Titans 23, Bills 17

A week ago, the Bills had some 12,000 unsold tickets to yesterday's game against Tennessee, about 18,000 tickets for the December 18th game against the Miami Dolphins and a staggering 24,000 tickets for the Christmas Eve game against Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. It's been a tale of two seasons in many ways: the Bills first three home games - against Oakland, New England and Philadelphia - each featured spectacular summer-like weather, sold out boisterous crowds, explosive offensive performances by the home team, and wins. These last three games seem destined to feature typical December Buffalo weather, thousands of empty seats, mostly second stringers on the field for the home team, and irrelevant outcomes (except for the visiting team) as they play out the string and await yet another high draft pick.

Think back to 2004 - the last winning season for the Bills. They started 0-4 then won 8 of 9 and had a shot to make the playoffs before losing to the Steelers on the last day of the season. This season began in such a promising way but, with the team suffering devastating injuries and not having won since the Toronto game in October, all hope is now lost. I'm not sure which of these scenarios I prefer.

On my bike ride in the rain today, I stopped in at the Otter Creek rink. The ice is in but the rain was taking its toll although the rink was still "open". Tomorrow may be a great day for skating as it's going to cool off tonight. I had a chat with the staff at the rink about the upcoming labour showdown. I've known them for years as I organize our outdoor hockey there every Thursday night. The guy who is responsible for the ice does a fantastic job and takes great pride in maintaining the best possible ice surface. I compliment him on it regularly and it seems to make his day every time.

The collective agreements for CUPE locals 416 and 79 - representing outside and inside workers respectively - expire on December 31st. If the City chooses to lock out employees, there is a 17 day notice period which can not begin before January 2nd, the first "business" day of the new year. So, the lock out could begin as early as January 19th. Apparently, the City intends to keep the rinks open with management operating the zambonis etc. Not surprisingly, the staff seem skeptical about their ability to do this. Otter Creek is surely one of the most heavily used rinks in the city and is located within the very affluent Lawrence Park neighbourhood. My prediction is that if they are going to try to keep a few rinks operating during a lock out, this will be one of them. The City appears to be dead set on winning some key concessions from the union and both sides are preparing for a lock out which could last months.

One concession which mayor Rob Ford wants badly is the elimination of the so-called "jobs for life" clause. At least, that's how it's referred to by those who want it removed from any future agreement. It simply says that City employees with 10 or more years of service will be guaranteed a job with the City if their current job is outsourced to the private sector. City garbage collectors west of Yonge Street (with 10 or more years of service), for example, will be offered another job with the City when private garbage collection begins later next year. On its face, this seems like a typical union contract benefit which can turn public opinion against the union, especially when it is repeatedly brought up as the kind of thing which we just can't afford any more.

This reminds me of the issue related to the benefit which allows city employees to "bank" unused sick days. This was widely publicized by management during the strike in the summer of 2009. At the time, the way it was reported, it did seem a little excessive to me (as we heard stories of workers who had accumulated many months worth of sick days) but I then discovered that, as part of the overall collective agreement, the banking of sick days was negotiated by the union in exchange for giving up short term disability benefits within the workers benefit plan. Well, in that context, it seems much more reasonable, doesn't it? Short term disability is a pretty common feature of benefit plans in the public and private sectors. I know that it was part of the plan I had with my private sector employer. To draw attention to one element of an entire collective bargaining agreement, in isolation, can be misleading. The benefit of job protection for those with 10 or more years of service with the City is the current "whipping boy" for the anti-union side in this dispute.

I always try to understand the entire picture in any labour dispute before taking sides (except for professional sports labour disputes where I always support the players with the fastest possible knee-jerk reaction).  The City of Toronto has a severe structural deficit problem. I don't think anyone really disputes that. It will, sooner or later, have to be addressed in part with new revenues - yes, taxes - as well as cost cutting. The lock out of 2012 will probably be a long one. Let's make sure we understand both sides and let's hope that they can resolve it. I want my outdoor hockey season.