TTC union set to announce Monday strike
Walkout could strand 1.5 million riders, but talks likely to continue over weekend
Apr 17, 2008 04:30 AM
The Star
Tess Kalinowski
transportation reporter
Toronto's most powerful transit union is expected to issue a strike deadline today that could leave 1.5 million TTC riders stranded Monday if a deal isn't reached.
Both sides confirmed yesterday that they are still talking and discussions are expected to continue through the weekend.
Union president Bob Kinnear would not comment on plans to hold a news conference this morning. It would, however, follow on one last Thursday in which he warned that the union was growing increasingly impatient with the slow pace of bargaining.
He accused the TTC then of trying to push the union into a strike it doesn't want.
"We, better than anyone, understand the frustration the public feels. We don't want to compound that frustration," he told reporters, adding that the minute his members walk off the job they become "public enemy number one."
The 8,900 drivers and maintenance staff, members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, have been in a legal strike position since April 1. Two smaller TTC unions representing millwrights and electrical and communications workers are also seeking a deal and are in a legal strike position.
Kinnear has said there will be no work-to-rule, only a full withdrawal of service. The union has however, committed to giving the public at least 48 hours' notice.
TTC chair Adam Giambrone continued yesterday to reject Kinnear's call for him to take the lead on negotiations. "We have confidence in our bargaining team and will continue to work together."
The TTC has been given no indication of what the union might announce today, said spokesperson Brad Ross. "Our goal is to reach a deal that is fair for our workers and one that is fair for the people of Toronto given the TTC's financial situation – fair, but nobody should be looking for generosity. That's the reality of the situation."
The union rejected a first offer of about 2 per cent in each year of a three-year deal. Although progress has been made on the issue of benefits for workers injured on the job, the TTC is looking for other benefit concessions, Kinnear has said.
Meanwhile, the TTC has suggested it's willing to improve the benefits package for all unionized employees by redistributing premiums some workers already get.
The TTC pays the Ontario Health Tax premium for its employees, a cost most workers in the province pay themselves. That costs about $6 million annually – about $4.5 million for unionized employees, according to one source.
It also pays about $9 million annually in Sunday shift premiums.
According to one source, the union won about $17 million in benefit improvements in the last round of bargaining and the money isn't there to do that again.
