To paraphrase Confucius, if you hold a grudge, best for you to dig two graves. Vengeance is pointless.

Your opportunity will come in November of 2010 to speak to the city's handling of the transit strike.

Indeed, we should press all who will vie for the mayor's chair and council seats as to the lessons learned from this dark period of Ottawa history, what will be done differently and cast our ballots accordingly.

So who won? Nobody really.

Yes, Transport Canada will amend its safety regulations for transit systems in Ottawa, Gatineau and Windsor in the coming months; this is a no-brainer. And these regulations will supersede the collective agreement so the city will eventually get the last word on scheduling.

But the broader issue of the municipal labour climate should be council's concern now for forthcoming negotiations with its other unions. The OC Transpo strike is either the first of many acrimonious collective bargaining episodes or an example of what not to do. Let's hope it's the latter of the two.

On a final note to ATU head Andre Cornellier, regardless of the story behind the limo photo yesterday, the optics were pathetically poor. An apology for the hardship and pain ATU 279 inflicted on this community would go a long way toward healing and rebuilding trust.