TTC workers could go on strike Friday, here's what you need to know

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) employees could go on strike as soon as this Friday if no deal is reached between the union representing them and the transit agency. 

According to the Amalgamated Transit Union 113, which represents nearly 12,000 TTC workers, members have been without a contract since March 31, when the union’s collective agreement expired.   

Currently, bargaining teams from the union and the TTC remain at the table as they continue to negotiate a new deal. The TTC says it remains optimistic that both parties can come to an agreement and avoid any job action. 

As a result, thousands of operators, collectors, maintenance workers, station staff and other frontline employees could hit the picket lines on Friday, which means a full service disruption of the transit system.

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Some of the union’s demands include an increase in wages, job security and benefits. If a deal is not met, this would mark the first transit strike in 16 years. 

The last one occurred back in 2008, but it only lasted less than a weekend because the province passed a legislation ordering workers to go back to work. 

However, last year, the Superior Court of Justice found that Bill 150 violated workers’ Charter right to free collective bargaining, giving workers the right to strike action. 

“Today is an important day, not just for transit workers but for all workers,” President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 11 Marvin Alfred said in a statement on May 23.

 “Despite the Ford government’s attacks, the Court of Appeal has clearly said that the right to strike is protected by the Charter and it is a right that cannot be stripped away at the whim of the government. The right to strike is at the heart of collective bargaining and the ability of workers to have control over their working lives and the conditions under which they work,” he continued.

According to the TTC’s most recent CEO report, the transit system serves 1.3 million riders per weekday.