ATU Canada and ATU 113 is holding a press conference this Wednesday to address the lack of action in regard to the national crisis of transit operator assaults. The transit union is calling on all three levels of government to come to the table to work with them on a National Framework to tackle assaults as well as things like: implementations of reporting and tracking systems to identify the real number of assaults, de-escalation training, increased vigilance, recognition from employers that an assault is a critical injury and the court system to utilize Bill S-221 as a deterrent.

OTTAWA - ATU Canada is encouraged by the announcement of $750 million in emergency transit funding made yesterday by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland but calls this a “band aid solution” and says more is needed for future funding crises likely to face public transit. The announcement came with two caveats; however, that provinces match the federal funding and that they work with cities more quickly to increase housing supply.

President of ATU Canada John Di Nino is calling on all three levels of government as well as transit agencies across Canada to take immediate action in taking every reasonable precaution to protect transit workers against assaults and violence.

EDMONTON – ATU Canada is applauding the success of its Edmonton local, ATU 569 for winning an overwhelming success today, as 83% of on-demand workers employed with Pacific Western Transit voted to join the union.

The ATU was proud to stand in solidarity today with several other union leaders from Ontario in signing on to a letter to demand that political representatives at Queen Park repeal the harmful Bill 124 that dangerously underfunds Ontario’s public sector.

OTTAWA – ATU Local 279, the Ottawa local of the Amalgamated Transit Union, representing over 3,000 transit workers in the City of Ottawa is calling on its employer OC Transpo and the City of Ottawa to better plan for Winter weather after the disastrous handling of the Winter storm earlier this week as the city was pummeled with close to 50 cm of snow.

TORONTO – ATU Canada is calling on Metrolinx to reverse its latest 15% service cut announced today, calling it “irresponsible, unacceptable and an affront to both transit workers and transit riders.”

2021 has been another difficult year for our members and our union. We have continued to lose loved ones, declining ridership on our transit system and governments unwilling to do anything about it. Despite these difficulties however, you have continued to preserve and see some wins along the way.

TORONTO – ATU Canada announced today that they will contribute $10,000 towards the legal battle against the discriminatory Quebec piece of legislation, Bill 21, that prohibits people who work in certain jobs deemed to be positions of authority in the public sector to wear religious garb.