Hello friends,
How we can stop our provincial bully boss Doug Ford?
Well what do we do when the boss is a bully?
It’s a question on the minds of millions of Ontarians and many hundreds of thousands of frontline public service workers across Ontario, because our boss – Doug Ford – is using just about every dirty bullying trick in the book.
Intimidation?
Check.
He warned teachers they better not dare exercise their constitutional right to use job action to block his massive school cuts.
Name calling?
Check.
He regularly calls the Official Opposition the “police-hating” party because they want to keep officers accountable for their actions. He calls the parents of children with autism “professional protesters.” And he called a member of the Official Opposition a “coward” and dared him to “step outside.”
Threats?
Check.
It’s now well-known that his Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, Lisa MacLeod, told autism professionals that if they didn’t publicly endorse her terrible scheme to cut, cap, and privatize services that they’d be in for “four long years.”
Lies?
Check.
Ford said during Question Period that he had nothing to do with the failed attempt to install his buddy Ron Taverner as the head of the OPP. But the Integrity Commission’s report on the scandal offers clear evidence that Ford directly pitched Taverner on the idea.
More lies and deflection?
Check.
When members of the official opposition asked for more details about the “unlawful/illegal” lobbying allegations from ousted Conservative caucus MPP Randy Hillier, Ford blustered that he is calling on police to investigate the NDP for its “$800-a-plate” fundraising event. Ford said his party would never do such a thing – less than a month after boasting publicly about the Conservatives’ $1,250-a-plate fundraising event.
Demands of blind loyalty?
Check.
It’s now well-known that Ford’s insiders keep careful track of how enthusiastically his MPPs applaud him in Queen’s Park. On one recent day, the CBC reported that Ford’s MPPs rose for an outlandish 11 standing ovations in just 23 minutes of Question Period.
So it’s clear: we’ve got a bully boss. It’s one of the most frustrating, challenging, and damaging problems you can face at work.
But it’s not hopeless. Far from it.
Anti-bullying experts tell us that in the vast majority of cases, the bullying stops immediately when bystanders speak up and step in.
Now, you can count on OPSEU – and other strong, democratic unions like ours – to speak up loudly against Ford’s bad bullying behaviour.
But the bystanders who have the most sway with Ford are all the MPPs in his own Conservative caucus. I might not agree with some of their policies, but I know that most of those MPPs got into politics for all the right reasons: they genuinely want to help make life better for their constituents.
As citizens and voters, we need to encourage them to stand up for their principles and their values and stand firm against the bully chairing their caucus meetings.
So if you’ve got a Conservative MPP, send them an email or a letter or – even better – set up a face-to-face meeting with them.
Tell them if they don’t have the courage to stop Ford’s bullying, we’ll do it for them during the next election. That is not a threat … that is a promise we are making and, unlike him, we will keep.
When we take away Ford’s majority, we’ll take away all of his power. And without power, his bullying days will be over and Ontario will be able to thrive again.
In Solidarity, Eddy
Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida
First Vice-President/Treasurer
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
@OPSEUEddy