TTC Strike is AVERTED

the strike threat will come back in a few years...the only way to avoid this is keep paying those ticket booth monkeys 100k+ a yr

You may be right about contract disputes in the future, but at least tomorrow won't be hell for Torontonians.

Can we not stop the sniping for one minute?

They made a deal...they got the job done. I'm just glad they figured it out.

thank gods.

I don't take the TTC but I feel bad for the 1.5 million transit users... they keep getting effed by these greedy bums.

Lets hope they make the TTC an essential service to (hopefully) help avoid the strike the next time.

Even if they still walk out they could at least hold those who would hold the city hostage responsible.

Once the deal is signed, within 3 years TTC employees will be the highest paid in the GTA (which is what they were asking for).

Will Mississauga/Viva/etc transit use this as a reason to negotiate for more money in their next contract? Where does the cycle end?

I am glad the TTC is not going on Strike. However I agree that the fares are way to high for the sub-par service we get, I mean we are the best city in Cananda and we have one of the worst public transit systems. They provincal goverment should start funding the TTC like it did in the old days. but I am glad there will be no Srtike

Let's keep the comments on topic, not on name-calling and anti-fellow-commenter crap. Cheers.

Glad the commuters will have it the better way tomorrow.

Make sure to vote for the councillors that want to make the TTC an essential service. They deserve to get re-elected.

OMG I AM SO RELIEVED THAT THE TTC STRIKE IS AVERTED BECAUSE I WASNT ABOUT TO WALK TO SCHOOL EVERYDAY...THANK GOD..AND EVERYONE PLEASE STOP CUSSING...ATLEAST THERE IS NOT GOING TO BE A BUSY DAY TOMMOROW...LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH AND BE HAPPY FOR TOMMOROW

Who the (*&$ was cussing?

I agree, though. The public shouldn't be held hostage by the TTC union. We don't have any direct influence on the management and we're the ones who suffer. If you want to influence management, make it something that affects the bottom line - like working to rule or just opening the gates while still incurring overhead. Striking actually costs the management much less than work to rule.

For those of us who rely on the service it only generates resentment in a situation where we have no say in the matter.

@JonO

I removed a number of back-and-forth insult-laden comments that contributed nothing constructive to the discussion.

"The highlight of Bob Kinnear's announcement? I'd have to say that it was his admission that TTC fares are too high and that service is sub-par." And the ATU's responsibility for that - sub zero I presume?

@Jack

as ridiculous as it is that a ticket booth guy makes 100k, apparently he works like 16hrs a day! i think there's a lot bigger issues with the TTC than this hard working guy... like the employees who take an average of 49 sick days a year.

so much for democracy eh JonO.

If you're not going to contribute AND remain civil, your comments will be unpublished. Anonymous comments that are nothing more than a name-calling or blatant insults have no place here. Thank you.

My only concern is that this 3 year deal won't last for 3 years. They union fought hard in 2006 for a deal that gave them X percent a year for X years, and they got it. Now, less than 3 years later, it's suddenly "we're underpaid again!" I'm afraid that this 3 year deal will only last 1.

Ticket guys don't make 100k, where is that bogus figure coming from?

Anyways, it was nice to sit back and feel relaxed while the city seemingly panicked about the "inevitable" strike. I've mentioned on here before that my father works for the TTC, who reassured me the chances of there being a strike tomorrow were pretty slim.

He's relayed me some stories about the reactions people were having over the weekend during his shifts, one woman proclaiming that the last strike lasted two weeks, and how horrible it was. Time distorts so much :) (It was one day, for the record)

I have to say that as a user of the TTC I am definitely on the side of declaring it an essential service. The provincial and federal governments need to step things up and realize that as the largest tax center of Canada, we deserve better

rotenblog, and ttc HAS to pay someone overtime to do that? as if only the ttc ticket booth monkeys work over time in Canada.. getting paid over $26 an hr to sell token is absolutely ridiculous, period... I can tell you that people working at Starbucks would gladly take that job with half the paid..

look guys. there's 1 ticket booth guy that makes 100k. he works tones of overtime. it's a fact. google it. there's a web page with everyone in gov who makes over 100k a year.

this is the exception, and NOT related to the bigger issues. let's discuss the bigger issues, and leave this one exception out of it.

The TTC has a reputation as "The Better Way"? Well that's new.

Regardless, good to hear it had been averted, if only that Howard Hampton wouldn't look like an idiot tomorrow blocking back-to-work legislation. And David Miller looks like a hero. Golly, that was predictable.

And the point is a good one, re: essential service. It doesn't stop striking (see New York), and they'll get paid much more in a negotiation then 3 per over 3. My point stands in that a real city, an uneducated grease monkey like Mr. Kinnear wouldn't have anywhere near as much power as he does now, but the easiest way to give him more power is to make the TTC "essential".

Good. I put money on a TTC Strike being averted, so there's some money in my pocket for that.

So now? Probably the discussion turns to "TTC - An Essential Service?" I say yes. If the government is serious about the Environmental movement, make it an essential service. You could only imagine, if there were a strike tomorrow - 20+ Degrees, A Smog alert, road rages, and congested roads and lungs? Not good.

If anything now, I think the people of Toronto should strike against the TTC for these ridiculously high fares. But of course that's gonna happen as soon as Frank Thomas comes back to the Blue Jays.

Anyways, if anyone can answer me this: Where is that 504 picture from? I'm thinking it's on King, east of Yonge?

I am glad that the strike was avoided, there are thousands of people in the GTA that rely on this service. We need to outsource more of the work done within the TTC and eliminate as much of the union stranglehold as possible. Look what unions have done for the auto sector - driven it out of the country because of way too much overhead.

The problem is the unions and the workers who abuse the public under the umbrella of protection that they provide for their sub par performance on the job.

I guarantee there are thousands of people who would be happy to work in a nice comfy subway booth for a lot less than 50,000 a year.

Speaking of "The Better Way", sadly, for some it is "the ONLY way" and that's a big factor in the frustration you could feel from people on the street, or on blog posts/comments.

I was looking more in depth into what happens if the TTC becomes an 'essential service' and am no longer sure if this is the best thing to do. As it stands, if the TTC strikes, they would be legislated back to work within a day or two.

In the case of essential services, their right to strike is waived in favour of arbitration that leans in favour of the unions. Basically we'd be looking at fewer strikes, but higher wage increases for people who are already often considered to be overpaid.

Be careful what you wish for.

Anti-JonO, I'm not sure what you're digging at. The "right" to strike isn't a product of democracy.

Under most situations when dealing with management/union negotiations, I think it's an appropriate tool of leverage and coercion. All I'm saying is that this isn't one of those situations. It isn't effective in hitting the right people in the right spots.