The TTC Strike - My Calm and Rational Thoughts (honestly!)

I will try to keep this short. Last night I attended a Hot Docs screening at the Rom theatre. After the screening a festival volunteer came in and told us we better get out of the theatre if we wanted to take transit. It was 11:15 and the TTC was going on strike in 45 minutes.

The huge network of buses, trains and streetcars responsible for getting people home safely was going on strike, on a Friday night, with barely an hour’s notice. Few bars, clubs, restaurants, and movie theatres were able to give their patrons a warning. At midnight - exactly when most people start thinking about getting home and sleeping off their fun - the TTC left everyone stranded.

Thanks to our Hot Docs volunteer, we were able to catch one of the last trains going North and made it home with minutes to spare. Then we tuned into CP24 coverage of the strike. We watched drunk (and, as time passed, drunker) citizens trying to hail cabs and call family. There were young women teetering around in high heels, trying to rouse themselves for the long walk home to Scarborough.

Union president Bob Kinnear said, in part, that they didn’t give us a warning because their employees experienced “verbal and sometimes physical abuse” when they gave a warning last time. They were concerned for the employees safety. What about our safety? What about the poor drunk kids who had to hoof it home from the downtown core? A lot of us don’t have family nearby and our friends are also TTC reliant. It’s one thing to know “hey, I can’t go out because the TTC isn’t running”. It’s a whole other thing to realize you can't get home in the middle of the night.

Now, I must make a comment on behalf of the TTC. I know this is a union thing and I don’t want to see TTC employees abused. Verbal and physical assault should not be tolerated. When a TTC employee is injured on the job, I think it’s fair for them to get full pay while they are off work. And all the people who say that TTC employees should be “nicer” and provide unflinchingly cheerful service have obviously never worked with the public. As someone with more than a few years retail experience, I can tell you that employees are just people with the same problems you have, trying to put up with strangers who can be real jerks. Don’t think your metropass bought you indentured servants.

That being said, it has since come to light that the main issue behind the strike was job security for the maintenance staff. Well, here’s a news flash for the union members, everyone is losing their job security. At least TTC staff get good hourly wages, raises, benefits, and pensions. That’s a lot more than most people who rely on the TTC can say about their own employment. You may lose your job? Join the effing club. It’s a new global economy and everyone can be out sourced. We can’t expect any company to take care of us for the rest of our lives.

Finally (did I say this would be short? Sorry), the really sad thing about the strike is how it further damages the goodwill awarded to TTC employees for their service. Most people in Toronto want the TTC to be happy. We keep paying more for our fare. Even when the most drunk and disorderly of us are left stranded on a Friday night, we don’t riot or react violently. We’re mostly nice people but there’s only so much we’ll take. I’m not going to pretend I know all the issues currently plaguing the union negotiations but I do know that it’s time to make the TTC an essential service (and / or privatized). We’re a middle class city full of people who work hard. We just want to get home (and to Hot Docs screenings) safely and without paying more than we can afford. It shouldn't be an impossible, or conditional, request.

Um, should we be scared by this?

I'm not trying to turn this into a political blog. I get enough politics watching and writing about documentaries. I'd prefer to discuss books, video games and spooky old movies starring Vincent Price AND Peter Cushing ("MADHOUSE" in case you're interested, and believe me, you are interested). Still, there are times when I read the newspaper and something strikes me as so politically cra-zay I need to write my thoughts down to you, an audience of at least eleven people. Here I go, and please try not to let my eloquence forever sway your opinion of certain Canadian politicians.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been working for months on a brand new, top-secret media building to be built on the site of a former shoe shop. At the cost of 2 million dollars, the facility would be completely government controlled, allowing Harper's staff to choose which reporters are allowed in, what topics they may discuss, and possibly whether they are to address him as "Mr. Prime Minister" or "Senior Overlord Fantastico". The endeavour is called The Shoe Store Project because Operation Press can Suck It was a bit too obvious.

Everyone knows that Harper has a beef with the press, and indeed he's avoided much contact with them so far. Well, maybe those pesky Ottawa reporters had it coming and maybe the current National Press Theatre was getting outdated and had awful shag carpeting or something. I still don't think that's an excuse to go all evil genius on the Canadian people and start building your own media compound. The documents on the proposed facility state a desire to "put in place robust physical and information security measures to protect the prime minister and cabinet". Here's an artistic rendition of what I think The Shoe Store Project may look like, if it indeed ever sees the light of day:

Originally I was going to have Harper exploding out of the building like Godzilla, pulling trees out of the ground and breathing fire. Then I realised he's my Prime Minister and deserves better treatment. Also, I can't draw worth corn.
Oh my God what a chilling vision of the future! Look at that grey brick work, moat, and guards shooting freaking laser beams at innocent citizens. That, my friends, is what I call subtle political satire. If you gave me ten minutes before dinner and a package of pencil crayons I could hardly produce something more evocative and moving.

Is The Shoe Store Project going to become a reality? Well, since the Toronto Star uncovered the story, the Harper government has been quick to say that it was all just a bunch of silly research and will not be completed. We'll see. I think it's a very interesting little story to follow, and I hope you enjoyed my completely biased and half baked opinion on this subject. If you disagree with me, good for you! Post your comments. Unlike in Harper's shoe shop, I value freedom of speech in all its forms.