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Leonard Skinner · Jul 9, 2009, 10:18 PM

City of Gotchy, Gucci and Garbaggio.

turtle777 · Jul 9, 2009, 11:31 PM

-t

iM@k · Jul 10, 2009, 12:04 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

-t

Well going on a hypothesis that "Trawna" was a place I typed 'City of Trawna' into Google. Based on the results, I believe this is slang/nickname for Toronto Canada.

Eriamjh · Jul 12, 2009, 08:04 PM

RIP Bunny with a pancake on his head.

Eug · Jul 12, 2009, 08:17 PM

Flickr is a great source...

This is an officially sanctioned temporary dump site in downtown Toronto... which was a basketball court before the strike:

Here's one right across from some townhouses:

I live 1.5 km away from a temp dump site. I can't smell anything from my house, but I sure can across the street from the site, which like the above picture is all residential. I feel very sorry for those living there.

Oisín · Jul 12, 2009, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

-t

Pffsh! I live on the other side of the world and never keep up with any kind of news outlet (apart from occasionally skimming MetroXpress on the bus or, well, metro), and even I knew that there’s a garbage strike going on in Toronto.

shifuimam · Jul 12, 2009, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by Oisín

Pffsh! I live on the other side of the world and never keep up with any kind of news outlet (apart from occasionally skimming MetroXpress on the bus or, well, metro), and even I knew that there’s a garbage strike going on in Toronto.

Jeez, I didn't. What's the strike about?

Eug · Jul 12, 2009, 11:28 PM

City workers strike.

Biggest impact is garbage collection. Also public daycares.

For the garbage workers, they want better raises, and to keep their bankable sick days, so that if they don't use sick days they can cash them in for cash when they retire. City council has said no to bankable sick days, and offered them lower raises than they had hoped.

As much as I think the garbage workers are asking too much, I think city council is partially to blame, since they unnecessarily approved several other unions' very lucrative contracts... just before the 2008 crash. So, the garbage workers want their cut too. Why do I think the garbage workers are asking too much? Etobicoke is now the west portion of Toronto, and before they were merged into Toronto they had tendered out garbage collection to unions and non-unionized companies. A non-unionized company won the contract, with lower paid workers and a lower number of workers, with equivalent service. (From what I gather, Etobicoke residents are happy with the service.) They have been happily doing this service for many years now, and that portion of the City of Toronto has been enjoying the lower cost service ever since.

Why the rest of the city doesn't do the same is beyond me.

brassplayersrock² · Jul 13, 2009, 01:10 AM

Originally Posted by Eriamjh

RIP Bunny with a pancake on his head.

Its been 6 years already? I remember when that happened.

Eug · Jul 22, 2009, 06:58 PM

TRASH WARS: Toronto Garbage Strike Game

Phileas · Jul 22, 2009, 07:09 PM

No garbage at my house. Hurray for private enterprise. The city can get stuffed.

Eug · Jul 23, 2009, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by Phileas

No garbage at my house. Hurray for private enterprise. The city can get stuffed.

Rumour has it one of the $5-a-bag guys made $10000 in a the first week or two, and then went on vacation... presumably to get away from the Toronto stink.

I feel sorry for those who live within a block or two of the dumps.

P.S. Maybe I'm obsessive (and a bit wasteful), but I'm glad I double bagged all my garbage anyway even before the strike. I also always washed the garbage can if anything ever leaked. Thus, the garbage can outside was always spotless, so it wasn't such a big deal to take the garbage out of the can and put it in the car to take to the temporary dump.

analogue SPRINKLES · Jul 23, 2009, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

As much as I think the garbage workers are asking too much, I think city council is partially to blame, since they unnecessarily approved several other unions' very lucrative contracts... just before the 2008 crash.

I know a garbage worker here in toronto, he was making $50,000 7 years ago. Bankable sick days can let them retire 3 years earlier.

They all need to go to hell. Don't like your job picking up trash get another one you lazy, talentless idiots.

Hope the city fires all of them as this has cost the city tons of money in tourism among all the other horrible messes.

In a recession when thousands need a job they decide to pull this. They also do a really bad job when they are working. My 67 year old mother carried a heavy garbage can to the curb herself and the next day the can is still there full with a note from the 250 pound garbage man that it is 5 pounds overweight and won't take it. Not to mention they always throw the cans back on the curb from the middle of the road and they sometimes roll right onto the road. I have called 3 times to complain over the years but they do nothing.