On Saturday, Toronto woke up as a city shut down.
TTC workers dealt the city a shocking blow in the first minute of the morning, walking off the job at midnight after voting to reject a tentative deal that had promised to avert a walkout less than a week prior.
Despite earlier word that any strike action would come with 48 hours notice workers were off the job almost immediately Saturday. The only good news for the 1.5 million riders: Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will recall the legislature Sunday to deal with the strike, and appears to have the opposition support needed to pass back-to-work legislation by Monday morning.
That would be sweet music to the ears of commuters, to whom the news of suspended service came as a shock Friday night, especially for revelers stuck in the down-town core.
"At least two hours notice would have been nice!" lamented Catherine Franklin.
Fiona Dunbar held up a pair of red-soled shoes and said, "This is how I'm getting home. Two legs and stilettos."
"I'm stuck in Little Italy, I live in Scarborough," exclaimed Jesse Christensen. "What am I going to do - walk home?"
The headaches continued throughout Saturday, as those who woke up to the news had to scramble to make alternate arrangements. Don't count on the GO - that stretched-to-capacity system will not be adding more trains or buses, though its regular service isn't affected.
The strike began at 12:01am Saturday, grinding the transit system to a halt and leaving many city dwellers surprised and stranded.
Nearly two-thirds of the 9,000 TTC workers eligible to vote rejected the deal, which would have given them a three per cent wage hike over the next three years, as well as other benefits and improvements Mayor David Miller termed "fair."
But the tabled contract apparently wasn't what the union was looking for, particularly so in the case of maintenance workers who felt slighted when compared with operators. The tentative contract needed the approval of 50 percent plus one to pass.
As for why no notice was given this time, ATU Local 113 President Bob Kinnear said safety was the primary concern.
"We have assessed the situation and decided that we will not expose our members to the dangers of assaults from angry and irrational members of the public," Kinnear insisted.
"The reports from our members of increases in threats and abuse from passengers last weekend, after we gave our original 48-hours' notice, has left us no choice but to withdraw our services immediately. We have a legal responsibility to protect the safety of our members and so does the TTC.
"We have informed the TTC and the Ministry of Labour of this development. Our Executive will be meeting on Saturday morning to determine our next steps."
TTC Manager Gary Webster's reaction was as expected.
"We're all disappointed that things didn't work out better," he said. "We're also worried about our employees ... when this is all over they're going to have to go to work and deal with a public that isn't very happy with them."
The rejection of the offer was not entirely unpredictable: on Wednesday night nearly half of the executive board of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 stormed out of a meeting where the fine print of the tentative contract was revealed.
Hundreds of maintenance workers were unhappy with the settlement that stopped the strike, which would allow some of their duties to be contracted out. They were asking TTC operators to support them in their opposition.
"This contract is more for the drivers than us," TTC maintenance worker Desmond Pidder said. "It shouldn't be accepted."
Six days earlier Kinnear announced to the city that a transit strike had been averted after talks went past the deadline set for 4pm Sunday. He admitted the labour group didn't get everything it had wanted in the deal but added he had no problem recommending it for ratification.
And while hopes remained high that things might be put right at Queen's Park Sunday, there hardly seemed to be hope for a Saturday night reprieve. As of 7pm, it was reported that negotiations had broken off between the TTC and its largest union, a stalemate only adding to the already-sizeable implications of Sunday's legislature sitting.
Fortunately, some of that pressure was alleviated Saturday when NDP leader Howard Hampton - previously undecided on the matter - suggested the back-to-work legislation "should pass."
With Conservative leader John Tory and Premier McGuinty already on board, the first Sunday meeting at Queen's Park in more than a decade could go smoother than some initially expected.
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