While we wish the government had moved sooner, we’re happy the province has listened to our union and extended emergency child care services to ATU Local 113 members.
Find out more here: https://news.ontario.ca/en/statement/60254/ontario-expands-emergency-child-care-to-more-frontline-workers
– ATU Local 113 President Carlos Santos and the Executive Board
Letter to Premier Ford - Daycare - January 29, 2021Sisters and Brothers,
Transit workers and riders have come together to call for universal employer-paid sick days because it will make public transit safer and make transit workplaces fairer. Paid sick days are urgently needed to save lives and curb the spread of COVID 19.
We, the undersigned, support the Decent Work & Health Network call for seven (7) permanent paid sick days for all workers and an additional fourteen (14) days during public health outbreaks. We will encourage our members to get involved in the campaign for paid sick days.
Signed,
ATU Local 113
TTCRiders
CUPE Local 2
SEIU Local 2
Every transit worker needs employer-paid sick days
Not all TTC workers have access to paid sick days, because some TTC work has been contracted out to private companies and temp agencies, where workers have fewer protections. This is why we support keeping transit public. Provincial legislation is needed to make sure that every worker in Ontario has access to paid sick leave.
Paid sick days will make transit safer for everyone
Without provincially legislated paid sick days, people are travelling to work on transit while sick. This puts other passengers and transit workers at risk. The lack of paid sick days has especially hurt Black, Indigenous, workers of colour and women workers who are over-represented in frontline jobs, with low pay, few benefits, and without the ability to work from home.
Join the movement for paid sick days for all!
Ways you can support:
Call your MPP: https://www.15andfairness.org/paid_sick_days_for_all
Send an email message: https://www.decentworkandhealth.org/paidsickdays
Pass a resolution: https://springmag.ca/legislate-paid-sick-days-for-all-draft-motion
ATU Local 113 stands in solidarity with ATU International in commemorating all the lives lost to COVID-19 at the Biden Inaugural Candlelight COVID Memorial.
This includes many ATU Sisters and Brothers, frontline workers who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our communities moving. We will always honour and remember these fallen heroes.
This workshop is an opportunity for participants to impact and shape the work of equity within their place of work. This session will help participants:
Shequita Thompson-Reid has been working at the intersections of community development and equity for over 15 years. Currently, she brings with her expertise within the fields of Program Development, Youth Engagement, Capacity Building, Housing, Violence Prevention, Conflict Mediation and Equity. She is well versed in working from practices rooted in decolonization and anti-oppression frameworks. Shequita has worked successfully across various organizations to lead and support a range of broad band and high impact outcomes to achieve the desired goals at multi-level and multi-sectoral non-profit and government spaces. Shequita has developed, led and facilitated training and education on Conflict Mediation, Violence Prevention, Equity and Anti-Oppression to name a few. She also excels in coaching and professional development for individuals, executives and organizations looking to engage in change management processes. Shequita also co-founded a grassroots program, Words of Wisdom. This program used books as a catalyst towards having deeper conversations into inter- generational trauma, identity, equity and healthy relationships. In 2015, she traveled to Ghana to participate in a knowledge exchange with young women and girls globally, and developed collaborative strategies to end gender-based violence. She holds an Honors BA from the University of Toronto with a specialization in -Sociology and Gender Studies.
This workshop will help participants:
Charline is a trailblazer in the diversity, equity and inclusion field, and a fierce advocate for racialized children. In 2016, she led a human rights challenge against one of Ontario’s largest school boards, the York Region District School Board (YRDSB). Determined to change the racism and discrimination her own children faced from the YRDSB, Grant and other diverse community leaders fought against anti-Black racism & anti-Muslim discrimination with resounding success. Charline currently sits on the York Children’s Aid Society Board, representing the needs of Black parents and children. She is also the first person to occupy the position of Provincial Education System Navigator for Parents of Black Children, helping parents navigate the oppressive education system. Charline was the chief advocate in the fight to include hate- related incidents in the professional misconduct criteria for the Ontario College of Teachers, and successfully secured this change. She is leading the charge for education reform, and a new partnership with the Toronto Raptors will ensure change happens for all. In addition to her advocacy, Charline is a business-owner, board member and advisor for a number of organizations & non-profits. She is dedicated, resilient and passionate about standing up against racism and hate in all forms. Charline is also a wife and the proud mother to three amazing children Ziphion, Kezia and Eleazar.
Sisters and Brothers,
We’re starting 2021 with the launch of the ATU Local 113 UNITED campaign. Whether it’s moving Toronto, fighting for health and safety or keeping transit public, ATU Local 113 wins when we’re united.
Our power depends on every member’s participation. That’s why we’re encouraging all members to fill out the member survey for 2021 contract negotiations here: https://wemovetoronto.ca/member-updates/survey-for-members-atu-local-113-transit-worker-issues/
Get involved with your union and let’s move forward together!
In Solidarity,
Carlos Santos
President, ATU Local 113
ATU Local 113 stands in solidarity with our ATU Canada, ATU Local 583, ATU Local 987 and ATU local 569 Sisters and Brothers in Alberta.
ATU Local 113 President Carlos Santos and the Executive Board strongly support the Alberta Federation of Labour’s challenge to the Kenney government’s attacks on Alberta’s transit and public sector workers.
Read more below.
18_Jan_AFL Legal Challenge PR
Claudette Howell Rutherford is a teacher and Department Head of Social Science and Humanities in the YRDSB. She currently sits on the Equity Steering Action Advisory Committee and the Anti-Black Racism Steering Committee. Claudette is a mother of three children attending school in York Region. Claudette previously served as Director of Youth & Education for the Markham African Caribbean Canadian Association and is now Vice President. Claudette is Chair of MACCA’S Annual Black Youth Empowerment Conference now funded by the Government of Canada, and Summer Camp Administrator. Claudette is the Program Director for the Ministry (MCCSS) funded KinnectYouth Mentoring Program. She is a member of ONABSE under the Parent Commission. Claudette continues to represent MACCA as a contributing member of the Network for the Advancement of Black Communities, a collective impact project with 70 other Black community organizations across the province of Ontario.
In this workshop you will learn about the history that has shaped Black/African Canadian people, including Black heroes of then and now.
Award-winning, experienced Equity & Inclusion Consultant, speaker, workshop developer and facilitator. Awarded multiple awards for work in equity, diversity, education and philanthropy. Incredible speaker and mentor. Committed to community and capacity building. Skilled in governing and leading non-profit organizations. Extensive experience in Corporate Coaching, Conflict Resolution, and Volunteer Management.
Professional Educator with a demonstrated history of working with students from elementary to College. Extensive experience as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (B.A.) with a focus on Race Relations, Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and is completing a Masters in Education from York University.
Sisters and Brothers,
ATU Local 113 President Carlos Santos and the Executive Board would like to offer their utmost thanks for all the hard work that our negotiating team have put into arbitration over the holidays. We also want to thank all the dedicated board members that were involved, as well as the stewards, witnesses, and of course our legal counsel for their input and efforts to help secure our success in negotiations.
The week of December 21, we received an Interest Arbitration Award of 2% annual wage increases each year. The arbitrator rejected the TTC’s argument that the impact of COVID-19 means TTC has an “inability to pay” for normal wage and benefit increases.
The award, which expires in July 31, 2021 along with the CBA, also provides improvements such as:
Once again, ATU Local 113 offers everyone involved our immense thanks and gratitude.
In Solidarity,
Carlos Santos
President, ATU Local 113