The human cost.

Losing a job hurts. Very few people have never lost a job. It can affect different people in different ways. Looking back now to when I first started working in the seventies I can vividly recount the disappointments and triumphs as I hunted down my first job.
Fast forward to the future.
Imagine having settled into a career as a carpenter or perhaps a plumber. As time goes by you accumulate tools, keep yourself current with your trade, update your licences and training for health and safety. Over the years you have received numerous awards, letters and mementos from the company. You really feel proud to work for this company. Feed back from company events is positive.
Then things begin to change, old managers disappear and new ones come.
Everyone is looked at differently. The climate changes from one of family and teamwork to suspicion and paranoia. People you have known for decades are afraid to talk or give an opinion.
A hired consultants report has now described your job in the most general and simplistic of terms. As a carpenter your job is described as dismantling Christmas trees or as an H.V.A.C. technician merely adjusting thermostats. Worker representatives question the report and are told it wasn’t really important. You have this feeling in your gut. The challenging of a report or H&S issue will no longer be tolerated in this new environment.
Things are changing and it’s not just the technology.
They ask for honesty and they lie.
They demand perfection but offer no procedure.
They say one thing yet do another.
Your job no longer exists and you are out on the street without ever having any trouble with this company ever.
Welcome to my world.
Welcome to TD Centre managed by the new Cadillac Fairview.

The company goes on the record with the media and now public scrutiny begins. What has happened? Who was told? What was done?

Oh what a wicked web we weave when we try to deceive.
Lets determine the facts.
Lets discover the true motivations.
Lets examine the true cost.
Then let the tenants, stakeholders and public do the math!

Health and Safety issues

Everyone has their own special concern.
It may be air quality, compliance with the various regulations or perhaps you have seen a giant rat running down the back alley.
This is the place tell your story.

Contentious issues, waste and whistle blowing.

We have a special place for all the stuff that needs to be dealt with discretely and confidentily.
This would include code of conduct violations, incompetence, shoddy contractor jobs and basically anything else. Supporting documents, pictures, incident reports and copies of emails are all welcome. If you are worried about covering your ass or reprisals then strip off all identifiers and photocopy and scan as a pdf.

What do we share in common with our tenants? What have we heard from our tenants? What have tenants been told by CF management? And what is the truth?

We believe that the workers and the tenants have something in common. Our common goal is to have the best service possible. You pay for it and we want to make sure you receive it because our livelihood depends on it! CF on the other hand wants to make even more profit!
Over the years the TD Centre has expanded in size and complexity and the number of workers who respond to your requests has been continually reduced, to improve the response times and the service in general will require more staff doing the actual work. Instead, CF has hired more Managers and has proposed a reduction in staff who delivers your services. CF has proposed increasing staff workloads and reducing after hours and weekend coverage which will cause more disruption during your business hours.

How does this labour disruption initiated by Cadillac Fairview affect our tenants and stakeholders.

The locked out employees of Cadillac Fairview have really only 2 choices.
Protest and picket outside the TD Centre to raise awareness about the way they have been treated and let the tenants know about the service reductions that are coming.
Or, Just walk away from their jobs. Because we have been locked out no severance has been paid and no unemployment insurance is forthcoming.
We have taken a stand against the service cuts and now we are paying a price.
With all the contractors hired to fill in and extra security all over the place how does the company justify the end result.
We are looking for suggestions on what Cadillac Fairview should be doing to compensate the tenants for the inconveniences they have suffered because they have locked out their employees.

What are the real issues the workers have? Workers are invited to share their stories.

Cadillac Fairview has made proposals that are unfair to employees.
The company wants to lay off workers and wants to reduce the amount of severance they receive to much less than they have given to managers in the past.
We fought to have severance parity and now that we need it they want to take it away.
The remaining employees that have been serving the company for an average of more than 20 years have been told the can reapply for their jobs with a 6 month probation period.
Many other changes have been proposed that compromise service and safety and as we objected the number of layoffs continued to increase.
Bad faith bargaining charges have been laid at the O.L.R.B. and we are awaiting hearing dates.

The new CF proposed staffing model and what it means to tenants. We welcome your comments and valuble feedback on these proposed changes.

Cadillac Fairview has proposed a new staffing model that they say will improve service.
The proposals eliminate the classifications of carpenter, painter and plumber.
These special services will be gone and the workers will be laid off.
A new classification will be created in which everyone is grouped together as a "generalist". In other words you could have someone in the morning plunging out a toilet, next dispatched to assist a mechanic in the sewage pit, a quick clean up and the off to do some plastering and painting, next call is off to a lawyers office or boardroom to answer an air-conditioning complaint, then off to change some lamps then finish the day with some carpentry work.
This "jack of all trades master of none" staffing model will only result in a reduction in the overall quality of service.