Montréal – Despite the cold front that hit the city, a number of elected officials braved the cold, including the Official Opposition Leader Louise Harel, to go sign the petition launched by the Syndicat des fonctionnaires municipaux de Montréal (SFMM-CUPE). It’s all part of a campaign called Montréal, fais une ville de toi! [Montreal, make a city of yourself!], where white-collar workers are fighting to get the Charest government to amend the City of Montreal’s Charter. The goal is to make Montreal the metropolis it once was—a city that manages to meet the basic needs of taxpayers while giving them their money’s worth.
“This support helps fuel the fight,” stated union president Monique Côté. Meanwhile, she deplored the fact that Mayor Gérald Tremblay declined the invitation, citing a scheduling conflict. “It’s not an easy battle; which is why we welcome and appreciate any support we can get, be it from elected officials, our members or citizens. The Charest government needs to know that people won’t stand for a City where services are costly and poorly distributed. It’s not too late to fix this problem,” concluded Monique Côté.
The union is using social media as a tool to raise awareness about the shortcomings in the City of Montreal Charter. A light‑hearted music video is being broadcast to highlight some of the consequences of the City’s lack of structure, in particular the unfair, borough‑based distribution of certain public services.
You can watch this unique production on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2N07zMTLT8.
To sign the petition and find more information: http://www.sfmm429.qc.ca
The Syndicat des fonctionnaires municipaux de Montréal (SFMM, CUPE-FTQ) is the largest municipal sector union in Quebec, representing more than 10,000 municipal and para-municipal white collar employees working for the City of Montreal, for the 14 reconstituted municipalities in the Montreal area, and for para-municipal corporations, including the Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau, the Société d’habitation et de développement de Montreal (SHDM), Corporation Anjou 80, Stationnement de Montréal, the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM), and the private company Parc Six Flags Montréal SEC (La Ronde).