TTC eyes possibility of strike as talks continue with union

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Canada’s most heavily used transit system is looking at the possibility of its first strike in more than a decade after its main union started the clock ticking toward job action as soon as early next month.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, which represents 12,000 workers at the Toronto Transit Commission, has been without a contract since the start of April. The union is citing jobs security, benefits and wages as key demands, arguing that its members have lost ground on pay amid high inflation.

The TTC currently carries about 1.4 million passengers a day, and any shutdown could hurt its efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. A work stoppage threatens to cause major economic losses and catastrophic traffic.

“I think the last calculation we did was that the economic impact of a TTC strike would be approximately $54-million a day,” said Councillor Jamaal Myers, who chairs the commission’s board, in an interview Thursday.

“And that’s not taking into account people’s personal finances, kids needing to get to school, people needing to get to their doctor’s appointment, picking up groceries. So there would be a huge impact on the city, and it would severely restrict traffic and it would cause untold congestion.”

For more than a decade, TTC workers did not have the right to strike. The agency was made an essential service in 2011 by the province, after a request by then-mayor Rob Ford. That was struck down last year by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on the grounds that removing the ability to strike violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Talks are continuing between the TTC and ATU Local 113, and both spoke Thursday about the value of negotiations.

On Wednesday, though, ATU Local 113 had requested from the provincial Ministry of Labour what’s known as a no-board report, which indicates the union’s belief that conciliation has failed. The ministry did not comment Thursday about the request.

If issued by the ministry, the no-board report would start a 17-day clock ticking, after which the union could withdraw its labour.

“There would be no bus, streetcar, subway service,” said Marvin Alfred, ATU Local 113′s president. “People would not be able to use transit.”

TTC chief executive officer Rick Leary acknowledged that, in the case of a strike, management would not be able to keep the system running. However, both the union and the agency suggested there could be some form of continued service for customers of Wheel-Trans, which provides transportation for people with disabilities.

“We’ll make sure people get where they need to go,” Mr. Leary said.

When the TTC last went on strike, in 2008, then-premier Dalton McGuinty’s government passed back-to-work legislation after a two-day work stoppage. Mayor Olivia Chow would not directly answer when asked Thursday whether she would urge Ontario Premier Doug Ford to bring in similar legislation.

“Negotiation is going on,” she said. “And I am hopeful that a settlement will come forward soon.”

Any strike would take place at a time when many more people have an option of working at home. Although ridership is back to around 80 per cent of pre-pandemic totals, Monday remains considerably lower than mid-week, suggesting some degree of employee flexibility.

The looming labour action also follows cost-of-living increases during which some unions have secured substantial raises.

“We are adamant in order to have job security, benefits and/or wages,” Mr. Alfred said. “Our members know the value of our work and we are not going to back down in making sure the employer recognizes that.”

With a report from Jeff Gray