Author: Stephanie Gomez

Wed, 2014-07-30

Should a Bus Operator be fired for running a red light? That question has gripped Toronto since the first airing of the amateur video showing a TTC going through a red light at Eglinton near Kennedy last week. Before her disciplinary meeting, the Operator, a single mother of two, who wishes to remain anonymous wrote a letter to TTC management fully explaining what happened and apologized very contritely. It had no effect. She was fired. President Bob Kinnear then issued a public statement asking the TTC to reconsider the firing and assign the Operator to another job, perhaps after a suspension. Kinnear stressed to the public that the union does not minimize the error and that the union’s strict policy is “Safety First.” Even so, the punishment should fit the offence. No one was injured and the circumstances were such that anyone could have made the same error. All major TV networks, several radio stations and newspapers carried the story, which was discussed all over the city.

An interesting twist happened on Wednesday when the man who shot the video called Bob Kinnear and said he was “devastated” that the video had caused the woman to lose her job. He gave the union permission to release his statement and agreed to talk to the media.

The TTC is unmoved by all of this. Brad Ross told the media that the TTC considers the matter “closed.” The union, however, does not. We believe that the penalty was too harsh. The TTC hired her for good reasons and invested a lot in her training. A penalty and a demotion should be enough for this error, which was an admitted mistake, but without anyone being hurt.

Monday, Aug 18

We would like to extend a big thank you to all of this year’s golf tournament sponsors:

Reno Associates
ATU Local 589
Wearhouse Depot
Season Group Corporation
Northern Trust Company, Canada
James A. Knowles Inc.
Triovest Realty Advisors Inc.
Canadian Benefits Consulting Group
Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP
Atchison & Denman Court Reporting Services Ltd
TD Asset Management Inc.
State Street Global Advisors
Thornburg Investment Management
Letko, Brosseau & Associates Inc.
Northleaf Capital Partners (Canada) Ltd.
Thistle Printing Limited
Baycor Construction Ltd.
Stern Cohen LLP
Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.
ATU Local 308
Mercer (Canada) Limited
Crestline Canada Inc.
Invesco Trimark Institutional Investments
Canso Investment Counsel Ltd
The Personal Insurance Company
Phillips Hager & North Investment Management
Koskie Minsky
Mesirow Financial
AIL Canada

Sunday, Nov 9

“Stop begging – start demanding federal transit funding” says TTC union as it issues major report on state of Toronto transit and what must be done to fix it

TORONTO/ The union that represents 10,000 Operations and Maintenance workers at the Toronto Transit Commission today presented a 160-page report – Toronto’s Transit Future – that analyzes in detail the many challenges facing the TTC and provides dozens of specific and costed-out recommendations for addressing them.

“Toronto’s transit crisis is worse than most people realize,” said Bob Kinnear, President of Local 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, to a City Hall press conference. “The TTC had been going downhill for many years, even before the four lost years of the City’s Ford administration, when transit services were cut and bickering about expansion projects paralyzed progress.”

“Governments at all three levels must act swiftly and decisively or our city’s further economic development will be strangled by intolerable road congestion and our increasingly polluted air will kill even more people than it does already.”

Kinnear said that the union’s report is unique in its depth of analysis, its rigorous cost accounting and its comprehensive recommendations covering everything from traffic signal priority to advanced rider information tools, to vehicle life extension programs to major multi-billion-dollar projects such as new LRT routes and Mayor-elect John Tory’s SmartTrack concept.

“We don’t have all the answers, nobody does,” said Kinnear. “But for the first time in our 115-year history as a union, we have consolidated in one place the vast knowledge and experience of our members on the operational and maintenance realities of our transit system. We’ve also consulted with transit experts and rider groups to produce a source document that will serve as a guide to informed discussion and decision-making for many months, if not years, to come.

Kinnear also said the 2015 Federal election presents an opportunity to use democracy to help resolve the funding crisis.

“It’s time to stop begging and start demanding,” he said.

“Our union wants to help spearhead a united city movement to make transit the number one issue in next year’s election. Whatever our different political allegiances may be, we must speak with one voice to all federal parties: ‘Don’t try to distract us with a multitude of tax breaks, regional rivalries and socially controversial hot buttons. Tell us exactly what you are going to do to help fix transit in Canada’s largest city, right now and into the future.

“Get out of your limos, get on a bus and compete for our votes.’”

ATU has launched a special website: TorontoTransitFuture.ca, which contains the full report, a separate 32-page summary, a short introductory video and social media feedback features.

Tuesday, Feb 17

DOWNSVIEW, ON, Feb. 17, 2015 /CNW/ – The union that represents over 10,000 transit workers in Toronto and York Region today praised the Canadian Parliament for its unanimous passage yesterday of Bill S-221, which allows judges to impose stricter penalties on those convicted of assaulting public transit operators.

“It took over a decade of effort by our union to get recognition of this problem and we are grateful it has finally happened,” said Bob Kinnear, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113.

“There are hundreds of assaults every year against TTC workers alone and many more across Canada,” said Kinnear.

“Our members have been punched, slapped, kicked, strangled, stabbed and shot at, usually over a fare dispute. We have had cases where bus drivers have been dragged out of their seats and viciously beaten, just for doing their jobs. Several of our members have been hurt so badly that they cannot return to work and are forced to live the rest of their lives on inadequate workers’ compensation payments. If there’s such a thing as injustice, this is it.”

Vehicle operators are also frequently spat on, threatened and have coffee and other liquids thrown at them.

“Police and firefighters have long had the additional protection of stiffer sentences for their assaulters; it’s about time transit workers were afforded this consideration. We are not armed and cannot protect ourselves, especially when we have the added responsibility of protecting the safety of passengers on our vehicles.”

Kinnear said that while the union welcomes the change to the Criminal Code, he does not understand why employees who do not operate vehicles, such as station collectors, are not covered.

“It is disappointing that some transit workers are excluded from this additional protection,” he said. “Collectors have been threatened with guns and even shot and wounded. It was a Collector, Jimmy Trajceski, who was stabbed to death while on the job at Victoria Park Station in 1995. This exclusion is disappointing and we hope Parliament will revisit this oversight.”

Bill S-221 was introduced in the Senate in May, 2014 and in the House in September, 2014. The first efforts of the union to change the Criminal Code began in 2004.

“We hope the message gets out to the courts and would-be assaulters. We put ourselves out there to perform a public service and we deserve to be better protected on the job,” said Kinnear.

SOURCE Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113

Read More About it on the Toronto Star

Fri, 2015-03-20

The union that represents Toronto Transit Commission will follow its usual practice and will not comment on the Toronto Police Service charges today against the operator of a TTC bus that killed Amaria Diljohn on December 21, 2014 near the corner of Neilson Road and Finch Ave. East.

“Amaria’s death was a great tragedy that affected us all,” said Bob Kinnear, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113. “We cannot bring her back but her grieving family deserves to know what happened.”

Kinnear said that the union offered its full cooperation with the police investigation immediately upon learning of the accident.

“We hope that the questions we all have about this tragedy will ultimately be resolved by the justice system. Towards that end, we will continue to offer our full cooperation.”