The union representing almost 12,000 transit workers in Toronto says “further progress” has been made in talks with the city as its midnight strike deadline nears.
In a statement issued around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113 said it had seen some movement in its negotiations with the City of Toronto.
“Further progress has been made and we will continue to provide updates as they occur,” the union said.
A 10 p.m. statement from the TTC said “progress is being made” and that both sides were “working hard” to reach a deal before the 12:01 a.m. Friday deadline.
If talks don’t yield a deal in time, however, the city is bracing for a TTC strike that will bring transit in Toronto to a grinding halt.
Bus, subway and streetcar drivers will be among those walking off the job in the first TTC strike since 2008.
The city’s three subway lines and network of streetcars and buses would all stand still when commuters head to work on Friday morning if a deal isn’t reached.
“Going on strike is not the course of action we want to take; however it is necessary to protect the future of our members families, our pensioners, and the integrity of Toronto’s transit system,” ATU Local 113 said in its 5:30 p.m. statement.
“The TTC has left us with no other choice, as we still need to prioritize a new, fair agreement for our transit workers.”
Earlier on Thursday, the union had said it was “at an impasse” with the city.
“We have a major problem with our negotiating situation right now where the TTC is not bargaining in order to get a deal,” Marvin Alfred, the President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, said at a Thursday morning press conference.
“Right now, the TTC is bargaining as though we have lost our right to strike. We have it back proudly and it’s a problem for them, it’s not a problem for us.”
Between 2011 and 2023, unionized TTC employees were deemed an essential service by provincial law and were not allowed to strike.
That, however, was overturned in 2023 by an Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruling that restored TTC employees’ right to strike.
Service to continue past deadline
If transit workers on go on strike, subways will continue to operate until service ends between 2 and 3 a.m.
Toronto Coun. Jamaal Myers said in a statement the agency has yet to reach an agreement with unionized workers, but he’s “encouraged” both sides remain at the bargaining table and said he remains confident that a “fair deal” can be reached.
“The TTC is committed to securing a deal that avoids any job action that will be disruptive to the lives of millions of Torontonians,” Myers said.
“I’m relieved that the TTC and ATU Local 113 have reached an agreement to ensure that service will continue in the event of job action until 2 a.m. on Friday morning so everyone can get to their destination safely, and that all Wheel-Trans services will continue uninterrupted.”
Meanwhile, Ontario’s provincial transit agency says it has “contingencies” in place if TTC workers go ahead with a strike.
Metrolinx, which runs GO trains, buses and the UP Express in and around Toronto, said it was preparing for the possibility of the strike, but noted that GO Transit moves around 250,000 people per day, while the TTC moves around 2.5 million people per day.
Back-to-work legislation red line
Meanwhile, the Ontario government won’t table back-to-work legislation unless it receives an official request from the City of Toronto, Global News has learned, potentially raising the stakes as negotiations over a potential transit strike stutter toward a rapidly approaching deadline.
While negotiations are taking place between the City of Toronto and the Amalgamated Transit Union, it is the provincial government that holds the power to break a strike.
Politicians at Queen’s Park could table back-to-work legislation to end a strike if it is triggered, as they did to end a 2008 TTC strike, but a senior government source said that won’t be considered without an explicit ask from the city.
Global News asked Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow if she would request back-to-work legislation in the event of a strike but did not receive a response in time for publication.
An Ontario appeal court recently backed a decision to throw out a 2011 law that classified the TTC as an essential service, taking away its workers’ right to strike. The decision, which Ontario Premier Doug Ford recently called “disappointing,” means transit workers in the city will able to strike Friday morning for the first time in more than a decade.
The government source said the province believes the recent court decision could make it harder to pass a back-to-work law that’s capable of surviving a court challenge. Internally, a source said, there are concerns that the government would be required to meet a higher legal threshold to impose back-to-work legislation, which would require significant time.
If any back-to-work legislation were to be overturned by a court, the Ontario government could use the notwithstanding clause to pass it anyway. The premier’s office, however, has ruled out using the clause in any circumstances, Global News understands.
Labour Minister David Piccini reiterated on Thursday that the province has assigned a mediator to the talks between the TTC and its union but wouldn’t say whether the province was willing to step in with further action.
“I don’t want to speculate on hypotheticals,” Piccini said. “We recognize, as I said, the importance of the TTC but my role as labour minister is an important one, as a neutral arbiter. Surely then none of you are asking me in advance of the deadline — which I recognize is soon — to inappropriately pontificate on this.”
Issues on the table
Alfred said the union is not only fighting not just for job security, benefits and wages, but for “the integrity of the network of the TTC.”
“We are mobilized. We are ready. We are ready to fight and we won’t back down,” Alfred said.
The union wants protections against contracting jobs out to third parties and from cross-boundary service getting handed over to other Greater Toronto Area transit operators.
Neither side has offered specifics on any proposed negotiating terms.
Alfred said the union remains at the bargaining table.
“We invite any opportunities to discuss, but there’s no point discussing something and not actually doing something about it,” he said.
He said that the offers that have been proposed to the union “have strings attached.” He said the union has been clear about its demands from the get-go, core issues remain the same and “the ball is in their court.”
Alfred said that he understands the frustration commuters who rely on the TTC may experience, but said, “we have to do what we need to do in order to fight for the respect and dignity of the transit system.
“Actually, we’re hoping to fight for improved transit. Actually, our fight is for everyone,” he said.
— With files from Aaron D’Andrea and The Canadian Press