Reader says some members of council ‘certainly will look back with shame at how they treated employees, the comments made and actions taken’
Bradford Today
Letter to the Editor
Aug 18, 2023
BradfordToday welcomes letters to the editor at dave@villagemedia.ca or through this link. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). BradfordToday received the following letter about the ongoing library strike.
After 28 days of library workers being on strike, you have to wonder how this moment will be remembered.
Will it age like a fine wine, or milk? I believe certain council members will be able to hold their heads high with how they’ve treated the employees and how they’ve responded to this strike.
On the other hand, there’s also a few who certainly will look back with shame at how they treated employees, the comments made and actions taken.
It seems at the start of the last two council meetings the mayor has demanded respect be shown and yet one has to wonder why it’s not reciprocated by members of the council. The distasteful comments made before the council meeting Aug. 15 and the shocking email response to Ms. Vander Kooij from the mayor are evidence enough of this.
For the mayor to say Ms. Vander Kooij was being fed “propaganda” one questions if the mayor knows the definition of that word. A quick google search tells me “propaganda is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.” Apparently town council aren’t comfortable with Matthew Corbett’s actions being addressed when he’s named.
So for now, let’s go with “he who shall not be named” since it seems to have been deemed appropriate to send a mass email to library patrons, the bulk of which seems to have misleading information that could be seen as a way of promoting or publicizing a particular political cause or point of view. The mayor also then states “a union came into town and signed up some women who didn’t understand what they were getting into.” Does the mayor realize its 2023 and not 1923?
This comes across as very demeaning as if the women and MEN employed at the library couldn’t possibly weigh the pros and cons of unionizing and were easily fooled into joining. I truly hope the library workers get the raise they’re asking for (and this is coming from an anti union person). All of this to say, is how will this strike be remembered, will it age like a fine wine or milk?
Marnie Cousins
Bradford