Transit strike averted in Toronto after last-minute agreement between TTC and union

Toronto·Updated

A union local that represents nearly 12,000 Toronto Transit Commission workers says it has struck a “framework settlement” with management, averting a strike that would have caused chaos for millions of commuters.

Announcement comes minutes before midnight strike deadline

Muriel Draaisma · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 06, 2024 9:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 17 minutes ago

A Toronto Transit Commission streetcar glides along with the downtown Toronto skyline in the background on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)

A union local that represents nearly 12,000 Toronto Transit Commission workers says it has struck a “framework settlement” with management, averting a strike that would have caused chaos for millions of commuters.

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113 said in an update shortly after 11:30 p.m. that the framework settlement allows allows it to put a planned strike on hold. The union local had planned to strike just after midnight Friday if no deal had been reached with the TTC.

As a result, the TTC transit system’s buses, streetcars and subways will run normally on Friday.

“We will continue to work through details and to arrive at a fair and reasonable contract that we can recommend to our members to ratify,” ATU Local 113 said in the update.

“Our demands have been reasonable. We asked the TTC for assurance on job security, for protections on contracting out our jobs, for improvement in benefits for active members and pensioners. Today we finally saw action on these critical issues.”

The union local said it would continue to provide updates as things progress.

Commuters ride the TTC ahead of a transit strike deadline in Toronto on June 6, 2024. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

Marvin Alfred, president of ATU Local 113, told reporters that the mood at the bargaining table, despite the framework, has been one of frustration.

“There is a culture here where we have an employer that stands in the way of progress,” Alfred said. “At times it feels as though they’re not really aligned with us in providing any sort of opportunities for transit delivered in a comprehensive way. We are frustrated.”

Alfred said the framework covers a three year period until March 2027.

Coun. Jamaal Myers, chair of the TTC board, said both sides reached a “tentative agreement.”

“Most importantly, this deal will keep Toronto moving,” Myers said.

TTC CEO Rick Leary said the tentative deal is a good one for employees, the city and transit agency.

“This is a good deal for the city and our hard working employees,” Leary said. “For the next three years, we have guaranteed service.”

Leary said the tentative deal is a positive development.

“Nobody wanted a strike tomorrow,” he said.

The union represents operators, fare collectors, maintenance and station staff and other frontline employees who account for roughly three-quarters of all TTC staff.

The two sides had been in collective bargaining since February, with union representatives saying previously that wages, benefits and job security were the main sticking points in talks. 

Union members voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in April, after their previous collective agreement expired at the end of March.

This was the first time unionized TTC workers were in a legal strike position since 2011. Last year, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that a 2011 law that forbade them from walking off the job was unconstitutional.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Muriel Draaisma is a reporter and writer at CBC News in Toronto. She likes to write about social justice issues. She has previously worked for the Vancouver Sun, Edmonton Journal and Regina Leader-Post. She is originally from B.C. Have an idea for a story? You can reach her at [email protected].

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