CUPE Local 79 says it will present the city's latest contract offer to its membership without making any recommendations.
They made that decision after the city said it would not negotiate with the union any further on their latest offer.
The announcement was made early Monday morning, two days past a negotiation deadline. The two sides remained at the table trying to hammer out a deal throughout the weekend. While several aspects of the contract were settled, the city and the union were still at odds over different clauses in the contract. CUPE President Tim Maguire refused to say what those outstanding issues are.
At a news conference Monday morning at around 12:15 a.m., Maguire said that members will be able to vote on the new proposal on Wednesday. Services carried out by the city's inside workers will be available as usual until the vote.
Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday held a news conference right after the union's announcement and told reporters he is confident members will ratify the deal.
He said the new offer is similar to the contract that was ratified by CUPE Local 416, the union representing outside workers. He said the benefits, wages and job security were similar in both deals and that they were offering a four-year term.
However, Local 79 officials have said their union is quite different than Local 416 and require different concessions.
"The fact is they both have the same employer. They all work for the City of Toronto and we have to try and treat employees equally and that's what we're trying to do with these agreements," Holyday said.
He refused to speculate on what the city would do if members voted to reject the deal.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he said.
Union members will receive more information about the new offer tomorrow.
CUPE Local 79 represents nurses, janitors, ambulance dispatchers, recreation workers, child-care workers and urban planners.
If the union does walk off the job, the city says daycares, pools, arenas and community centres would be closed as would museums, art galleries and cultural facilities run by the city.
Emergency services would not be impacted.
Members of CUPE Local 79 were in a legal position to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, but negotiators chose to stay at the table until 6 a.m. in an attempt to broker a deal. After a brief break to allow for sleep, negotiators returned to the table at 12 p.m. Saturday and stayed there until about 1 a.m. Sunday.
Today's talks have been ongoing since 11 a.m.
Significant progress made
The negotiations have been ongoing since the union's previous contract with the city expired at midnight on Dec. 31.
"We are down to about a half dozen issues," CUPE Spokesperson Cim Nunn told CP24. "That said it is a significant challenge to get those last few pieces in place. All of the issues that are outstanding are issues on which the union has already extended concessions, so it is difficult for us to have to offer up more."
Some of the remaining sticking points preventing a deal getting done revolve around job security and part-time worker rights.
CUPE Local 79 sent an email to members Saturday night that advised them on where to go if a strike is called.
The email reiterated CUPE Local 79 President Tim Maguire's stance that the union would not walk off the job unless the city unilaterally changes the terms of their contract and is simply a 'contingency plan' according to union officials.
News conference cancelled
At around 9:45 p.m. Saturday the city called then abruptly cancelled a news conference, where they were expected to make a "major announcement" on negotiations with CUPE Local 79.
In an email to CP24 at the time, City of Toronto Spokesperson Jackie DeSouza said the news conference was cancelled because of an unknown "development".
DeSouza said an update would be forthcoming early Sunday morning, but neither side had spoken to the media since talks were put on hold. Then Sunday night, union officials said they would make an announcement at 10 p.m. but the announcement was not made until more than two hours later.
