Union, TTC differ on status of strike talks

With less than a day until the deadline, wages and job security still dominate the bargaining table

- BEN SPURR

As the clock ticks down to Toronto’s first potential transit strike in more than a decade, the chair of the TTC and the head of its largest union are painting different pictures of how close the two sides are to a deal.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday with less than 36 hours until the strike deadline, TTC chair Coun. Jamaal Myers said talks between management and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 were “headed in the right direction.”

“We are in a good position. Both parties remain bargaining. They both continue to bargain in good faith. And we are confident that there is a path to a deal,” said Myers (Scarborough North).

As evidence, Myers cited the agreement between the union and TTC, announced Monday, to keep the Wheel-Trans service operational in the event of job action.

But hours before Myers’ remarks, Local 113 president Marvin Alfred described a strike as all but certain.

“I’m not optimistic. We’re going on strike on Friday. What it takes is adeal, and we don’t have a deal. And we’re not close enough to have any sort of optimism right now,” he told Global News.

Local 113’s collective agreement expired at the end of March, and its roughly 12,000 members will be in a legal strike position at 12:01 a.m. on Friday.