TTC Union 1 City Taxpayers 0

What's the deal, Adam? By SUE-ANN LEVY At highly "accessible" and let's not forget "efficient and effective" City Hall, the Spin Machine was in overdrive yesterday to tenaciously guard the details of yet another deal with one of the city's powerful unions. I made what I thought was a simple attempt to discern the status of the lawsuit between the TTC and its unionized workers, undertaken to recoup the $3 million in costs incurred as a result of the May 2006 one day wildcat walkout. By the end of the day, I did get a straight answer -- but most definitely not from the Millerites. Ironically, the answer was delivered by a top secret source and it was not at all what I'd been told by the TTC's chairman. Coming hot on the heels of my revelations surrounding the generous deal for Toronto's firefighters -- which were kept under wraps for four months -- I couldn't help but think this secrecy is becoming an all too familiar and disturbing pattern under the so-called "transparent and inclusive" leadership of Mayor David Miller and his minions. At precisely 1 p.m., TTC Chairman Adam Giambrone told me the two sides are "pretty close" to an "agreement" but there are still some "outstanding issues" -- that the union and the TTC are "still talking about what sort of things could be on the table. "I think you're talking weeks to months," he said when I asked how long before a settlement is finalized. "I expect you'll hear before the end of the year." He also insisted any deal would have to recoup the $2 million to $3 million in costs absorbed by the TTC, mostly to reimburse inconvenienced Metropass holders $4 each. "The direction from the mayor and from myself has been very clear that any settlement negotiated has to recover $2 million to $3 million," he said. After speaking with Giambrone, I endeavoured to reach Bob Kinnear, president of Local 113 of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU). He was locked away in an arbitration session. At 4 p.m., before I had a chance to speak with Kinnear, I received, to my complete surprise, a copy of the minutes of settlement reached on Oct. 10 -- almost one month ago! This was followed up by a call from an unnamed source. Shortly after, Kinnear confirmed the deal was done "somewhere in the right area" of Oct. 10, but wouldn't comment on specifics. When I reached Giambrone a second time at 5:49 p.m., I wanted to know why he'd left out that small part (said tongue in cheek, of course) about a deal being reached. "It's never been presented to the Commission for approval ... that's why I'm not empowered to talk to you about it," he said, claiming he, too, hasn't been "fully briefed" on the deal, even though it's dated Oct. 10. Asked when the Commission might see the settlement, he said it won't go to next Wednesday's meeting because the agenda is "very full" and this could get lost. "There was no particular urgency to this," he said. Geesh. I'd think the settlement is pretty darn important in the grand scheme of union negotiations and setting a tone that the unions don't run the show -- which they of course do under Miller and his socialist seals. But what do I know? As for claims that both he and the mayor were adamant about recouping the $3 million the strike cost the TTC, Giambrone said the agreement by the union to use "spare" drivers instead of those on overtime to replace drivers off sick will save about $600,000 a year. In three years, that plus the settlement of small grievances, will get them $2 million back. Far be it from me to suggest reducing overtime should be good management practice, not the condition of any settlement like this. And I guess the $1 million not accounted for is only pennies to the Millerites. TTC Commissioner Michael Thompson was incensed when he heard of the deal from the Sun yesterday. "You're kidding me," he said, adding he's not surprised with the secrecy. "It's unfortunate but the reality of this environment is that it will never change with this administration," he said. "This confirms what I already know about the landscape here."