TTC union members urged not to disclose shot status
Union president calls vaccine mandates ‘unfair and unjust intrusions’
The TTC’s largest union is urging its members not to divulge their COVID-19 vaccination status to agency management, in an attempt to block a new policy requiring transit employees to get their shots.
In a statement released Tuesday, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 president Carlos Santos described the TTC’s vaccination requirements as “unfair and unjust intrusions into the lives of our members.”
“ATU Local 113 is not opposed to COVID-19 vaccines. We support legitimate education as to the safety and benefits of vaccination. But we will fight and will continue to defend our members’ rights,” he said.
“Whether vaccinated or not, we are asking all members to not disclose any private medical information to the TTC.”
Local 113 represents close to 12,000 TTC workers, many of whom have contact with the public in the course of their duties. The union had previously vowed to fight mandatory vaccines for its members, after the TTC announced last month it would follow the City of Toronto’s lead and require all its workers to get vaccinated. The agency described the policy as a necessary response to the fourth wave of the pandemic driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.
On Tuesday, the transit agency released details of its policy, which are broadly in line with the city mandate announced Aug. 26. The TTC is directing workers to confirm their vaccination status by Sept. 20. While there are limited exemptions on medical and human rights grounds, employees who have not received one shot of a twoshot vaccine must get their first dose by Sept. 30 and be fully inoculated by Oct. 30.
In a press release accompanying the policy Tuesday, TTC CEO Rick Leary said mandatory vaccination “is a necessary measure to protect the health of our employees.”
The policy doesn’t explicitly say what discipline employees who refuse to disclose their vaccine status will be subject to. A TTC spokesperson said in an email that “employees are expected to comply with this policy as a condition of employment,” but for the moment “the focus is on education and getting the workforce vaccinated.”
The TTC has previously said it believes a majority of its workers are already fully vaccinated. As of Aug. 30, 1,087 transit agency employees out of a staff of 16,000 have tested positive for the virus, according to statistics published by the transit agency.
Local 113’s hardline stance against the mandatory vaccines is in contrast to the approach taken by city workers unions, which haven’t publicly opposed the inoculation policy for municipal employees. The Toronto Police Association has said it will oppose a vaccine mandate for its members, however.
The dispute over vaccinations for TTC employees comes as Local 113 is in the midst of tough negotiations with the agency over a new collective agreement. Talks started in February, but in June they were referred to binding arbitration after the sides reached an impasse and the union requested a “noboard” report.
The fourth wave of the pandemic currently threatening to overwhelm the province’s health system is largely a result of infections among the unvaccinated. On Tuesday, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said people who aren’t fully vaccinated are 24 times more likely to be hospitalized and 43 times more likely to end up in intensive care as a result of COVID-19 compared with those who are inoculated.