As Toronto moves closer to a transit strike next week (or some kind of “job action”), residents who rely on the TTC are holding their breath. Much like hospitals and schools, public transit is an essential service. The provincial Liberals are not publicly saying whether they’re preparing back-to-work legislation in the case of a strike, while the PC’s interim leader Bob Runciman says, “This is a critically important part of the economy in the GTA and you certainly can’t allow it to be out of service for any extended period of time.”
So we want to pose a question to you. Should public transit workers be allowed to strike?
photo by Craig James White
42 comments
I believe they should be allowed to strike, but the TTC seems to do it far too often. I lived in Calgary for 25 years, and I only remember one (very long, very cold) transit strike. In the six years I’ve been in Toronto, there has been one strike, one one-day wildcat strike, and seemingly hourly threats of such. Enough already. The ridership is quickly losing, or has already lost, any respect or compassion for the plight of TTC workers.
If they do – check out the Bike The Strike section of BikingToronto.com – good basic info about how to bike commute to work!
I agree with Panic. I don’t think the general public has much sympathy for TTC workers.
I love those ads their union has put up, about how one bus driver once saved a 2 year old from running into traffic. Granted, there are a number of great TTC workers, but the majority that I come across are rude, arrogant and annoying. If they were working at McDonald’s they would have been fired a long time ago for poor customer service.
…brought to you by those that had an unannounced wildcat walk off last year. Not even 24 hours notice for the public.
The workers cannot hold public transit hostage. The TTc does not belong to them- it belongs the city of toronto.
bastards.
Hey, Surly only looks out for one guy… Surly.
*Speaking for myself*
Should the TTC workers have the right to strike? Yes, they should. Those who say otherwise out of anger should keep in mind that making them essential workers will likely increase their compensation.
Should the TTC workers exercise their right to strike? Yes, but only as what strikes should be – a last resort measure, the final tool in the box of negotiations, just as management has the power to lock workers out as its tool. There are plenty of tools that can be used esclating up to a strike – promotional campaigns (like the questionable “Worth a Million” campaign they have right now), dressing down in either street or union clothes, work-to-rules, refusal to enforce fare payments, rotating strikes and/or skeletal service, and all-out strikes.
The trouble is that the ATU seems to like to bring out the strike sledgehammer – legally or otherwise, rather than take more creative steps, and this hurts their public perception, the 2006 illegal wildcat being the epitome of having the wrong attitude. Many, if not most other unions I know of negotiate well past the contract expiration date – the Ontario Northland bus strike, which was a big issue up north, only occured about 6 months after the expiration of the contract and negotations went nowhere.
Many see TTC drivers as overpaid, and this causes resentment. I do not necessarily believe this is the case – the TTC has enough recruitment troubles, and you want employee retention. But many reliant on the TTC easily make half or a third the pay of the average TTC driver. A strike hurts the poor the most. So there’s ethical questions about a strike, and I would hope that the labour movement would realize this – looking out for the needs of the workers as a whole, than just the membership. This is one reason why the ATU needs to think long and hard about the consequences of a strike.
And not everyone can ride a bike to work – especially those living outside the Old City of Toronto. Though it’s a great option for those that can.
Although I understand their current reason for the strike, worker safety, this will quickly get replaced with something equally serious next time, like the need for more of those $10k cushy seats they get to sit up front.
I’ve grown tired of unions holding the public hostage. They seem to only play around in the fields where they’ve been locked in power for years, but easily cop out when it comes to places they should be looking into, like worker conditions at Wal-Mart, McDonalds, etc….
Of course, if they concentrated on those places instead, their union fees wouldn’t be so high. Might have to close a few credit union banks to supplement them….
This city needs jitneys — you know, share taxis. Once we do then, sure, absolutely the TTC workers should be allowed to strike. A jitney ride wouldn’t be much more expensive, and the city wouldn’t be crippled as a result.
Now, as long as there are no jitneys around … um, no.
The right to strike is an important, fundamental right in a free society. It should not be dismissed lightly.
Most workers who cannot strike perform services that save lives – police, firefighters. While the TTC is important, it’s not a matter of life or death.
On the other hand, if the province is always going to legislate them back to work anyway, then we have to ask if the right to strike is really there in the first place. (It also probably contributes to the union’s aggression – they know the province will pull them out of the fight). Is it just a charade? But if they don’t have the right to strike, as Sean points out, it will be replaced by arbitration, which could well give them an even better deal.
Finally, it’s important to look at what’s actually on the table. The TTC’s original pay offer of 2% a year for 4 years was pretty low compared to most current public sector deals. And I gather that the TTC deducts some pay from workers who are off the job injured. If that was the case for my contract, I would want my union to fight it too (there is obviously room for abusing work injury situations, but that should be dealt with in other ways).
I was annoyed at my (generally pretty mild) union when they indulged in some brinkmanship during our last contract negotiations, but this seems to be pretty standard practice, it’s part of the unfortunately distorted structure of union-management relations.
Christopher: Those seats the drivers sit in are very much about safety. If the TTC provided poorer quality seats (meaning less ergonomically correct) you would see the number of low back injuries increase. The cost of an injury, especially low back injuries because of how persistent they are, is much more than paying up front for proper seats.
Further, your suggestion that unions should look into working conditions at Wal-Mart and other McJob-type employers is a great one. Except unions have already tried to organize Wal-Mart, McDonald’s and other similarly smarmy workplaces, and have a hard time because of those companies’ well-documented union busting practices. And without a membership in those chains, it’s near impossible to change them.
Dylan Reid: “While the TTC is important, it’s not a matter of life or death.”
That’s not what Marilyn Churley says.
MTA employees in New York are not legally allowed to strike. When they pulled a wildcat strike a couple years ago they were hauled into the courts and severely fined. The role the transit system plays in the the city’s economy is simply too important. What’s good policy for New York transit is good policy for Toronto. Case closed.
I would point out, too, that whether they have the right to strike or not, it’s a pretty ineffective tactic for a public sector union. When a private sector union strikes, they directly effect their employer’s bottom line by (say, for example) shutting down production. So the longer auto workers are out, the longer the big auto makers are not able to supply cars and profit from selling them.
On the other hand, since public services are, almost by definition, money-losing enterprises, a strike does not cost the employer anything — it actually saves the employer money. I read somewhere that during one of the public sector strikes during the Harris years, the compromise wage-hike was actually financed out of the savings accumulated during the strike.
Theoretically the power would come from the public’s outrage at the government over the lack of services being provided. But in practice, the government says, “hey, we just want to negotiate on behalf of the people in good faith, but the big bad union has shut down this service in order to take their frustrations out on you.”
It doesn’t help that those who most rely on public services are those most likely to be in a financial position that would leave them unsypathetic to the unionized civil servants’ demands. If you’re earning minimum wage behind the counter at a fast-food joint, the complaints of the $25-per-hour transit collector who get benefits and handsome vacation pay sound a bit like whining. “You say you only get 75% pay on short-term disability, eh? Last time I got sick I didn’t get paid at all.”
And that certainly becomes the take-home message for most of the public whenever teachers or garbage collectors or transit workers strike.
So: it saves the employer money and creates negative public relations. As a right? It’s probably important on principle. As a bargaining tactic, it’s an ineffective disaster.
Sean says: “refusal to enforce fare payments”. That’s the one. That would be much more effective.
Should a union have the right to strike, yes. But that really isn’t the question here, is it? What we all REALLY want to hear is the ATU saying that, out of a sense of understanding and in the spirit of building a better city, they won’t strike. And, that they are sorry for the wildcat strike.
To Mr. Kinnear and the rest of the ATU leadership, I invite you take a look at the teachers in the late nineties. They too were put in a position where they engaged in a higher than average number of strikes. Was their motivation for each strike reasonable? It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that their leadership failed to realize that if you want to keep public opinion on your side, every once in a while you have to bite the bullet and not strike. The teachers missed that in a big way and saw opinion turn against them even though they were clearly getting screwed by Mr. Harris.
Transit is a public service and it behooves those that operate it to be in the good graces of the public…at least, occasionally. It’s tough to argue that people aren’t turning on the TTC en masse. There are too many simple and annoying complaints and the leadership of the ATU seems more interested in putting the blame on TTC management, who are admittedly lacking but are only 50% of this equation. You want a 10% pay increase, then staple some smiles on your operators. Better yet, maybe that small pay increase is justified. Perhaps, all the money earmarked for wage increases got used paying for the sudden introduction of a stop announce system.
You can’t fight all the time. Occasionally you have to love. And I, as well as many other TTC riders, am not feeling the love.
should people who do not know the difference between the noun ‘breath’ and the verb ‘to breathe’ be allowed to publish online? vote now!
I think the ATU, by calling strike every contract negotiation and typically the day of the contract expiring, has really given up the right to be permitted to strike, and if they go out this time, the province will pass legislation declaring it an essential service and remove that right. After all if the (g)Liberals lost the support of Toronto, they would be sunk. A TTC strike (especially a long one) would do exactly that.
Now a word to everyone, I have suffered a work place injury and dealt with WSIB, and here is the deal.
WSIB pays 85% of your wages they pay all medical expenses related to your claim including those NOT paid by OHIP or your employer benefit plan and WSIB payments are not subject to federal taxes, CPP or UI, so if your not in the lowest tax bracket you can actually take home more on WSIB then your regular pay. So what is it the union really wants, probably higher wages which means higher union dues.
As for anyone who thinks TTC operators are over paid, try it sometime, operate a 30 tonne, 40′ vehicle loaded with people through the insanity known as Toronto traffic, as quickly as possible. You wonder why the operator is rude, he/she is stressed out to the limit! Be nice to the operator, how about a thanks! or have a nice day, once in a while to the driver.
I have read the comments here and I have to say this is the most reasonable conversation EVER about a union and its duty to the city.
While a few snarky comments have been made (which I liked anyway), it is totally refreshing to read a blog, and a series of comments, that does not sink low and tries to have a mature discussion about a multifaceted topic. I know of two other popular Toronto blogs where it goes to the gutter rather quickly on these kind of topics.
Thank you — and hopefully the following comments can be civil and engaging.
Now I don’t understand WHY the TTC have to go on strike.Are their demands that unreasonable?Are the divers and service workers so incompetent?I think not.The citizens of Toronto have already shown that they are willing to pay higher taxes for better services.And with people leaving their cars to “ride the rocket”,it just seems that all the demands should be accepted and the contract should be signed immediately.The citizens should say “thank you” for having such loyal and dedicated civil employees.We truly need them and rely on their professionalism.
A blog I follow of someone who just moved to Toronto from Montreal made an interesting point earlier this week about (the inevitable) back-to-work legislation. It tends to happen pretty swiftly during transit strikes in Toronto because it’s the provincial capital, so the politicians voting are directly affected. In Montreal, back-to-work legislation rarely happens because politicians in Quebec City don’t care if STM in Montreal strikes.
Oddly, I don’t particularly care whether ATU has the right to strike. I’m not sure it’s a particularly effective tactic in their case.
I think everyone can acknowledge that working in the TTC is no cakewalk. If you’re driving a bus, it’s like an 8-hour roadtrip every day, with thousands of hitchhikers. If you’re a fare collector, you have a supremely monotonous job, and have to deal with often-surly customers. If you’re a janitor….well. You have to clean TTC washrooms. Clearly, TTC workers need and deserve some pretty solid pay, and I don’t begrudge them it. The difficulty of the job doesn’t excuse rudeness and apathy among the staff, but neither should stagnant pay and bad benefits be used as some kind of collective punishment for having a bad attitude.
Unfortunately, I’d say most of the bad attitude among TTC workers is at the top, starting with Kinnear. These well-orchestrated rumblings of strike are just another sign of how deeply he doesn’t get it. He says he’s always fighting for the union; I don’t doubt that’s what he thinks, but rebellion for rebellion’s sake really isn’t leadership. I mean, what is he, 13? Does he really believe that posturing himself as the implacable resistor of a cruel, union-busting city is going to get the union anywhere in the long term? Miller is one of the most union-friendly mayors in a long time, and McGuinty is no enemy either. Yet, Kinnear seems content to alienate them, and for what? There’s no outcry among their constituents to give the ATU a better deal; it’s going to be a lean year for everybody. The mayor and the premier are, however, under major pressure to prevent a strike. If the union looks ready to strike, you’ll see the back-to-work and essential-service legislation whipped out right quick, and that’s no fun for anybody. Miller and McGuinty enjoy good union relationships, and if Kinnear keeps turning every negotiation into a nail-biter, the city and the province may decide to end their good-cop/good-cop routine. Apparently, Kinnear just doesn’t understand that sometimes, it’s worth sacrificing a couple percentage points on a pay raise to appease an unhappy public.
People of low income will be hurt the most with this strike. They’re the ones that can’t afford to own or rent a car, or even live close to their place of work.
And they’re definitely not the ones that can afford to miss work because of the union’s choice to walk away from negotiations.
Try telling -them- that the TTC isn’t an essential service. When they can’t make their rent because of the strike, or have trouble keeping food on the table for their family, then it becomes an issue of public safety.
I was told of the upcoming strike about 5 months ago by a TTC employee that I also worked with at another job on weekends. The union was already informing its members of the upcoming strike months before negotiations even started.
Unfortunately, myself, like others, cannot afford other arrangements
I completely agree with Ryan L.’s comments about the harsh consequences from a TTC strike on our society’s most vulnerable citizens. The right to strike should not be considered an inherent public right such as free speach. It is only the ultimate threat that the union is able to make and act on as a bargaining tool during negotiations. A good mediation process with binding arbitration as the ultimatum not only releases the general public from the threat of transit hell, it is also a more fair method to resolve contract differences (if we trust a judge to rule fairly on criminal matters, I am sure we can trust them to rule justly on how much injured TTC employees should be paid).
George> “The citizens of Toronto have already shown that they are willing to pay higher taxes for better services.” I will file that comment away.
Can we also file away Sawision saying “all the demands (of ATU 113) should be accepted”?
I don’t think there’s an experienced negotiator in the world who asks for exactly what they expect receive. You start high and make compromises without going under whatever your bottom line is. Just simply accepting all the union’s demands would be insane.
Even the Leftist Star had mentioned in its editorial that Public Transit should be deemed an essential service. Its rationale is that the less fortunate denizens of society should not be held hostage to the demands of the ATU. And I’m a Sun and Post reader.
I take a really harsh line towards unions (to the point that I am completely anti-union). While I think legislation to make transit workers essential is a first good step, at some point, I’d like to see all public sector workers deemed essential. Where I draw the line on the right to strike is when my life is adversely affected by them. We don’t need a repeat of the Outside Workers Strike on World Youth Day fiasco, do we?
I am not a fan of the ATU, and think they have broken the public trust and they need to elect a new leader to restore some faith. They are a bad-faith union right now, with Kinnear in charge.
That said, Stephen Cheung, tell us about your job? Tell me about your working conditions — and I suspect you’ll say you work in a non-union environment and you’re just fine, but tell, so we can draw connections for you to your job security/conditions with battles Canadians unions have won in the past. As a Sun and Post reader you’ll be familiar with the idea of “trickle down.” This is trickle up. And you can bet people in industrial relations will, when not representing the company side officially, this is how it works.
Get some history, man.
I’m glad to see people are not resorting to the ALL UNIONS ARE BAD and realize that each union has its own personality and tactics.
Scott>I took that statement directly from Gord Perks,should I call him a liar?No if the people want to pay higher taxes then I support what the people want.But should they pay higher taxes depends on the management by our politicians and that’s where the debate begins.But that debate can’t be held here.Yes Scott please keep filing eventually you may realize that I am not the villain but here to help my fellow citizens.They deserve the truth!
Norma>we as citizens must realize that the union are the only workers allowed to run the transit system,and as such there is no competition in the system.Are their demands just?Well without any comparison we must accept what they offer. To do otherwise is true insanity.Otherwise a strike is paid by those who depend on that service not the workers whose demands aren’t met.I don’t think anybody who depends on transit should loose one penny because of the strike.The transit union says that each worker is worth a million dollars to torontos economy.Do you dispute their facts????
Why not peg the salaries of the TTC (and other essential services) to the rate of inflation? That would immediately remove the major stumbling block every time the contract is up for renewal.
The actual rate of inflation is a subject of much discussion – but it is certainly over 2% right now, and likely to go up. Signing a contract for only a 2% annual increase is basically signing up for a decrease in your living standard.
Is TTC employers allowed to strike, yes of course.
But, can the public go on strike against TTC and its employees?
We are facing too often signal failures, emergency problems, late schedules transits, unknown stopping in the middle of tunnel or during ride in bus/streetcars, broken elevators and esclators, long queue in front of collectors…What commuters get in return are a sentence of apology, usually blurred or too noisy to hear and the problems goes on and on and on…
I understand the employees compensation might not be the best, however, I don’t think we commuters are enjoying the best from our token.
TTC might not be life essential stuff, nonetheless, there are someone who needs to travel daily on a ttc to get to work, and without working a day, may means a day’s salary less, which in turn might affect the life of that family. There are more and more people of such cases, students going for exam, workers get to work, patients appointment…u name it…
It might be a little to often for a public service provider to go on strike.
Cal>I feel your pain but blame Adam Giambrone and top management for the problems.If there isn’t good direction and leadership don’t expect the workers to be self managed.But it seems we are stuck with mediocrity and it reflects on the system that used to be the “pride of toronto” when good management was the norm.
I agree. It’s getting silly. I think that the TTC workers are well paid and otherwise compensated for what they do. Sure security is an issue at times but beyond that…
The TTC, if it’s ever going to attract more riders needs to find a way to expand service and capacity while at the same time lowering fares. As it stands right now alot of people find the TTC slower, less convenient, less reliable and more expensive than driving and that is not how you get people out of their cars.
I am opposed to any serious pay increase (beyond a cost of living adjustment) for TTC workers and very opposed to their station remodeling plans: The aesthetics of the stations has nothing at all to do with the TTCs problems.
Sam: Yes, I work for a private company.
Like many other people, I will agree that the Union had a part to play in improving working conditions for their employees. However, in today’s day and age, the unions have far more power than they should. It’s not about fair working conditions anymore, these days its about earning more and doing less, something that I see too much of in most unions. Whatever happened to hard work on a good day?
I could go into a long rant about unions causing chaos in ideal working conditions, but that is not the place here. As for the the potential of a TTC strike, this is why I say that all transit workers should be declared essential services. It’s not the transit commission who will feel the impact of a strike (okay they will but indirectly), it is the commuters who rely on this every single day. Even as a car driver myself, I expect to be inconvenienced when everyone has no choice but to dust off their cars for a long commute.
George> yes, u might be right. but personally, i believe changing top management have little impact in improving stuff. Over the years, I felt that it has become an attitude of such low quality service: given you are a responsible and committed doctor, you won’t mistreat your patients even if your hospital have a bad director, chairman or anyone. There are too often incidents and it seems that they don’t care to improve any way. Schedules are too often not followed, and quite often, there missed buses/streetcars.
Being an employee, it might be frustrating to have some bad employers. But every time, any unsettled agreements between unions and corporations turn out to be at the expense of the public is unacceptable. Suppose teachers annually discuss contract with schools, and every time, they have difficulty in arriving conclusion, shall teachers go on strike? this not only delay the students progress but led to many other consequences.
The TTC strike should not occur. We should look at other major cities and see how their transit system works. I just came back from Chicago and It cost only $1.75 per ride and $5 for a 24 hour pass. There are more train lines and buses. They are able to keep costs down by automating their ticket vending and entry to the subways. The TTC union is getting out of hand. If their wages keep going up the fares will go up too. $2.75 for poor service? The union has to be grandfathered to fix this problem. Everyone look at Chicago and New York, you won’t see two or three transit workers sitting on their ass collecting fares in one station. Automation is the way to go !!
I think every worker has a right to state their opinion, and may possibly deserve a higher salary….but i think its just ridiculous, I’m 15 and i think its insane that im always being demanded to pay adult fare…what kind of society do we live in where ttc workers are allowed to make me pay 2.75 to go get my education just by judging me by the way I look?
I think they are way to rude to customers as well… which is about half if not more of toronto, and they judge way too easily….the majority of ttc workers should really be lucky to still have their jobs with the way they treat people…
I think the fact that I’m 15 and taking the time to complain about this just goes to show what a poor job theyre doing!!!!!
So no they definately should not strike!!!
—Not to mention, if u havent seen those signs in the buses…it would seem that the ttc has a hefty income(12billion), so if these workers really arent getting what they think they deserve….where the hell is that money going?????
In an advanced country with well set labour laws, I strongly believe there is no need for unions. This is a thing of the past and we (hopefully) should be ahead of this. Not having unions is not going to affect anything because labour laws will secure employee protection. On the other hand it will stop unions like the TTC to repeatedly hold the public and the city to threats of a near closure. In an immigrant country that has so many unemployed or poorly employed immigrants who have “excessive” qualifications and experience, it is unfortunate that these workers cannot be replaced by more ‘educated’ and ‘ready to serve’ kind of immigrants.
Imagine getting paid @70,000 a year for checking the tokens at the entry gate. Most of them are reading magazines. I am sure many educated immigrants would love to do a better job than these workers at a much less salary.
I can understand the drivers, technicians and the real essential staff being paid well. Are we truly a first world democratic country?
It is about time we the public take control of these situations. Isn’t that all democracy is about?
TTC Strike (especially not running a public transit)= terror towards the public
-many people won’t be able to work, there could be a possibility to loose their job by others (Are those TTC people will have responsibilities for those who lost their job through this event?-extreme)
-CO2 Emission will be increased excessively one day.
-school schedules will be messed – how about those who have important exams or events? Are they going to turn the times back?
There were more reasons, but I can only think about these for now.
Personally, I don’t respect many TTC people (not everyone)because they don’t work hard enough, but demand more money only for their benefit.There are many people who get paid much less than them, but they work more and harder! These TTC people are even trying to cut these work hard peoples’ only transportation!!! They think these people are all rich to be able to afford cars????
So Angry…….
During my lifetime (a quarter century) the TTC has gone on strike for a total of fourteen days. Four of those days were attributed to a wheel-trans strike. The hype of potential strikes makes people ignore the reality that these contract negotiations almost never affect their lives. A reporter asked Giambrone yesterday if the city planned to provide regular updates on negotiations to the public. Nothing unites Toronto like an hourly opportunity to whine.
On the issue of compensation for injured workers, I doubt there is much controversy. TTC employees deserve 100% compensation for short-term disibility, not 75%. Mark Bonokoski wrote that “only the coldest of hearts would say TTC workers do not deserve full pay when off work because of a job-related injury.” And he writes for the Toronto Sun. I have yet to hear a respectful argument that the union should not be willing to take a strike position over this. But that’s because most of the public debate (present e-company excluded) leapfrogs the issues and goes straight to how greedy and inadequate TTC employees apparently are.
Also, it has already been mentioned that making the TTC an essential service could actually cost the public more than the current arrangement. So is this about money, or is it about being inconvenienced? Do we want the TTC to become an essential service at a higher cost to the public, just so that we don’t have to worry about getting around? Are fourteen strike days in a quarter century worth all this fuss, and the potential added costs?
Councillors Cesar Palacio and Cliff Jenkins want council to ask McGuinty to make the TTC an essential service. Jenkins admits wage increases for TTC employees could be higher under provincial arbitration, but he says if that happens, it’ll be the province’s problem. I guess people really don’t care how much the TTC costs, as long as they don’t have to be responsible for it.
Police officers, firefighters and paramedics receive very respectable salaries and benefits. We justify that because we need them. Generally, people respect these professions because they make a critical difference in out lives. If we truly want to place TTC in this category, we’d better be prepared to ante up, in terms of compensation and respect.
Anyone who wants control of the TTC to remain local hands had better pay attention to Palacio’s and Jenkins’ proposal. It may fail to gain council support in the short term, but some clever cookie could attempt to win the next mayoral election by promising to push for the “essential service” designation. If Dalton McGuinty becomes the political benefactor of that situation, the general perception that his government is best suited to deal with the TTC will increase.
And hey, why not, right? Let Mcguinty run the TTC. Will it be any better? Toronto doesn’t care, as long as we don’t have to deal with it.
I think that bus drivers should be allowed to strike.
I’m in high school and I’m reliant on public busses to get me to and from school, as are many other students in my area. But the abuse the bus drivers have to put up with on my bus is terrible. Students cuss at the drivers, throw objects out of the window at cars, break the seats and bells inside the bus, litter, etc.
I feel bad for the bus drivers for having to put up with this kind of behaviour, it’s not fair on them because they are just trying to do their job, and they don’t get paid to babysit a bunch of derranged hyper-active kids.