ATU Local 113 members Anna, Daniel and Nicole joined President Marvin Alfred to discuss the psychological impact of assaults. It’s not easy. We thank them for sharing their stories. Our union stands by them as they overcome the trauma from these assaults.
CBC: Union calls for government action after 2 TTC workers stabbed this month
ATU Local 113 President Marvin Alfred and members Daniel, Nicole and Anna spoke to media today regarding the rise in assaults against transit workers. The TTC needs to be safe for riders and the many workers who keep Toronto moving.
CTV News: Attacks on TTC staff prompt union to call for more protections
This morning, ATU Local 113 President Marvin Alfred and members Nicole, Daniel and Anna spoke at a press conference to address the rise in assaults against TTC workers and what needs to be done to stop it. It is clear more work needs to be done to protect our members.
Sisters and Brothers,
ATU Local 113’s January Information Meeting will be hosted through Zoom on January 16, 2022, at 10 a.m. Members can register using the link below by providing their full name, email address, and badge number.
Please note that the cut off time for registration is 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 15, 2022.
After registering, members will receive a confirmation email from Zoom with their secure personalized link. They will be able to participate by clicking on that link at 10 a.m. on Sunday January 16, 2021.
Members are encouraged to submit their questions at the time of registration, but there will also be a live moderated Q&A period at the meeting.
For security reasons, only computer access will be allowed. There will be no option to phone in to the webinar.
We look forward to speaking with you soon.
In Solidarity,
Marvin Alfred
President, ATU Local 113
Sisters and Brothers,
As TTC CEO Rick Leary continues to attack our members and tries to eliminate union jobs that play a critical role in transit safety, ATU Local 113 will never stop fighting for you. In this video, we reflect on the history of our union, and how far we have come in enhancing and protecting the worker rights we have today. This video demonstrates ATU Local 113’s commitment to not only protect our members, but to also always put our members first.
In Solidarity,
Carlos Santos
President, ATU Local 113
ATU Local 113 President Carlos Santos has been fighting for members in the media.
Our calls for the TTC to drop their flawed mandatory vaccination policy, harmful cuts to service and advocacy for common sense practices like regular testing have reached over 13 million people through coverage in top-tier media outlets.
Sisters and Brothers,
ATU Local 113 today filed an application for an injunction with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that seeks to pause the enforcement of the TTC’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy until an arbitrator makes a final decision on the original grievance we filed on this issue.
We request that the Court order that the TTC not put any employees on unpaid leave or terminate their employment until an arbitrator decides the union’s case, or in the alternative, for 60 days.
To be clear, this injunction is not about vaccinations. This is about protecting 2,000 members’ jobs and their means to provide for themselves, their families and loved ones.
ATU Local 113 supports COVID-19 vaccinations. We have never been opposed to vaccinations. However, we also remain firm in our belief that getting vaccinated should be the choice of each member, and as a union, we have a duty to support that choice.
The TTC has one of the most punitive vaccine policies of all transit agencies in Canada. Instead of firing unvaccinated employees and cutting service, the TTC should offer sensible alternatives, such as regular testing for the small percentage of workers who wish not to receive the vaccine, so they can continue proudly serving Toronto. These measures have already been successfully executed with Mississauga Transit and Brampton Transit and can be safely adopted in Toronto as well.
The TTC’s mandatory vaccine policy is inconsistent as it does not require TTC passengers to be vaccinated, meaning that the vast majority of people entering TTC workspaces, vehicles or stations are not required to be vaccinated. With the appropriate safety provisions such as regular testing, unvaccinated workers would not be putting Torontonians at risk.
ATU Local 113 members who have worked on the front lines throughout the pandemic should not be blamed for service cuts that will harm the public. The real reason for service cuts is low ridership, not workers’ vaccination status. The TTC should maintain service to avoid overcrowding and attract riders back to transit. Riders and Toronto’s dedicated transit heroes deserve better.
Unvaccinated ATU Local 113 members deserve to have their day in court before the TTC fires them and takes away their means to support themselves and their families.
We will keep you updated as the situation develops.
In solidarity,
Carlos Santos
President, ATU Local 113
Sisters and Brothers,
For years, the TTC calls us “essential” yet after working the frontlines of the pandemic for over 18 months, they are willing send our members home and cut service. TTC management needs to stop using ATU Local 113 members as scapegoats to reduce public transit service and blaming workers for the cuts they themselves are implementing.
ATU Local 113 is not opposed to vaccinations to fight COVID-19. The main issue is the TTC’s complete mismanagement of the policy. Brampton and Mississauga transit have sensible alternatives such as regular testing, why not the TTC? The TTC must allow the option for regular testing as an alternative to avoid damaging service cuts that will hurt Torontonians. Riders deserve better. Our transit heroes deserve better.
In Solidarity,
Carlos Santos
President, ATU Local 113
Sisters and Brothers,
ATU Local 113 members have put themselves at risk throughout the pandemic to keep Toronto moving. Our members have been infected by COVID at alarming rates and at every step, we have had to force management to do the right thing.
We have a plan to keep riders and members safe and, from the beginning, have called on the TTC to work with us. In response, CEO Rick Leary decided to unilaterally and illegally change the terms and conditions of employment – not once, but twice:
ATU Local 113 is disappointed but not surprised. We have come to expect TTC CEO Rick Leary to create unnecessary conflict everywhere and all the time.
Today, we are taking both of these issue to the Labour Board.
Normally, this would be a violation of the Collective Agreement. Until a new agreement is in place, however, we are in a statutory freeze period. In the past, we could consider strike action in protest. The Toronto Transit Commission Labour Disputes Resolution Act took that right away and replaced negotiation with arbitration.
The same law that denies TTC workers the right to strike also states that “no collective agreement is in operation” and that the TTC “shall not, except with the consent of the bargaining agent, alter the rates of wages or any other term or condition of employment.”
The TTC’s behaviour is disrespectful to the law and to the collective bargaining process. More than this, it is a kick in the teeth to members who have come to work every day to keep the city moving during the pandemic.
This can be resolved if the TTC will come back to the table and negotiate – as required by law. Since they won’t come back on their own, we are asking an arbitrator to order them to.
In solidarity,
Carlos Santos,
President, ATU Local 113
Sisters and Brothers,
Between ATU Local 113 and TTC CEO Rick Leary, only the union has been consistent in its approach to vaccinations. We have always recommended an approach that protects public health and workers’ rights. Mr. Leary, on the other hand, has arbitrarily and unilaterally changed direction.
On August 18, 2021, Mr. Leary advised us that the TTC’s vaccination policy would provide rapid antigen testing as an alternative to vaccination. Days later, with no warning, he changed course to implement an extremely strict vaccination policy which is unreasonable and ineffective. This policy will result in continued conflict, and we believe we would succeed in a legal challenge, when our focus should be on working together to find solutions.
In mid-September, we provided a comprehensive written proposal for a vaccination policy which provides antigen testing as an alternative to vaccination, similar to what Brampton, Mississauga, Hamilton have developed.
Just this week, we again asked for a meeting, but Mr. Leary took us to the Ontario Labour Relations Board before conversations could begin. At the meeting, TTC took a step backwards by saying unvaccinated members would be sent home.
Everything we have done since Mr. Leary broke his agreement aimed to bring him back to the table to negotiate in good faith. We asked our members to disclose status to demonstrate our desire to work together on a reasonable solution. That does not mean we support the policy.
As is clear from our press release, we believe mandating vaccination as a term of employment violates the Collective Agreement, Charter and privacy law. We are committed to fighting this issue at grievance arbitration if TTC does not reconsider the Policy.
From the beginning, we have proposed reasonable policies and pressured the TTC to move more quickly to protect public safety. We continue to ask TTC management to make sure there is enough space on vehicles for physical distancing and to require passengers to wear masks.
We stand by those demands today, as we have from the beginning.
TTC management has rejected all of our proposals and has never made one of their own. Picking unnecessary fights with workers only distracts from TTC’s failure to put in place measures to keep transit riders and workers safe.
TTC workers have already been under enormous amount of stress throughout the pandemic. This unnecessary and unlawful policy has only made things worse. Our members want to focus on serving transit riders. Instead, they are having sleepless nights worrying about losing their ability to provide for their families over a healthcare choice.
In solidarity,
Carlos Santos
President, ATU Local 113