A Part of Toronto’s History
For over 120 years, Toronto transit workers have been improving not only their own wages and benefits, but the overall state of transit and the city itself. We’ve had such a demonstrable impact in Toronto. One of our members was even elected Mayor!
But this change hasn’t come without a lot of work. It took more than a decade for workers at the Toronto Street Railway System to form a union. The employer resisted all along the line – firing union activists, refusing to negotiate — even forcing workers to join an ‘alternative’ company union. By 1899, the workers had succeeded. Division 113 of the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America was established.
The union movement is built on the idea that we are stronger when we work together. ATU Local 113 is proud of its strong history of solidarity.
Why ATU Local 113?
The Division’s number, which the Local still carries to this day, was a product of the tireless commitment of a core group of 13 workers that led the effort to establish the union throughout the 1890s. When they finally succeeded, members wanted to commemorate these thirteen. There was already a Division 13 assigned to a Local in the United States, so the next closest was 113.