Almost 100 Union Station Rail Workers Are Striking & Here's Where It Could Cause Delays
The longer the strike, the more likely that delays will happen.
GO train at Union Station.
On Wednesday at 12:01 a.m., 95 Toronto Terminal Railway workers at Union Station went on strike, and the longer they stay off the job, the greater the chance commuters may see delays on the GO and UP Express trains.
The workers are part of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union, and negotiations between IBEW and Toronto Terminal Railway hit an "impasse on Tuesday evening," TTR said in an emailed statement to Narcity.
TTR proposed binding arbitration, which is when a jury makes a decision, but IBEW declined the option, and shortly after midnight, the workers went on strike.
Steve Martin, IBEW's Senior General Chairman, told Narcity that the workers have had "no contract since end of December 2019" and are primarily striking due to their wages and benefits issues.
TTR told Narcity that the workers were offered "the same wage and benefits package as other unionized TTR Track employees."
This strike could potentially impact service on GO and UP Express trains, according to a Metrolinx spokesperson.
"At the moment, this strike involving TTR workers is not affecting GO and UP Express customers. We do have contingency plans in place to continue safely operating GO and UP trains during the labour dispute," the Metrolinx spokesperson said.
"The risk of delays and cancellations does increase the longer this strike continues — so we strongly encourage customers to sign up and subscribe to On-The-GO alerts," they added.
TTR told Narcity that they have also enacted a "contingency plan to ensure safe and efficient train service" and invite "IBEW to return to the bargaining table or accept binding arbitration."