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Workers at the Thunder Bay Alstom plant were shocked to learn that the federal and Ontario governments failed to officially allocate funding needed to purchase 80 subway trains for the TTC Line 2 operations and expansion. This failure caused the TTC to cancel its Request for Proposals (RFP) to purchase these vehicles. All levels of government have been actively aware of the urgency to fund this replacement for years. Unifor members are outraged at this funding standoff and call on all levels of government to end political theatrics that jeopardize workers’ jobs and simply get the job done.
“At a time when governments are patting themselves on the back for committing to boost public transit use and reduce emissions, it is outrageous that funding for these sorely needed subway cars would be delayed, putting workers’ livelihoods at risk,” said Lana Payne.
Unifor Local 1075 members have exhausted their patience and need immediate and decisive action. This plant has built every subway car currently operating on Toronto subway tracks and are in the best position to continue to maintain and build them in the future. With current work for Metrolinx and the TTC expected to end in 2025, this historic plant that has been in operation for more than a century remains at risk. Government needs to move on this order, and quickly, in order to ensure the plant has time to gear up for the build, including lining up the supply chain.
Between 2011 and 2019, the number of Unifor members working in the Alstom plant varied from a low of 750 to a high of approximately 1,300. This plant is a pillar of the local economy. At its peak, it was the region’s largest private sector employer sustaining jobs and families, and generating tremendous economic activity in the area. As work continues to dry up, the situation is only getting worse. Last year, 200 workers lost recall rights after being laid off for three years and 22 opted for early retirement. The plant currently employs about 230 Unifor members with just a handful retaining recall rights.
“Unifor members know how to build and maintain TTC subway cars better than anyone else. If funding isn’t allocated now more skilled workers will have no choice but to leave. Government is putting this plant at risk and depriving the TTC and Toronto commuters of the safe, reliable and affordable vehicles we’ve built for years,” said Justin Roberts President of Unifor Local 1075.
The trains currently in service will begin to reach the end of their life just three years from now in 2026. Without these new trains, TTC riders will see the quality of transit services unnecessarily stifled.
Workers and commuters need the federal and Ontario governments to immediately and officially allocate funding for new TTC subway cars so that the RFP can be reinstated and the trains ordered with an emphasis on maximizing Canadian content.
