The Toronto city union strike is very close to being over.

After 36 days off the job (and following a night of midnight oil burning, marathon talks) Mark Ferguson, the head of union representing outside workers under CUPE Local 416, took to the mic at 8:30am and announced that a tentative deal has been reached but is conditional on Local 416 member ratification.

He encouraged the city to get the same from inside workers of CUPE Local 79, who have yet to reach a deal with the city. Hopefully member ratification happens quickly for both unions and all workers return to the job soon.

A late night message from Ann Dembinski, the president of Local 79 to their members, was posted to their web page and suggests that things are pointing towards an agreement: "I want to let all Local 79 members know that we believe we are close to a negotiated settlement."

It's clearly a bittersweet moment for both sides. Details of the tentative agreement are not yet being released but will become known in the fullness of time. Ferguson is reportedly saying that no concessions were made on the union's part. Mayor Miller is remaining hum. Hopefully everyone is happy with a settlement that meets the demands of both sides, somewhere in the middle.

I'm sure we're all especially looking forward to the return of garbage collection, the cleanup of our city's parks (many of which have acted as temporary garbage dumps), the return of city-run daycare and event services.

Photo by swilton.