A Toronto city councillor nicknamed “Bob Cutz” does not really exist, but one of three city unions without a contract wants people to think about the Scrooge-like politician during collective bargaining and budget debates.

CUPE Local 79, representing more than 20,000 of the city’s inside workers, is using the fictitious “cuts-at-all-costs” figure in a media campaign aimed at pressuring the city to back off austerity measures, which it says include demand for a third straight concessionary contract.

“Councillor Bob Cutz is representative of the city’s position to cut services at all costs,” Local 79 president Dave Mitchell told the Star in an interview. “Our shelters are full, our housing is on extreme wait lists and child care has a big wait list,” while councillors, who will give final approval to two of the contracts, debate the 2020 budget.

In television, radio, online and print ads, faux-councillor Robert Cuttingham — nicknamed “Bob Cutz” — meets city staff to uncover waste but instead learns about the value of the services they provide.

Toddlers don’t pay taxes. So why are they gobbling up our hard-earned tax dollars? Maverick City Councillor Bob Cutz is here to save us all a bit of cash by exposing exactly what happens inside Toronto’s city-run daycares. His host, Local 79 member Maria Faria, helps educate him on what early childhood education is actually all about.

Mitchell said initial talks with city negotiators suggest they are seeking a cost-containing deal that, like those reached in 2016 and 2012, would claw back benefits and keeps wage hikes low.

“Wages are not a big focus but my members have seen increases over the last 10 years averaging 1 per cent or less — well under the cost of living that has gone up between 2 and 2.5 per cent,” annually, he said. “I would say it’s fair to say (the city’s new goal) is very much the same as in the past.

“The city is also looking to reduce my members’ benefits,” Mitchell added. “They always do.”

Brad Ross, the city’s chief spokesperson, said, “We don’t discuss bargaining in public, but the city remains committed to negotiating collective agreements that are fair for its employees and affordable for the people of Toronto.”

A four-year contract for Local 79 members, who include child care workers, recreation staff and planners, expired Dec. 31, as did those for workers in CUPE 416, the city’s roughly 5,000 outside workers, and CUPE 4948, which represents about 2,300 library staff.

Local 79 and city negotiators exchanged proposals in November and met in December, with more meetings expected soon. About 90 per cent of the inside workers voted to give the union a strike mandate.

It takes the right people to take care of Toronto. Our members make this a great city to call home. But not everyone sees it that way.

Local 416 also has a strong strike mandate from the outside workers, who include garbage collectors, paramedics and animal services workers. The workers want a contract “that protects city services and respects the work that they do,” the union said.

Amid the negotiations, the city said on Jan. 9 that talks over more than three months had resulted in agreement on “several items,” but that a conciliator was required to continue.

“We haven’t met with the city since they filed for conciliation, but we are looking forward to getting back to the table with the conciliator and negotiating a fair contract,” Local 416 president Eddie Mariconda said in an email. “Dates should be finalized soon.”

Negotiations between representatives of the Toronto Public Library board and the union representing library staff have not yet begun.

“Local 4948 has been actively preparing for bargaining over the past months and longer, but we have not to date had any joint meetings with our employer so we don’t know exactly what will come out of that,” local president Brandon Haynes said in an interview.

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Workers want to strengthen job security — the union says it takes a decade or more for most staff to get full-time status — as well as protections from workplace violence. The union also wants to halt any spread of “staffless” expanded-hour openings, which are undergoing pilot projects at two branches.

“We were the only local that went on strike during the Rob Ford years and we were able to fight back many concessions brought forward,” Haynes said.

“We’re going to be fighting for a fair deal for library workers that will be responsive to the community.”

Toronto Public Library spokesperson Ana-Maria Critchley said bargaining is set to start in February and the library is committed to “reaching a settlement that is fair and reasonable to all.”

David Rider is the Star's City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider

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