Author: nanderson

ATU Local 113 President Carlos Santos today released the following statement to members regarding the TTC pleading guilty to a violation of the Ontario Ministry of Labour Occupational Health and Safety Act that resulted in the death of our Brother Tom Dedes who worked as a track maintenance worker:

“This is a sad day for our union as we continue to grieve for Tom Dedes, an ATU Local 113 member who left us too soon. Today, we offer our deepest condolences and support to Tom Dedes’ family, friends and co-workers.

The TTC today finally admitted guilt for violating the Ontario Ministry of Labour Occupational Health and Safety Act by ‘failing to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.’

Today’s guilty plea is further evidence the TTC must do more to protect its workers. ATU Local 113 will continue to support our union representatives on the Joint Health and Safety Committee to ensure the TTC is held accountable and exercises due diligence with implementing all recommended changes to create a safer workplace for all.

The TTC’s admission of guilt and the resulting fine is a somewhat hollow victory for Tom Dedes’ family, friends and co-workers who still deal with the tragic events and will continue to deal with the circumstances of his loss for the rest of their lives.

The TTC should have ended this case much sooner. The TTC legal team had possession of all the reports, statements and Ontario Ministry of Labour documents for a long time, but waited until attending court, one month shy of two years since the incident occurred, to admit guilt and settle. As is usual in these cases, the only people who come out ahead are the TTC’s lawyers as the TTC continues to waste taxpayers’ money fighting cases dealing with important health and safety matters.

For the TTC, the case is over when the fine is paid. However, for those left behind who continue to work day after day at the TTC, the situation is far from over.

For almost two years, family, friends, co-workers and investigators have dealt with trauma. Thoughts of that night, reliving the experience throughout the investigation and anticipating reliving the events in an unfamiliar court environment have caused many sleepless nights and stressful days for those involved. Looking at these experiences, our union’s position is that the TTC failed to provide an adequate support system for the employees who witnessed the incident and experienced trauma, which is unacceptable.

The file is closed on the case, but the work is not done. Now, we move forward. We learn from this horrible lesson and do our best to ensure another group of workers does not need to go through this experience.

We remember Tom Dedes and we continue to offer support, kindness and understanding to those still suffering. We look ahead and do our jobs safely. We have the right to work safe and come home safe. Now, more than ever, members need to have an awareness of their work environment and exercise their rights if, at any time, they do not feel safe.

ATU Local 113 will continue to fight for the TTC to provide a safer workplace and proper support for all workers who experience trauma.”

This Monday, September 2, Keep Transit Public by marching with your ATU Local 113 Sisters and Brothers in the Labour Day parade!

We must recognize everything the Canadian Labour movement has accomplished together and recommit ourselves to improving workers’ lives. That means sending the Ford government a clear message: Toronto’s subway is NOT for sale!

See you Monday in a powerful showing of solidarity. Find the full details below:

The Ontario Progressive Conservative government today passed its so-called Getting Ontario Moving Act that clears a path to privatization, increased fragmentation of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and a potential sell-off of vital City of Toronto assets, including existing subway stations.

“It’s incredible the Doug Ford government passed a bill with such magnitude without much, if any, public discussion,” said Carlos Santos, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113, which represents 11,500 TTC employees. “Our transit system and the workers who move Toronto every day will be entirely at the mercy of a Premier who has done little to explain how he intends to manage Canada’s largest transit system, and at what cost.”

Now that the Ford government has passed the bill that will see the province take ownership of new TTC subway infrastructure, President Carlos Santos said major decisions affecting riders and employees should only be made after extensive public consultations.

“Torontonians pay for and own the TTC, but they’ve been excluded from the conversation. It’s time for the province to respect Torontonians by seeking the support of the City of Toronto and the TTC, which has managed the system for nearly a century.”

While many questions remain unanswered, we do know the Getting Ontario Moving Act gives the Ford government the power to move forward unilaterally with its stated plans of uploading the TTC to the province and make the delivery of rapid transit projects the responsibility of Metrolinx, a provincial agency.

Decision-makers also have the ability to halt existing transit planning  and replace it with new designs, to be built and operated by private companies. This could mean taking a single, integrated system of subway, bus, LRT and streetcars, and carving it up into two or more pieces operated by vastly different entities.

“If Doug Ford’s proposed Ontario Line is operated by a private company like the UP Express is, for example, a commute to work could include an additional fare,” said President Carlos Santos. “We just don’t know at this point, but history gives us reason to be concerned.”

On the infrastructure side, the Act allows the province to transfer all or some of Toronto’s assets to itself, with or without compensation. This means the province can take valuable city assets, like Union Station, without a single cent in return.

Perhaps the most worrisome section of this Act would enable the dismantling and privatization of Toronto’s public transit system without challenge, and without following existing legal protections for workers and the environment.

The Act allows the provincial cabinet to exempt a transfer of rapid transit projects from all Ontario laws. This could include worker protections in the Labour Relations Act, environmental protections in the Environmental Protection Act and more.

ATU Local 113 warns that intentional language gives the Premier the ultimate power to push plans through without challenge.

“With so much at stake, ATU Local 113 will continue to keep a very close eye on the province’s plans as they begin to be rolled out,” said President Carlos Santos. “One thing’s for sure – public transit workers are prepared to fight tooth and nail to get the province to reverse decisions that are not in the best interest of TTC riders and its employees.”

This response to the Getting Ontario Moving Act was developed by President Carlos Santos. To share your concerns on the newly passed Act with President Carlos Santos, you can find him on Twitter at  @C_ATULocal113.