(11-29-2018, 03:15 PM)Coke6pk Wrote: There was a mayor (North Bay maybe?) that got into it with the Firefighters Union.  They went to arbitration, and despite the city not being able to afford it, still got big city wages.

The mayor then said, fine, in your 24 hour shift, you will be required to be working the full 24 hours, be it attending calls for service or other assigned duties.  Firefighters were told to bring in their meals from home to prepare, but grocery shopping on government time will cease.  He also added that they can't afford to pay staff to sleep, so they will be expected to be awake at all times during their shift, and if they need rest, they can use their gracious amounts of sick time or speak to the union about renegotiating a shorter shift.  One member asked is they can't sleep, why do they have beds in the fire hall.  He replied "That's a good question.  I'll have them removed and donated to a local shelter."  I loved it!  Never saw any follow up, but would love to know if his hard-line stance held.

Coke

Quote:During the April 25 meeting of council in which the award was announced, fire chief Mike Figliola suggested the city’s firefighters would not be allowed to sleep during the new 24-hour shifts, despite management’s position during negotiation that stated 24 hour-long shifts were ‘dangerous’ due to the potential for sleep deprivation.

At the time, Figliola said safety was the number one concern and he would remove firefighters from service and conduct callbacks for those firefighters showing signs of sleep deprivation.

Quote:CAO acknowledges management has 'not handled communication nor implementation well'

Quote:Of course, the role of firefighters is changing. They now increasingly respond to non-fire calls such as medical emergencies and motor vehicle accidents. In Ontario, from 2000 to 2012, the number of fire-related calls fell by 15 per cent while non-fire-related calls increased by 24 per cent.

...


But consider this. During the same 16-year period, the number of firefighters in Canada grew to 32,400 from 25,900—a 25 per cent increase, outpacing the country’s overall population growth (16 per cent). Unfortunately, without comparative national fire data after 2002, we can’t say for certain whether Canada is experiencing an Ontario-style trend (more firefighters for fewer fires).

But we do know the trend of more firefighters and fewer fires is occurring in the United States and internationally. Thanks to updated building codes and better technology (fire-proofing materials, smoke alarms, sprinklers, etc.), the number of fires everywhere seems to be on the wane.

(11-28-2018, 10:25 AM)Ace Wrote: Does anyone have a figure on the number of employees any of the cities have?

(11-30-2018, 09:37 PM)jeffster Wrote:

(11-28-2018, 10:25 AM)Ace Wrote: Does anyone have a figure on the number of employees any of the cities have?

Kitchener has close to 2,000 employees.

Keep in mind, though, that includes students and very part-timers. That would also include all outside (apart from city hall and the KOF) facilities like community centres, arenas, cemeteries, pools and any other sports and other buildings (as I am sure I am leaving things out) field that requires staffing. I think if you look a unionized members (CUPE 68 (the "outside workers") and CUPE 791 (the "office workers") + management + fire services and you're probably looking around 1,000 easily (plus add some for council, for example).

Next time that I login into PeopleSoft at work, I'll look at the cheque numbers and I'll get back with a more accurate number (791 workers & management are every 2 weeks (perhaps firefighters & council as well), CUPE 68 and part-timers are every week -- so I should be able to figure it out that way), though unsure if cheque numbers include non-employee's (such as outside contractors or other business expenses).

I would imagine for Waterloo it would be a little less per population as they have very few public facilities, and Cambridge would be very similar to Kitchener. So ball parking it, maybe Waterloo has 800 altogether, and Cambridge maybe 1,200.

(12-03-2018, 12:16 PM)Ace Wrote:

(11-30-2018, 09:37 PM)jeffster Wrote: Kitchener has close to 2,000 employees.

Keep in mind, though, that includes students and very part-timers. That would also include all outside (apart from city hall and the KOF) facilities like community centres, arenas, cemeteries, pools and any other sports and other buildings (as I am sure I am leaving things out) field that requires staffing. I think if you look a unionized members (CUPE 68 (the "outside workers") and CUPE 791 (the "office workers") + management + fire services and you're probably looking around 1,000 easily (plus add some for council, for example).

Next time that I login into PeopleSoft at work, I'll look at the cheque numbers and I'll get back with a more accurate number (791 workers & management are every 2 weeks (perhaps firefighters & council as well), CUPE 68 and part-timers are every week -- so I should be able to figure it out that way), though unsure if cheque numbers include non-employee's (such as outside contractors or other business expenses).

I would imagine for Waterloo it would be a little less per population as they have very few public facilities, and Cambridge would be very similar to Kitchener. So ball parking it, maybe Waterloo has 800 altogether, and Cambridge maybe 1,200.

I was looking to do an analysis of percentage of city staff on the fire department vs. the percentage on the public salary disclosure. While it's probably not a great reporting metric, I was just curious.

Of the 294 City of Kitchener employees exceeding $100,000 in 2017, 184 (63%) were on the fire department. I would imagine fire accounts for a much smaller fraction of overall city staff. 

However, their salaries are probably based on 40-44hr weeks while other staff are closer to 35-40hr.

(12-03-2018, 12:16 PM)Ace Wrote: Of the 294 City of Kitchener employees exceeding $100,000 in 2017, 184 (63%) were on the fire department. I would imagine fire accounts for a much smaller fraction of overall city staff. 

(12-03-2018, 02:00 PM)nms Wrote: There is also the quibble that according to the Bank of Canada $100,000 salary in 1996 would need to be up closer to a $150,000 salary today to exercise the equivalent buying power, but I digress.

PS. Apologies for the tabs instead of the tables, the Table Generator and I couldn't come to an agreement.

(01-15-2019, 04:23 PM)panamaniac Wrote: So, does having Ken Seiling lead the Province's review of regional governments make it more or less likely that the Region of Waterloo goes single tier?