April 17, 2008
TTC Set To Walk Out Monday
Taxi! Taxi!
The posturing shifted into high gear today in the TTC labour dispute, as union president Bob Kinnear announced that if his people don't get satisfaction this weekend, 1.5 million Torontonians are going to be looking for another way to get around as of 4 a.m. on Monday.
Kinnear came out swinging at a press conference this morning, telling assembled reporters that TTC employees were "second class citizens" compared to city workers and transit staff in other jurisdictions, and that management was being unfair on issues like healthcare benefits and pensions. The union boss also pointed his finger up the political chain, noting correctly that the TTC is wildly underfunded by all levels of government compared to other transit systems.
With the talks being held behind closed doors, details of the problem issues aren't entirely clear. What is known is that the initial TTC offer of a 2% annual increase over a 3 year contract was rejected by the unions, and that a key sticking point has been the TTC's refusal to bend on providing full pay to employees kept off the job due to illness or injury. However, who has to move in what direction and how far are anybody's guess.
The city had previously announced a plan to deal with a potential strike on Monday, which includes prohibiting parking on some major arteries, temporary carpool lanes on some streets, and free parking for carpoolers in some city-owned lots. No bike lanes yet, folks.
What can we look forward to this weekend in the countdown to traffic chaos? Well, we'll see everyone talking disingenuously about being "forced" by management or the union or Jesus or the Trilateral Commission into doing what they desperately don't want to do, which is inconvenience the public. We can expect lots of journalistic cliches as "talks go down to the wire" in the "11th hour" with negotiators taking "a hard line" on whatever it is they're talking about in there. And of course, thousands will be thinking "Why didn't I buy that Segway off eBay when I had the chance?"
Will the the opposing parties manage to hammer out a last minute transit-saving solution this weekend? Will David Miller race home from China in time to swoop in and save the day? Will we get a partial refund on our Metropass this month? Stay tuned...
With additional reporting from David Topping. Photo by Jon. from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
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The TTC just issued the following statement:
The Toronto Transit Commission remains committed to reaching a negotiated settlement with its three unions: a settlement that is fair for its employees and affordable for the people of Toronto. The TTC and its unions are not yet in agreement on how to achieve that goal. The TTC's bargaining team, however, is working hard to reach a fair deal, and will continue to do so.
The Toronto Transit Commission is mindful of the public's frustration and uncertainty about a service disruption; its employees, however, deserve nothing less than to continue to be treated with dignity and respect.
The Toronto Transit Commission will not comment on the threat of job action at this time. Its focus remains on reaching a fair, negotiated settlement.
They'll could still reach an agreement before Monday morning.
So can we expect the final word on Saturday morning? They promised 48 hours notice, not 96 hours of "maybe Monday, we'll see".
Fingers crossed
(also crossing fingers on other hand so that whatever settlement they hopefully reach doesn't lead to a rise in fares in the next 6 months.)
Kinnear said that they need an offer by 4 p.m. on Sunday to not walk out the following morning; otherwise, they'll tell members not to show up for shifts the following morning.
That isn't 48 hours notice.
Kinnear's very contrived speech was a complete joke and I think his "First Class/Second Class" mantra will only serve to infuriate the public who are by his calculations apparently third class citizens.
And I would have been more inclined to see the TTC unions' point of view if they could give me a more legitimate argument than: They have it – we want it too! I've seen more maturity from Second graders.
My personal favourite part was his declaration that "The lack of inequality" was unacceptable. I agree fully.
Bob Kinnear is right. The city union is 1st class. The others working with them, such as transit unions are second class and get far less than their city counter parts. I personally know people doing the same job in 2 unions. The city employee makes twice the other's salary.
The problem is they are depriving the city's citizens, who have become the 3rd class citizens in all of this, of the ability to get to work, get paid and support their families. Because they don't have protected pensions? They people who pay the price have no pensions at all.
If I have to buy a bike this weekend I won't be riding the TTC again for a very long time.
Toronto needs one of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Law
Good for the union though to put the blame where it belongs, which is the ridiculous underfunding of the TTC by the senior governments. In 2004, the average American transit system got 33% of funding from fares and 59% from government sources. The TTC in the same year had an unheard of 80% funding from fares and less than 20% from government sources. Mull over those numbers for a moment. Is it any surprise that strikes, overcrowding and a woefully underbuilt system is the result? Shame on you, MPs and MPPS of Toronto and the citizens who vote for them.
I, for one, will look forward to Streetcar free streets come Monday. Always seems to be less congestion while these steel pigs are home at the barn.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a supporter of public transit and take it when convenient, but has no-one asked the question why Toronto is the only major metropolitan city in the world to allow rail traffic to run on downtown streets intermingling with other traffic?
Rus, I think you may be wrong in your last question / statement. I guess it depends on your definition of "major metropolitan."
Rus: Many, many cities allow light rail vehicles to intermingle with traffic on city streets. Not all of them do it as extensively as Toronto, but it does happen. Portland, Baltimore, Melbourne, Stuttgart, Jersey City, New Orleans, and San Francisco are just a few examples. Better to have streetcars in mixed traffic than none at all.
I agree that it is less than ideal and that all streetcars should run in dedicated right-of-ways, but Toronto's lack of money/political will/wider streets have all been obstacles. Too bad, as I'm sure a good number of people would prefer to see the steel pigs known as automobiles kept in their garage barns rather than clogging streets with their left turns and double parking. The current stunted utilization of the streetcar grid does not make street-level transit terribly attractive.
Attention, those who're complaining about not having exactly forty-eight hours' notice: come back here and read this article again at 4:00 Saturday morning. At the worst, you'll have a pleasant surprise on Monday morning if the strike doesn't happen after all.
This is going to be rather unfortunate. Who else is going to fleece me of my money and read me the riot act on proper transfer usage now?
Yay! My bike's back from the shop.
What strike? See you in December, TTC!!
uskyscraper is right, public transit is a critical public service and a strike interrupting that service should be outlawed.
rus, you say that there will be less congestion without the streetcars on Monday, but I am willing to bet the congestion will be worse, with tens of thousands who can resort to a car but normally using the TTC, adding to the blight of single-occupancy vehicles to get to work.
Cheers,
Tuds
Is there something about me visiting cities that makes their public transport go on strike? I visited Berlin last month and found their U-Bahn, bus and trams all out of action.
I note that there's no mention of the duration of the strike. Does that mean it's indefinite? I think it's a UK law that the duration of a strike must be announced in advance (so when the London Underground's unions walk out, they'll do 24 hours from 6pm, meaning they can knock out two evening rush hours.)
Tuds/Uskyscraper
Tuds, I'll take that bet - the day of the 'wildcat' strike traffic was smoother than ever.
Uskyscraper,
Agree with most of your post. I just got back from San Fran, and the comingling is limited to relatively few streets (3 lines for the cable cars, and a few for the old PCC's etc.)
Guys, I'm not trying to stir things up. Obviously public transit is vital and there needs to be more of it. I sometimes drive, sometimes ride my bike, sometimes my motorcycle, sometimes the streetcar/subway. All depends on circumstances. I'm not going to wear a hair-shirt just to make a point, and I suspect many folks with the same options feel the same way.
All I'm saying is that I am not convinced streetcars are the *best* effort Toronto could put forth. San Fran, for example, makes use of articulated electric trolley buses, and from a mobility perspective I can't see how anyone can call streetcars 'the better way'.
It always seems to come down to 'us vs them', being 'streetcars vs cars'. Both get in each others way, and advocates of both seem to get touchy when you try to have a real discussion.
The ultimate solution, I suspect, would be subways, but with the federal and provincial governments sticking their collective finger up Toronto citizen's arses, that ain't going to happen.
Anyway, happy hitchiking come Monday as (and I'll be happy to start an argument on this one) the Union employees of the socialist workers paradise of Toronto once again show their contempt at those of us that pay their (outrageous) paycheques.
Peace out.
Am I the only one that thinks this is utter bullshit?
Being a TTC driver is not a highly-skilled job. I do agree that they probably have to put up with SLIGHTLY more bullshit than the average person does at their job but c'mon, 60 - 100K a year to sit on your ass a push a couple pedals all day?
And then on top of that they're the sourest, bitchiest people I've ever met. Next time you hop on the streetcar make sure to note the look on the drivers face. The "what the hell do you want?" look as they cold-fish the transfer in your general direction.
It's as though they feel you're due their disdain for using the service that employs them. I'd hate to think that they're part of the face of the city with regard to tourism.
I say fuck the TTC. Shut it down. And keep it down for as long as it takes for the public support of these whiny bitches to drop to zero. Then fire them all and replace them with people that will actually appreciate the well-paying, secure jobs.
Even Kinnear was quoted today as saying that "We understand that most of the public will not be on our side." Apparently his epiphany isn't leading to any kind of deep introspection as to why that might be.
A bus driver sassed me for making him stop because he was the second of two buses driving at the same time and I thought I could grab a seat on his bus. While most TTC drivers aren't rude, this one clearly forgot that he was doing a job, not racing at the Indy 500. The service aggravated my displeasure at a possible strike after only two years: worse than bad service is no service.
Rus and I agree on one thing it looks like, and that is cars and streetcars competing in the same space. I'd like to see more streetcars on a dedicated right-of-way.
Tuds