Toronto’s first black woman streetcar operator, Irma James, sat down with her grandson, Zakiya Tafari, who is the Executive Director of African Food Basket.
Zakiya speaks about everything his grandmother Irma has done to support him and his family through hardships, and how she became an example to so many within the community.
ATU Local 113 President, Marvin Alfred, has joined The Children’s Breakfast Clubs delegation on their trip to our nation’s capital to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Children’s Breakfast Clubs actively encourages children from all backgrounds to draw strength and motivation from the triumphs of great Canadians throughout history. We are incredibly proud to support this meaningful work.
ATU Local 113 is proud to reconnect with The Children’s Breakfast Clubs to support their program to bring 200 children from Driftwood PS to Ottawa as part of the organization’s 2023 Black History Month celebrations. 
ATU Canada Equity and Inclusion Committee will be hosting a meeting on February 16, 2023 and are inviting all ATU Members to join the meeting – see the registration link below. All meeting dates for 2023 are also listed on the attached poster.
Zoom registration
You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Feb 16, 2023 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkdemhqzojHNx-Chh1cYG1qT-9RcNJfabu
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Our President, Marvin Alfred, and Executive Board Member, Brian Connolly, were at Queen’s Park today talking with MPP Joel Harden (Transit Critic) and MPP Jill Andrew about the impact of P3s on public transit and the need for transparency on how public funds are spent.
Local 113 is calling on City Council to demand information necessary to make informed decisions on system-wide service cuts.
On February 15, City Council will be considering a budget proposal to make deep cuts to public transit. We know from the TTC that it includes a 9% cut system-wide and a 25% cut to rapid transit service compared to pre-pandemic levels. Combined with a fare increase, these cuts are a threat to the long- term viability of our transit system. A recent open letter from more than 100 transit and urban researchers noted that these “cuts to service are likely to initiate a ridership death spiral in which long wait time and poorer service leads to ridership drops, which in turn lead to further revenue losses and cuts.”
At its January 9 meeting, the TTC Board was asked to make the details of the cuts public. They have not done so. Riders deserve to know if their route is being cut and City Council has a responsibility to know the impact of their decisions.
ATU Local 113 is calling on Toronto City Council to demand that the proposed service cuts be made public before they consider the budget.
ATU Local 113 President, Marvin Alfred, highlighted at a townhall yesterday evening that the TTC has become an extension of the city’s homeless shelter system because the existing shelter system is underfunded.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ttc-safety-townhall-violence-1.6743683
ATU Local 113 President, Marvin Alfred, joined @TTCriders along with other transit advocates at a townhall last night to discuss how the TTC is becoming increasingly unsafe for transit workers and riders.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/02/09/toronto-etc-violence-ttcriders-meeting/