City
Metro Cover Featuring Cartoon Editorial on TTC Fare Hike Sparks Controversy
An editorial cartoon by Michael De Adder on the cover of the November 18th issue of the Metro has got the head of the Toronto transit workers union all hot and bothered. According to Bob Kinnear, the cartoon, which depicts a streetcar operator picking the pocket of a pedestrian bystander, places the blame for the recently announced fare increase on front line TTC workers rather than the commission's management or insufficient government funding.
Kinnear is thus worried that it threatens the safety of his local 113 members, who already suffer increased instances of physical abuse in the wake of fare hike announcements. "It will provoke active animosity in some unbalanced passengers and lead to more assaults. We've been down this road too many times before to let this pass," he reasons.
But is it really that bad? And does it actually lay the blame for the fare increase on the TTC's streetcar operators and other highly visible staff?
Or, could it be that Kinnear doesn't understand the way synecdoche works?
While I agree that front line workers deserve no blame for fare hikes or other such developments at the TTC, I don't think the cartoon actually implies this. The streetcar operator strikes me as a symbol of the TTC in general. He's a part that represents the whole (and hence an example synecdoche). Only the most literal interpretation of the image could lead to the association of TTC operators with the rise in fares.
Kinnear does, however, make a decent point in saying that "the cartoon would have been more truthful if it had shown Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper picking the pockets of our passengers." But the reality is that regardless of the degree to which the TTC is or isn't funded by the provincial and federal governments, the decision to increase fares is ultimately theirs, which makes them the face of the issue. And when I conjure up an image of the TTC two things come to mind: shiny red streetcars and people in TTC uniforms.
So while Kinnear claims that he has "the right to strenuously object to a 'McPaper' like Metro distorting the truth at the expense of [his] members' safety," I can't help but think that De Adder accomplished his goal.
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The blame does rest squarely at the Union's feet though. Where else is unskilled labour rewarded with a salary exceeding $100k/year.
Search for 'station collector' on the sunshine list:
http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/publications/salarydisclosure/2009/munic09.html
All I know is, every time that I buy tokens, I look at the man behind the glass and think of how much he's being paid and what a sweet pension he's got.
One interesting point Kinnear makes in his press release (that Derek fails to reference) is that fares have increased 64% more than salaries since 1999.
What I find unbelieveable is that Kinnear is still in charge of their union.
Looking at that site made me sick to my stomach.
over $100,000 a year to be a human change machine/fare dispenser? wtf?
and they want to raise our fares?
The politics and union of our transit system makes me sick.
i believe the people of Toronto really need to stand up for themselves and make it clear that paying someone over 100,000 a year to do nothing is not just.
Those are the facts, and it really lends a lot of truth to the metro comic (for better or worse).
It is possible to make a killing being an unskilled worker at the TTC. It's a great message to the children of Toronto: You don't have to try for University, College, or even a skilled trade. You can make a killing working as a cashier for the TTC.
If I were him and there was the current shitstorm brewing, I'd be keeping my head down as to not draw any further rider fury towards my members.
The vote tally speaks for itself.
There are almost 600 people from the TTC alone on that list. 600 people!
An entry-level TTC employee does not make $100'000/yr. More than likely it is the senor employees that do.
Making good money isn't everything. Alone, financial security isn't fulfilling and assuming some don't go on to get a post-secondary education (never have/never will), it leaves most unqualified to do anything other than what they're doing.
Let the TTC employees have their good pay- though not even that salary could persuade me to become a TTC booth attendant/fare collector/operator.
people are instantly guarded when they have to approach them for any customer service questions or requests (the components of their JOBS!) because they know the sort of response they're going to get.
why would i pay $3 for that sort of "abuse"?
I also wonder how many there are making $99,999 and don't have the salary published.
It's a pretty hard thing to swallow the fare hike, especially because it is effectively taking disposable income from people in the lowest income brackets and giving it to the TTC workers who have guaranteed jobs and great benefits.
Case and point: if you, as a private worker, making private sector wages and no pension, got laid off and were out of work. How would you feel about getting dinged in the fairbox?
The comic makes a very good point.
I am overjoyed to be leaving Toronto on work for two years, hopefully never to return, but if I have to return, I will be adding a planet-and-society-destroying machine to the roads, because my home and work is provided with parking, but this city is inadequately provided with usable transit, even downtown.
Ummm...SALARIES!!!
Suck it up, pumpkin.
Who would people blame then? Would they still bitch and moan about employees, but with a bit less vitriol?
The employees are an easy target. You see them every day and they're a bit grumpy. However the real culprits are the ones you never see in person, the ones who smile and shake hands while throttling funding. Don't lose sight of the real cause of the TTCs problems, people.
Some of those salaries are indefensible but it takes about 30 seconds of research to determine the true cause of the fare increases in Toronto - wake up people! The TTC is far from a model union/organization but we (as citizens) should have bigger fish to fry given how kneecapped our public transit is funding wise.
It justifies his position. He has to show his members that he's hard line
Now it's coming out that the human coin machines let people pay fares without warning them that the subway was shutdown for a stretch. That's the kind of shit that gets people pissed at $110,000/yr token pushers.
So yeah. I think people already have a tendency to blame the people we can see because we've had to deal with strike threats and know what kind of raises TTC employees get, yet we also have to put up with their bad attitudes. Which will never be dealt with, because they're in a union.
The reason we can't outright call them assholes is that they are protected. If any one assaults a TTC operator they can be fined and go to jail. They have to protect the weak you know.
I can not wait for the day that these arrogant bastards lose their jobs. They think it will never happen, but so did the Auto industry. Guess what the un-educated auto workers are doing now?? Same as TTC collectors-NOTHING!
I would think that each and every TTC Employee would respect each and every rider, you never know, that customer you are being a prick to just might be your next boss when you are a dishwasher or janitor.
People say you can't get rid of Unions, I say you can, it just takes longer and politician with balls. If the TTC goes bankrupt and has to restructure, who says Unions have to be welcomed. Mabe we should vote in Giambrone for another 4 years so he can finally sink the ship, won't take him long. Maybe his incompetence will finally benefit the city.
This summer I was on a Queen streetcar that was horribly delayed and as the driver basically said that we should be grateful that he was there because this wasn't his normal route/shift. After one irate passenger did the "I was waiting over half an hour for a streetcar" complaint he made a point of getting on the loudspeaker to make a speech about how it was SATURDAY and on Saturday YOUNG PEOPLE came downtown to go to bars so it was BUSY and you have to expect delays, yadda yadda yadda. The only reason I didn't congratulate him and the TTC on their first Saturday every and express the hope that maybe next Saturday they'd be prepared for the crowds was because I was with company from out of town. They aren't used to seeing me be rude to random strangers, and I was having a hard problem explaining why I'm so quick to get so angry at the TTC.
I guess I just don't always want my TTC rides to go from vaguely annoying and unpleasant to confrontational and angry. I had enough of that when I lived on the 161 Ossington route.
Luckily I had a Metropass, but I wonder how many other people took it as an opportunity for a free ride.
I'm not sure where the Collectors were or what they were doing but my guess is they were on a coffee break comparing the size of the pensions they'll have when they retire at age 55.
Anyway, the point is, sure, some TTC workers might have customer service related issues, but is that not true of any field? Have you been on a downtown night bus before? Yeah, having teens vomit in something I had to go around driving all night would probably piss me off a little too.
If you hate the TTC so much, ride a bike.
I think what irritates riders is the sense of entitlement that so many drivers and conductors have. That even when people are polite to them, they lash out.
I'm waiting for the TTC to implode, so that it can be rebuilt...hopefully with some private companies in the mix so that they have some competition.
Fair hikes in the wake of a recession for those how relay on public transit?!!
For service that is unreliable, inconsistent and slow. Downtown the streetcars are packed, any smart business man or women would be running this system with profit with half the fair to its riders. Get the union and its old dog owners and over paid workers out!
Politicians grow a pair! Stand up for your citizens.
http://ttcriders.ca/
What's next, bringing back the flogging post and the stocks?