Statement Regarding TTC CEO Andy Byford’s Resignation

As we wish Andy Byford well as he leaves the TTC and moves into his new role — let us reaffirm that the City of Toronto must hire a replacement who respects workers’ rights and champions the expansion of much-needed public transit in Toronto. Regardless of who occupies the CEO chair at the TTC, we will continue to fight for transit workers, specifically protecting jobs, bringing an end to privatization, cleaning up the dirty air in the subway system and keeping members safe.

Two Hour Fares the Only Way Forward in 2018

Local 113 is clear: two hour fares are the only way to move forward in 2018. That is why we are standing together to support TTCriders’ advocacy campaign — calling on everyone to do their part for a fairer system.

Two hour fares would allow riders to get off and back on the TTC an unlimited amount of times within two hours, without any additional cost. This allows riders flexibility to get on and off to do things like pick up their kids or buy milk.

Messages should be sent ASAP because the TTC Commission and City Council will begin voting on November 28 on the two-hour fare transfer.

Take Action:

Send a message to your councilor right now calling for them to support two hour fares.

Sign up to support two hour fares on Tuesday Nov. 28. The TTC Commission meeting starts at 9.15 a.m. and will be held at 100 Queen St West. You can also sign up to depute.

Tommy Douglas Memorial Scholarship Announcement

Local 113 is proud to announce the Amalgamated Transit Union’s Tommy Douglas Memorial Scholarship. Tommy Douglas is an example of an exceptional Canadian – one whose commitment to fairness and the public good we try to live and work by every day. He was an activist and politician who advanced the labour movement, advocated for the Canada Pension Plan and introduced the continent’s first single-payer, universal health care program. This scholarship is open to members and their children, stepchildren and grandchildren planning to enter college, technical or vocational post-secondary school for the first time.

Please find all related documents below.

Local 113 Proud Participant in Keep Transit Public Rally

Last week, Local 113 Brothers and Sisters were proud to join fellow unions, politicians and advocacy organizations at the Keep Transit Public rally at Union Station. Over 100 gathered to send a clear message: we must stand united to stop the privatization of our transit systems.

You can watch Frank Grimaldi, our newly-elected President, share his plan of action below.

Keep Transit Public Demonstration

The Executive Board is asking anyone that is able to attend the Keep Transit Public demonstration set up by ATU Canada. The location will be 97 Front Street West, Toronto (Union Station) on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 8:00 a.m.

We are sending a message to the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario that we are not allowing the 3P’s (Public Private Partnerships) to make a profit out of our transit dollars.

Please find the event poster below and share this notice widely.

Congratulations to the 2017 John Lorimer Scholarship Winners

Forty-one students registered at university or college this fall are doing so with $1,500 scholarships from the ATU Local 113 scholarship program. Congratulations to our 2017 recipients of the John Lorimer Scholarship, a program aimed to help university-bound children of ATU Local 113 members with university expenses.

This annual scholarship program demonstrates the union’s commitment to higher education in the community we serve. This year’s winners received their awards in September 2017. The finalists were selected by the Scholarship Committee comprised of members of the Union’s Executive Board.

The recipients of the John Lorimer Scholarships for 2017 are applicants scoring the highest marks in Grade 12 and are registered for a university or college program for the academic year 2017-2018.

The Scholarship Committee thanks every student who applied for these awards. We applaud the accomplishments of some of our best and brightest high school graduates pursuing further education. Good luck on your endeavors!

See the winners’ details below.

Applying for 2018 scholarships

If you will be a high school senior this fall and are a dependant of an ATU Local 113 member in good standing, you’re eligible to apply for the 2018 John Lorimer Scholarship. Application requirements include submitting a completed application form and an official copy of your Grade 12 transcript.

Application Forms and details will be available at https://wemovetoronto.ca/scholarships by May 1, 2018. We encourage graduating high school seniors or university students who have previously not received this scholarship to apply at that time.

Congratulations to the 2017 Peter Bodnick Scholarship Winners

Two students registered at college this fall are doing so with $1,000 scholarships from the ATU Local 113 scholarship program. Congratulations to our 2017 recipients of the Peter Bodnick Scholarship, a program aimed to help children of ATU Local 113 members, pursuing a technical/post secondary registered trades programs, with their education expenses.

This annual scholarship program demonstrates the union’s commitment to higher education in the community we serve. This year’s winners received their awards in September 2017. The finalists were selected by the Scholarship Committee comprised of members of the Union’s Executive Board.

The recipients of the Peter Bodnick Scholarships for 2017 are based on their essay submission and are registered for a technical/post secondary registered trades program for the academic year 2017-2018.

The Scholarship Committee thanks every student who applied for these awards. We applaud the accomplishments of some of our best and brightest high school graduates pursuing further education. Good luck on your endeavors!

See the winners’ details below.

Applying for 2018 scholarships

If you will be a high school senior this fall and are a dependant of an ATU Local 113 member in good standing, you’re eligible to apply for the 2018 Peter Bodnick Scholarship. Application requirements include submitting a completed application form and an essay.

Application Forms and details will be available at https://wemovetoronto.ca/scholarships by May 1, 2018. We encourage graduating high school seniors or current registered students who have previously not received the scholarship to apply at that time.

Obituary Notice for Brother Tom Dedes

With sadness, please find the obituary notice information for Brother Tom Dedes, Track & Structure — Greenwood (Nights), below.

Visitation: Friday, October 13th from 5 – 9 p.m.
Heritage Funeral Centre
50 Overlea Blvd.
Toronto, ON
M4H 1B6
(416) 423-1000

Service: Saturday, October 14 at 10 a.m.
St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
30 Thorncliffe Park Drive
Toronto, ON
M4H 1H8
(416) 425-2485

Interment:
Mount Pleasant Cemetery
375 Mount Pleasant Road
Toronto, ON

Shuttle Buses will ONLY be provided to the funeral service as follows:
Wilson Division (2 buses) — Leaving at 8:45 a.m.
Malvern Division (2 buses) — Leaving at 8:45 a.m.
Greenwood Portal (1 bus) — Leaving at 9:15 a.m.

Read: Metrolinx needs an overhaul, not just an auditor general probe

Please read, and share, this important article written by Vincent Puhakka of Scarborough Transit Action and Jessica Bell of TTCriders. It can also be found here: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/10/04/metrolinx-needs-an-overhaul-not-just-an-auditor-general-probe.html

Metrolinx needs an overhaul, not just an auditor general probe
Metrolinx was established in 2006 to improve transit planning for our region. It hasn’t.

It is good news that Queen’s Park approved having the auditor general investigate Metrolinx’s decision to bow to political pressure and approve the Kirby and Lawrence East GO stations, however, the problems with Metrolinx run deeper than this one decision.

Metrolinx was established in 2006 to improve transit planning for our region. It hasn’t.

Here’s a review of some of Metrolinx’s poor planning choices.

There is, of course, this recent scandal uncovered by the Toronto Star revealing how Metrolinx caved to pressure from Transportation Minister Stephen Del Duca, and approved the Lawrence East and Kirby GO stations at a cost of $120 million, despite Metrolinx’s own consultants recommending against it because it would not significantly boost ridership.

A survey done by Scarborough Transit Action confirmed what the consultant’s analysis showed — not many people will use the Lawrence East SmartTrack station. Most of the potential riders who indicated they wouldn’t use the station said so because GO transit charges higher fares than the TTC.

There is Union Pearson Express. Metrolinx ignored its own consultants’ advice again and built a 23-km express diesel train from downtown to Pearson Airport with fares priced at an outrageous $27.50. Public rage boiled over when TTCriders did a rider count and discovered up to 9 in 10 seats on the train were empty. Metrolinx eventually lowered the price to $9, but the bigger and better opportunity of building a mass transit line fully integrated into the TTC was ignored.

Third, Metrolinx does not fairly consider the merits of publicly owned and managed transit projects, and automatically proceeds with every project as a public-private partnership, which, as Ontario’s auditor general has documented, pushes up the price tag.

There’s Presto. Metrolinx is overseeing the rollout of Presto in Toronto, and this project is already years behind schedule, overbudget, and, as every Presto user knows, plagued with glitches.

And fifth, there’s Metrolinx’s stealth plan to radically upend the region’s fare system and introduce fare-by-distance and possibly premium fares for the subway. Metrolinx is advancing its fare plan despite failing to meaningfully consult with the public or publish its own analysis along the way.

What can be done to improve Metrolinx? Most obvious, it’s time to drop the secrecy. The agency is spending billions of taxpayer dollars; we should know how they’re spending it and feel confident it’s making the best transit planning decisions.

Metrolinx needs to proactively and freely share the information it has about its work and its decision-making processes, including contracts, financing, consultant studies, and more. All portions of all board meetings should be made open to the public, deputations should be permitted, and the public and experts should be meaningfully and regularly engaged at all stages of key decisions.

These proposals will not in and of themselves slay the secret decision-making at Metrolinx, but transparency will ensure projects like the Kirby and Lawrence East GO stations, the Scarborough subway or fare-by-distance, are critiqued early using the best evidence available.

There are other ways to add accountability to this powerful body. For example, Metrolinx could emulate the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York, and include representatives from riders’ councils and transit-workers’ unions from different regions. Such practice seems superior to that of Metrolinx as diverse views can make themselves heard and the people who use and run the system are represented fairly.

It’s time for the province to go beyond investigating one decision and overhaul the entire agency, introduce transparency and implement a new governance model to ensure the needs of the region and transit riders come first, not self-interested politicians.

Vincent Puhakka is a member of Scarborough Transit Action, an outreach group bringing together Scarborough citizens interested in advocating for better public transit at all levels of government. Jessica Bell is the executive director of transit advocacy group, TTCriders.

Immediate safety audit of all TTC stations is the only way forward after another serious attack on a worker

“The hope is that if we have more awareness, we can prevent this from happening”

Enough is enough. We are calling on the TTC to conduct an immediate safety audit of all stations following a serious attack on a fellow bus operator at Eglinton Station on Tuesday, September 19, 2017.

Our Brother, Shawn Bredin, was taking a scheduled break when he was blindsided by an unidentified assailant in a restricted area at Eglinton Station. The assailant sprayed Shawn with what is believed to be a homemade pepper spray substance before striking him twice. Our brother suffered temporary blindness and injuries to his face. The attack left him wondering, “what if this person tried to finish me?”

We know this story is not unique. This alone was the second serious and unprovoked injury our Brother suffered in less than a month at Eglinton Station – and the third assault he endured in just under two years. The previous attacks include having a gun pulled on him and being assaulted with a knife.

We know that too many of our members have similar stories to share.
Working through the Joint Health and Safety Committee, we demand the TTC conduct safety audits in all its public and restricted areas – and make the necessary improvements at TTC stations throughout the city.
It’s time for the TTC put our safety first.

Photos of Brother Shawn Bredin following the vicious attack:

Recent media coverage on this issue:

http://www.torontosun.com/2017/09/27/transit-union-demands-ttc-safety-audit

http://www.cp24.com/news/ttc-union-calls-for-immediate-safety-audits-of-stations-following-assault-of-operator-1.3608406

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/09/27/ttc-union-demands-safety-audit-following-two-attacks-on-driver-in-one-month.html

http://dailyhive.com/toronto/toronto-ttc-assualt-full-security-audit-2017

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ttc-driver-gunpoint-1.4312106