TTC Retains Right to Piss Us Off Periodically

By Hamutal Dotan

In a 23-22 vote City Council just defeated a motion that would have declared the TTC an essential service. Essential service designation would have, if approved by the province, prevented TTC members from striking legally. The declaration was originally considered and rejected at a meeting of the Executive Committee under the leadership of Mayor Miller despite widespread public support for the measure. Councillors Jenkins, Palacio, and Thompson have been spearheading a campaign to overturn that decision, collecting signatures and publishing editorials to build support. The major argument in favour: the impact of a TTC strike is economically and socially unsustainable and outweighs the union’s reasonable right to strike. The major argument against: declaring the TTC essential is cost-prohibitive (contracts for essential service employees tend to be higher than others); moreover, wildcat strikes and work-to-rule actions would still be possible and have occurred in other jurisdictions where transit services have been declared essential, rendering the designation substantially ineffectual. Both TTC management and the union leadership opposed the declaration, as did Councillors Giambrone and Mihevc, chair and vice-chair of the TTC, respectively. Council did pass motions asking that the province designate the Wheel-Trans division of the TTC essential, and require that the union give 48 hours notice of any strike action.