The Waiting Game- Costs of the Water Workers' Strike

The Waiting Game- It’s a spoof on the popular 1970s television show The Dating Game — except in this version, titled The Waiting Game, there are no winners. Only losers: the taxpayers of Hamilton, who are still waiting for the City to disclose how much public money was spent resolving the water workers’ strike.

The Hamiltonian has learned that IUOE Local 772/HOWEA made a similar request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which was denied. Greg Hoath, Business Manager for IUOE 772, shared the following statement:

“The IUOE Local 772/HOWEA made a similar request through FOI with follow-up and have been denied. We recently wrote to Mayor Horwath, City Manager Marnie Cluckie, and General Manager of Finance & Corporate Services Mike Zegarac — without response. We ask: what is the City hiding? Why can’t taxpayers be made aware? Is it possibly the embarrassment of having spent millions to save $300,000? The IUOE will not go away and will continue to demand accountability for their decisions — accountability to the taxpayers of Hamilton.”

The Hamiltonian’s own request for disclosure has now been outstanding for more than three months. Yesterday, we again reached out to Mayor Andrea Horwath, City Manager Marnie Cluckie, Finance General Manager Mike Zegarac, and every member of City Council to renew our request for this information. Our original correspondence and follow-up email are included below.

Perhaps Mr. Hoath’s question isn’t so far-fetched: What is the City hiding?

The simplest way to answer that question is through transparency.

We will report back once the City responds.

Mayor Horwath, City Councillors, City Manager 

It has now been more than three months since our formal request of June 28, 2025, seeking disclosure of the total tax dollars the City of Hamilton spent in managing the water workers’ strike dispute. Despite multiple follow-ups, this information has not yet been provided.

Hamilton taxpayers have a right to know how their money was spent, and have a reasonable  expectation of transparency as a matter of public accountability. As a media organization committed to informing residents accurately and fairly, we are asking for this information without further delay.

For your convenience and easy reference, we have included a copy of our request below. Please advise when this information will  be released so that we may report this information responsibly to our readership, who are  Hamilton ratepayers.

cc. Greg Hoath

Business Manager

International Union of Operating Engineers Local 772 ("IUOE")

Respectfully, 

thehamiltonian.net

Mr. Zegarac,

I am writing on behalf of The Hamiltonian regarding the ongoing strike involving water workers.

We request a breakdown of the total costs the city has incurred to date as a result of this strike, including both hard and soft costs. Specifically, we seek to understand the full financial impact, which should encompass, but not be limited to, expenditures related to hiring external services to ensure that management or replacement employees can cross picket lines and access water facilities.

To clarify, we are asking for a comprehensive figure that represents the total costs the city has borne in connection with both the strike itself and its management.

We must note that this question has been posed previously without a response. As Hamiltonians are the primary stakeholders of these public funds, they are entitled to transparency on this matter. Given the protracted nature of this strike and the time that has passed without resolution, we believe it is imperative that this information be made available to the public.

We would appreciate it if you could provide a detailed report of the total costs incurred, along with a clear breakdown of those expenses, by Thursday, July 10.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

We also wish to respectfully emphasize that our readers—and our editorial team—place a high value on clarity, candour, and accountability. As such, we are specifically requesting detailed, question-specific responses to our inquiries, rather than generalized statements or prepared releases.

We know our audience, and we approach our work with a commitment to thoughtful journalism. In short, we recognize the difference between meaningful communication and carefully polished messaging, and our aim is always to go beyond the surface for the benefit of public understanding. It is not our intent to sound terse, however we also wish to negate the need to critique releases where they fail to properly answer questions. Thus, we ask for detailed, question-specific responses.

Thank you again for your cooperation. We look forward to hearing from you once staff are able to provide an update on the anticipated timing of the relevant report.