TORONTO, ONTARIO – Carlos Santos, President of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113 has sent the following update to 12,000 union members:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The TTC just provided me with 30-days’ notice that it will be temporarily laying off 1,000 of our ATU Local 113 members over the next few weeks. The TTC also announced a temporary reduction of 200 non-unionized positions.
This is the “thank you” our members get for sacrificing themselves day in and day out for putting their families and themselves at risk. No doubt, this feels like a punch to the gut after all the hard work our members are doing to keep Toronto moving throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Almost 30 of you have tested positive for COVID-19. You deserve better than today’s announcement. The federal and provincial governments need to step in and provide emergency relief funding for the TTC.
Make no mistake – layoffs mean reduced service and these cuts will have consequences for essential, low-income workers who depend on the TTC to get to work at hospitals, nursing homes, grocery stores and pharmacies. Service cuts will lead to overcrowding, which increases risk for spreading the coronavirus to those who are most vulnerable in our city.
The only way to reverse these cuts is immediate emergency funding from government. My next step will be to take the fight to Toronto City Hall, Parliament Hill and Queen’s Park to ensure the TTC gets the emergency funding it needs to maintain service levels to prevent these layoffs and protect essential workers during this crisis.
I will continue to keep you informed.
In solidarity,
Carlos Santos
President, ATU Local 113