Mayor Demands Apology for Transit Strike

[unimaginative2]

MAYOR DEMANDS APOLOGY FOR TRANSIT STRIKE

JEFF GRAY AND JENNIFER LEWINGTON

November 9, 2007

Mayor David Miller says the head of the transit workers union, Bob Kinnear, should apologize to Torontonians for the one-day illegal strike in May of 2006 that paralyzed the city.

He made the remarks yesterday, commenting on word that the Toronto Transit Commission - which had sought $3-million in damages after the walkout - had reached a settlement with the union, earning significant concessions the mayor said would save millions of dollars.

"The only thing now I would like to see ... the union owes an apology to the people of Toronto," Mr. Miller said. "And I think it is up to Mr. Kinnear to stand up and say this was wrong."

Mr. Kinnear could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The deal with the TTC, which still must be ratified by the commission, would see it drop its lawsuit in exchange for changes to the way subway shifts are scheduled, a move that would save management $600,000 a year.

Other concessions would earn the TTC another $600,000 in one-time savings. The deal also included the settling of several union grievances and the establishment of a new mediation process.

In less than three years, the TTC will have earned back the $3-million it lost as a result of the illegal strike, TTC chairman Adam Giambrone said.

Mr. Kinnear, head of Local 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, put out a statement yesterday saying he could not comment on the settlement because of a "gag order."

"The union has absolutely nothing to hide in this settlement," Mr. Kinnear said. "But the commission insisted on the gag order because there are some provisions in there they would rather not have publicly disclosed as they might prove embarrassing to management.

"I would be more than willing to talk about all the details of the settlement but I can understand why TTC management wants to keep them quiet, as public funds are involved."

 

[ShonTron]

Bob Kinnear is an asshat who should have been thrown in jail. And he wonders why there's no sympathy for his union?

Mayor will get no apology, transit union says

Kinnear blames Miller's attitude for wildcat strike
Nov 10, 2007 04:30 AM
Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter

Transit union president Bob Kinnear won't apologize for last year's one-day wildcat strike, and neither he nor TTC chair Adam Giambrone are guaranteeing it won't happen again.

Kinnear was unrepentant yesterday in the face of Mayor David Miller's call for an apology for the May 2006 transit strike that paralyzed the city, stranding about 700,000 TTC patrons.

A defiant Kinnear said the strike happened "because of the lack of response from the man demanding the apology."

Miller has never acknowledged the TTC drivers' concerns about assaults, the issue that triggered the strike, Kinnear said.

The $3 million the TTC says it lost in the strike has been a sore point ever since. The commission had threatened to take the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 to court to recoup its losses.

But last month the two sides reached a settlement the TTC claims will save it $600,000 in annual overtime payments. That, along with a resolution on some minor issues would allow the transit authority to make up the $3 million in about three years, it says.

Kinnear maintains $3 million is "a bloated number," and that the TTC incurred most of its losses by paying 65 per cent of its drivers for the strike day, "even operators that were standing out on the street."

Responding to remarks Kinnear made on AM640's John Oakley show yesterday, Giambrone told the Star he is "confident over three years the TTC recoups the costs."

Asked if the operators could strike again, Giambrone said, "I can't answer that."

But he said he believes both sides will do their best to avoid a strike. The TTC's contract with its 8,750 unionized workers expires in March.

"Both the union and the TTC have an obligation to act within the Labour Relations Act," he said. "The interesting thing about any illegal act is it's exactly that."

A copy of the settlement obtained by the Star includes no dollar figures but does specify the introduction of a "spare board" for the subway system, which allows the TTC to overstaff its shifts at regular pay rather than calling in replacement workers on overtime to cover for absent employees.

The system, already long used on the bus network, will save the TTC money long after its strike costs have been recouped, according to Giambrone.

But a month after the settlement was signed, Kinnear says, it hasn't been implemented, and the TTC has no plans to move ahead on it until next year because it doesn't have enough operators or vehicles.



Talk radio

Excerpts from an interview with AM640 radio host John Oakley and TTC union chief Bob Kinnear:

J.O. Are you willing to apologize?

B.K. I think the mayor, before he starts making demands, should start addressing some of the problems with some of his employees. If you look back last year when the incident occurred, it was over frustration over the lack of response from the city and the TTC regarding operator assault, as well as some changes that were detrimental not only to the lives of our members but to the cleanliness of the system.

J.O. But it was also an illegal strike, Bob, wouldn't you concede that?

B.K. No, in the agreement it is referred to as an incident, and that is what the company and the union have agreed to, and so it's no longer being called a wildcat strike. ...

J.O. Your members will still get their juicy overtime, so you wanted to allay their fears this morning?

B.K. Absolutely.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I think if there is any good reason to dissolve the TTC, this is it...

AoD

 

[unimaginative2]

Why does Kinnear seem to revel in all the negative stereotypes people have for unions? And why did the TTC pay drivers, by Kinnear's own admission, who didn't show up for work?

 

[ShonTron]

And he's still lying about the illegal wildcat strike being about operator safety - the bus drivers showed up to work but were blocked by the janitors who were protesting the planned change to the shifts. He's obviously unaccountable.

I think the mayor, before he starts making demands, should start addressing some of the problems with some of his employees.

He's my nominee for the biggest douche in the universe.

 

[unimaginative2]

Yup, he's right up there. That's also total crap about the operator assaults. The strike was supposed to have been about janitors' shifts.

 

[billonlogan]

Why does Kinnear seem to revel in all the negative stereotypes people have for unions? And why did the TTC pay drivers, by Kinnear's own admission, who didn't show up for work?

Playing nice with this bully does'nt work. He eat's wusses like Giambrone and Mihevic. We have Moscoe to thank for training this goon. Time for a pre-emptive strike, but I don't think this council has the stomach for it. So get used to more of this in the future.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I think if there is any good reason to dissolve the TTC, this is it...

AoD

I agree, but good luck getting that done.