Toronto’s transit workers union (ATU Local 113) and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) have reached a tentative agreement, avoiding a city-wide transit shutdown. Contract negotiations went down to the wire, but the union has agreed to put a strike on hold as it works towards a final agreement.
Wages, benefits, and job security were among the union’s top issues in this round of bargaining. It was looking for protections against contracting jobs out to third parties and from cross-boundary service getting handed over to other Greater Toronto Area transit operators.
A strike would have brought Canada’s most populous city to a grinding halt, idling the TTC’s fleet of subways, streetcars, and buses, while clogging Toronto’s already congested roadways with extra traffic. The last TTC strike in 2008 ended after less than two days when the provincial government legislated employees back to work on the mayor’s request.