Guess I'd better get my walking shoes ready just in case.

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Originally posted by Michelle:
Argh. We're supposed to have a left-wing municipal government, and they can't negotiate a fair settlement with TTC staff? ...
I support the right of transit workers to strike.

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I too support the right of transit workers to strike.

But regarding the municipal government: I do not think it's obvious that they "can't negotiate a fair settlement with TTC staff." Negotiations are between two or more parties: blaming the nonexistence of a fair negotiated settlement entirely on one party may be well-founded, but requires detailed knowledge of the case at hand.

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"We have called off negotiations until the TTC can address this fundamental issue," said union president Bob Kinnear.

Right now, drivers, operators and maintenance staff suffer a reduction in pay if they are off work because of injuries on the job. The union says that must change and has drawn a line in the sand.

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Sometimes 2 or 3 assaults a day

"I can tell you that each and every day of the year we see at least one assault. Sometimes there are two or three. So there are literally hundreds of injuries through assaults, as well as a number of incidents that have been widely reported through the media of our maintenance workers working in increasingly difficult conditions and increasingly unsafe conditions."

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[ 25 March 2008: Message edited by: Noise ]

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Originally posted by Michelle:
I hear on the radio that the provincial government is considering back-to-work legislation if the TTC goes on strike.

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Originally posted by M. Spector:
Has there ever been a TTC strike that didn't end with back-to-work legislation?

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I don't know, I haven't experienced enough of them. I remember a wildcat strike that simply ended the next day without legislation.

I still think they should go on a "fare strike" as a way of drawing attention to the violence issue. I'll bet most violence happen as a result of arguments over fares. (I don't blame the drivers for this, btw.)

If the union said that drivers were no longer going to demand fares until the TTC addressed the issue of violence on the TTC, I think the TTC would be forced to address the issue.

[ 26 March 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

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Well, another good reason to go on a "fare strike" instead. Doesn't hurt the passengers, but it hits the TTC hard.

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Just a quick question on Ontario labour law-- In the case of a TTC strike what protections do other workers have if they are unable to get to work? Can workers be disciplined for not getting to work? Can employers not pay workers or force them to use those days as sick days or vacation days?

Thank you wonderful babblers!

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Originally posted by Dr. Hilarius:
Which really gives teh union no reason not to strike. They know it will go to arbitration and they'll get a raise, if not as much as they're hoping for.

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The union does not want to strike. They don't get paid when they go on strike.

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Originally posted by Michelle:
Well, another good reason to go on a "fare strike" instead. Doesn't hurt the passengers, but it hits the TTC hard.

(And I say this with no ulterior motives - I'm on the metropass discount plan, so I won't gain anything from a fare strike...)

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[ 26 March 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

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Originally posted by M. Spector:
Spare us the anti-union horseshit.
The union does not want to strike. They don't get paid when they go on strike.

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It wasn't anti-union at all. I was pointing out that it's a good strategy on their part. I don't live in the city and don't take teh TTC so have no personal stake in it.

Go to a mall near Christmas time during a rush. I think most cashiers and customer service reps will tell you the same thing, that they experience a lot more verbal abuse (and possibly assault) at those times too.

Only you can't get a refund for shitty, late, rude service on the TTC - I can at other places I spend my money. This surely contributed to TTC Rage.

[Edited to say - my mistake, I thought it said that EACH driver is assaulted once a day!]

I'm sure the verbal abuse is much more frequent than once a day for EVERY driver though.

I think that, experiencing that kind of abuse on the job, many people would shut down emotionally or have a lot of pent up anger issues. No wonder you see so much passive-aggressive hostility on the part of many drivers. It's a hell of a job.

They deserve every penny, and management has to find a way to deal with the underlying problems that cause the violence, as well as the anger that both passengers AND drivers feel. And I would say that overcrowding (and the pressure on drivers to pack passengers in because there aren't enough vehicles on the road) and the passenger rage and driver demoralization that results is the biggest issue they're facing.

And that can be laid directly at the door of management.

[ 26 March 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

On the other hand, there have been many times when they have been courteous, especially when I was getting my very physically compromised mother to appointments around the city using Wheeltrans. Just the other day a friend of mine accidentally left a bag full of birthday gifts on a train and they couldn't have been more helpful in locating said bag and returning it intact to her.

Why did Mayor Miller, in all his NDP glory, threaten cut backs to TTC routes when car drivers didn't want to pay taxes. Why didn't he cut back road services?

Why did the Feds give money to the TTC to install video cameras at the train stations but not money to improve service and lower fees?

Why does a system that supposedly adds $12 million to the Toronto economy each year require that the people who take it pay a service charge and the people who run it get crap pay? While car drivers get subsidized oil, roads and constantly expanding services with no fee increases.

How can the government use back-to-work legislation to bust a strike, admitting that the whole shit-show that is the GTA is dependent on the TTC, and then cut funding, refuse to expand services and not listen to the workers demands?

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In a move denounced by some politicians as provocative in the middle of delicate contract negotiations between the City of Toronto and the Amalgamated Transit Union, McGuinty warned such strikes can cripple the economy.

"It's not fair for 1.5 million commuters to tell them they can't use the system on Monday morning," he said yesterday. "If there was some kind of an approach made within the course of the next three years by the city of Toronto ... saying we have decided ourselves that it would be a good thing for us to have our public transit system essential, that is something that we, at Queen's Park, would have to consider."

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Originally posted by Michelle:
Well, another good reason to go on a "fare strike" instead. Doesn't hurt the passengers, but it hits the TTC hard.

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On Wednesday, the head of Local 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Union announced ongoing physical assaults against his members over fares have resulted in an escalating number of injuries and close calls for drivers and too little action by management.

So to fight back, he instructed the employees not to argue with anyone over fares. "We will not put our safety and our incomes at risk for $2.75," declared Rick Kinnear in dramatic fashion.

It's now been more than 24 hours since the new policy began. Have riders tried to take advantage of it and have drivers kept their united front?

CityNews sent Ma out with a hidden camera to find out. She boarded a T.T.C. streetcar and proceeded to put in a lot less than the real fare.

"I got on and I gave 75 cents," she relates. "And he let me go." Although she did get some reaction. "He gave me a look," she admits.

Mayor David Miller agrees there's a chance the always cash strapped Commission could lose money if enough people take advantage of the situation. But "I don't believe for one minute that riders won't pay their fares," he challenges.

T.T.C. Chair Howard Moscoe isn't willing to stand by and watch the Red Rocket get cheated out of its economic fuel.

"I'm disappointed that that happens," he remarks when told of the experiment. "I remind the drivers that that's what they are employed to do. They are employed to collect fares and if they refuse to collect fares, they are violating the collective agreement."

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Originally posted by Michelle:

Anyhow...I'm watching CP24 right now - they're half an hour after the 4 p.m. deadline and nothing yet...

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Yes, everyone will be able to get to work tomorrow.

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Originally posted by Doug:
everyone will be able to get to work tomorrow.

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We are coming in to Toronto tomorrow to pick up our Chinese Visas. No, they do not mail them. You pick up.

So we can relax. Go Train. Subway.

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A visibly angry David Miller said he has secured an agreement with the province to bring in back-to-work legislation as soon as possible after thousands of transit riders found themselves stranded Saturday morning when TTC workers went out on strike.

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