Contract talks between the TTC and its union have apparently gone nowhere. Bob Kinnear, president of the Amalgamated Transit Workers Union, said his members will be off the job Monday morning.

An excerpt from the CTV.ca story:

It is therefore with the deepest regret that we will be withdrawing our services as of Monday morning," Bob Kinnear, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, said at a news conference on Friday.

He announced that workers would be withdrawing their services, calling the latest contract offer from the Toronto Transit Commission "inadequate."

"We will give the Commission the weekend to think about the consequences of their inadequate offer," Kinnear said, after the TTC and the union did not reach a deal by the Friday noon deadline.

"I am deeply, deeply disappointed," TTC chairman Howard Moscoe said in response to the union's move to strike.

"We moved heaven and hell to present the best offer we could possibly present under the circumstances."

Moscoe added that negotiations were not over as far as the TTC was concerned.

"I am prepared to continue discussions around the clock until we put this to bed," Moscoe said.

Here's an excerpt from the Toronto Star story:

(Kinnear) blamed government underfunding and the specific inability to come to agreement on the issue of contracting-out of some jobs.

“I regret that we are far apart on this issue of contracting-out,'' he said. "The wage offer falls short, (but) it’s not a matter of wages. We were willing to make compromises on the rate of wage increases, we were willing to be flexible on the length of agreement. The TTC has shown no flexibility.”  ...

... Moscoe expressed frustration.

"I don’t understand what the union wants. The TTC has no plans to contract anything out, has never had plans to contract anything out. There is no change in the (contracting-out) language. In fact, we (TTC) contract-out less than any transit system on his continent, that I know of."

As a generally car-free person, this is a major inconvenience. I wound up renting one, as I live about 25 kilometres from work (it's an hour and a bit one way to work by transit; a vehicle cuts that to 40 to 45 minutes) and work odd hours.

If the strike goes three days, this will cost me about $120 and change.

On days off, I can survive without one.

The one good thing about such strikes is it will remind Torontians of what it would be like to not have a decent transit system.

Additional info:

The TTC and transit union websites don't have much, if anything on the looming labour disruption.

Here's a blog you might want to keep watch on: Transit Toronto.