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moveVol 1 No 2 • AugustDecember 200 20085 VEOLIA STRIKE WE MOVED NEW MEMBERS TAKE ONTORONTO TRANSIT GIANT A GREAT PUBLIC pCAMPAIGNg. 8 pg. 12 RUNNING MAN SUBWAYJOB MECHANIC GOESEVALUATION FOR RECORD INPROCESS BOSTON IN 2009 NEARING pg. 9 COMPLETION pg. 5 FACE-OFF ‘84 CHARLIE JOHNSON THEEND POP OFE AND THEAN QUEEN ERA pTHEg. 11 LAST GM BUS REBUILD pg. 22 Labour Day THE 2008 PARADE & A HISTORY OF LABOUR’S DAY pg. 18 ContractCharlie Johnson ’05 He led our union during tumultuous times Downand took theto public the heat inWire stride. An aggressive bargaining style backed up by an innovative communications “The membershipcampaign wins Local has 113 spoken. the best public Now sector I am settlement going in moreto follow thanon aTHE decade. movetheir wishes.” 1 OFFICERS’LOCAL INITIATIVES REPORT

APlenty professional of challenges administrator ahead on who the roadis committed to the 2008 contract talks towant the to thank goalsthe members forof the unionsSo to be effective negotiators, we as a maintenance and other behind-the- Isupport usan Luft given is the in newthe recent Office election Manager forunion Local have 113. to be in theLegal political Clinic arena in the Workers’scenes Rights jobs we Division, perform. assisting Sto meShe and comes the restto the of positionthe Executive with a varied wherebackground, the real decisionsnon-unionized are made. employeesYou withmight employment-related think that with issues. workingBoard. We on ranbehalf as aof team unionized and we workers will act for the better part She has also worked inenvironmental public relations concerns and fundraising now for ofas a a decade. team to protect and enhance your two hospitals. overtaking even health care as a public Susanrights wasand asecurity. research lawyer with On a personal note, Susanissue, is morean avid public photographer. funding for She public theThe law time firm to beginof Green preparing & Chercover, for our recently moved from Novatransit Scotia is all wherebut assured. she lived And for you a would whichnext round practices of negotiations exclusively isin now. the It short period of time andbe whereright. Butshe don’tstudied get photography too excited. areawill beof union-sideno cakewalk. labour There law. are She many and worked on a numberThe of money commercial coming photography to the TTC from managedpolitical and the economicarticling student challenges to assignments. You can seniorsee some levels of herof government work at susanluft.com. (Ontario programsquarely andface. research If we wait department another eight and federal) is almost entirely capital THE VALUE OF OURDuring WORK her off time, Susan likes to spend time outdoors, ator the nine firm months and justperformed to get started,a variety we’ll camping in the summerfunding and skiing – money or snowboarding to buy vehicles in andthe But it doesn’t stop there. Because we ofalready administrative be behind. functions. You can betIn this that winter. She also keepsexpand busy with the her infrastructure. young daughter, This capitalHena. capacity,TTC management Susan has isworked already closely working live in a democracy (it’s not perfect but money is needed and welcome but “Susan brings a tremendous range of skills and experience withon their Local bargaining 113, including strategy. organizing it’s pretty good as democracies go), it has little or nothing to do with the to the Local,” says President Bob Kinnear. “She is a proven speakers for a number of Can-Am Conferences.political She decisionshas also are influenced by TTC’s Operating Budget, which is A lot of people talk about collective professional administrator and understands the complexity of published a number of legal articles on issuespublic relating perception. to But only if the public bargaining as if it were a poker game. the issues we face. Justwhere as important, the money though, for our is wages her lifelong and unionized workplaces. is paying attention and understands “Who holds the best cards?” “Is the commitment to workingbenefits people comesand their from. unions. the issues to some degree. That’s why Herother commitment guy bluffing?” to the “When labour do movement you go is long-standing. To a certain extent, there is a job we also have to be in “Wethe publicare very arena, fortunate to have Susan on board.” As“all a in?”law (i.e.,student, on strike). Susan worked at Parkdale Community creation component to capital funding. constantly reminding people of the A bus is just an expensive hunk of But negotiating a labour contract, value of our services and why public Takemetal Our Kids if there’s to Work no is one a national to drive it. especially in the public sector, is not transit deserves more public support. a poker game. It’s a political game programAnd establishedit becomes inexpensive 1994. Since junk then, very We began doing this in our last round nearly two million Grade 9 Canadian because any settlement ultimately quickly without the people to maintain of bargaining, to good effect. Our students have spent a day in their parents’ comes down to politics. The money to it. So yes, as the system expands, the We Move campaign was workplaces. On November 5, these children fund the system – and pay us – can only of ATUnumber 113 members of workers participated needed expands in the as (many said) the most effective public come from two sources: taxpayers and programwell. and But came as that away happens, with a bettermanagement advocacy campaign ever by a union passengers. And because politicians understandingwill attempt of towhat spread their moreparents thinly do the in our city. It helped change an unfair every day to support their families. We make the decisions on taxation levels money budgeted to pay our current perception of our front-line members urge all our members who will have kids and TTC fares, making a settlement members. We can’t let that happen. and showcased the importance of in Grade 9 next year to participate. It’s a with us is ultimately a political decision. great experience for all concerned.continued on page 11

Frank Grimaldi – Arrow Road/Queensway/Mount Dennis

/Veolia OFFICER REPORTS

Even with jobs, we will be personally affected by the coming economic downturn

e all hope for public transit across Canada. The Liberal-NDP accord, Bob Kinnear Wthe political by contrast, called for “substantial new investment” in President/ leaders in Canada infrastructure projects such as public transit. Business Agent come up with plans It is perfectly obvious to our members that Toronto’s public that avoid a long transit system has been in decline for many years due to and deep economic political neglect. We can no longer boast about having one downturn. I am not of the best transit systems in the world. The big plans that holding my breath have been announced in recent months for expanding the waiting for these system are just that: plans, not action. The money just isn’t geniuses to figure there. So we will continue for years to see our passengers out what to do and packed like sardines in our vehicles, resentful of their high neither should fares and cursing us when our buses have to pass them by you, but we should because there is no room left. Our Maintenance members keep our fingers crossed. Even if we as transit workers have will continue to have to work minor miracles to keep the relatively secure jobs, a bad economy is bad news for us. aging fleet safe and reliable, even though the deteriorating We’ve been through this before. When people lose their roads will take an even greater toll on the vehicles. jobs, transit revenues go down, putting more strain on the Our work saves lives TTC budget. The pressure quickly flows downhill to us on Then there are the heavy environmental and health costs of the front lines, as management flails around trying to save discouraging people from taking public transit through high nickels and dimes. Maintenance projects are put on hold or fares and poor service.