TTC strike

TTC workers call for mass strikes and free public transit

The union of TTC electrical workers is protesting across Ontario to advocate for free public transit and to “take down Doug Ford.”

CUPE Local 2, the union that represents 650 TTC workers who install and maintain all modes of TTC transit, says Ford’s “Getting Ontario Moving Act,” which shifted the responsibility of new subway building into the hands of the province, will risk privatizing the system.

This creep toward privatization will hit oppressed Torontonians the hardest, according to CUPE Local 2’s press release, signed by their president Gaetano Franco.

“Free public transit would mean a boost to the economy and to society as a whole,” the release reads.

Their letter points to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, where public transit is free and has been a successful endeavour that has boosted tax revenues, because people have more money to spend.

CUPE Local 2’s belief is that free public transit will ease the gridlock that is wasting on average 84 minutes per day of commute time for Torontonians, resulting in lost productivity.

The Toronto Regional Board of Trade has projected an annual $6 billion loss of productivity because of wasted transit time, which is projected to grow to $15 billion by 2031.

Since TTC electrical workers fix all of the maintenance issues on the TTC, once public transit is experiencing problems, Ford may be forced to face the union.

Lead photo by

Jason Cook


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