Neoliberal Urbanism and the Assault Against Public Services and Workers in Toronto, 2006-2011
This article explores demands for concessions from public sector workers and new pressures to privatize public services at the city of Toronto. Situated in historical perspective, I argue that through the 2009 round of bargaining between the City of Toronto and its civic workers, the City sought to...
שמור ב:
| הוצא לאור ב: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/articulo, |
|---|---|
| מחבר ראשי: | |
| פורמט: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| שפה: | Anglais |
| יצא לאור: |
Journal of Urban Research
2026
|
| נושאים: | |
| גישה מקוונת: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| סיכום: | This article explores demands for concessions from public sector workers and new pressures to privatize public services at the city of Toronto. Situated in historical perspective, I argue that through the 2009 round of bargaining between the City of Toronto and its civic workers, the City sought to shift the burden of recession onto unionized workers by positing a trade-off between wage restraint and the protection of public services. Rather than retreat from the neoliberal project or present an alternative developmental path in the face of declining revenues, the ‘Third Way progressivism’ of the Miller regime employed the rationale that the recession demanded austerity. In the absence of an alternative political program and engaged membership, Local 79 was unable to counter the drumbeats of austerity and retrenchment. In the subsequent election a new conservative mayor and council vowed to radically restructure the city along increased competitive pressures, with efforts to lower the wages and benefits of its public sector workforce and privatize city services and assets. Indeed, since the 2009 civic workers’ strike, the Ford administration has implemented a number of reforms which has made work more precarious, reduced access to city services and intensified fiscal pressures. In the absence of a collective capacity to resist such attacks, trade union and community activists in Toronto have much to be concerned about. |
|---|