Members working in ETS Fleet Maintenance will have had a message from the Branch Manager, Eddie Robar telling them what your Union has been saying for several months: they’re planning to contract out the cleaners’ work. After a year and a half putting themselves and their families at risk of contracting the COVID virus on Transit’s front line, these workers’ reward is to be a pink slip. That is brutal.
The Union is working hard to stop these firings. We’ve been out in the workplaces, bringing information, in the media, at City Council, we are firing on all cylinders. Now is the time for us to stand together for our cleaners and recyclers, for fare maintainers, for a fair collective agreement, for our jobs, our families. Let’s stand together to support each other. It’s a simple thing to wear the button the Core Team has distributed to everybody. We’ll keep you informed with the progress. Put your button on and wear it proudly.
Air conditioners break down. We all know it and when it happens we need to fix them. Simple enough. Murphy’s Law says that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong and it will do so at the worst possible moment. ETS has, thankfully, installed security barriers for operators. Problem is, those security barriers trap heat in the drivers’ compartment. If the AC breaks down, it means the operator’s area becomes an oven. Here’s what should happen if that occurs to you:
- Stop the bus, call control, ask for a changeover.
- If they won’t or can’t provide a changeover, carry on as best you can.
- If it’s so hot in there that it’s making you ill, stop the bus, call control and let them know that you can’t carry on.
- Open the doors, get some air moving, see to your health and that of your passengers.
- Fill out WCB forms.
It’s safety first and if you are suffering from heat related illness, you must stop driving.
In solidarity,
Steve Bradshaw
President/Business Agent
ATU Local 569