TTC union head Bob Kinnear resigns
Posted March 17, 2017 1:30 pm.
Last Updated March 17, 2017 2:32 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Bob Kinnear, the head of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113, has resigned.
In a press release, the union confirmed it had accepted his resignation effective immediately.
His resignation comes after a tumultuous few months that saw Kinnear ousted from the position by an American-based parent union and then reinstated following a court battle.
“With this distraction behind us, we’re now focused on what matters most – representing Toronto’s hardworking transit workers,” Kevin Morton, secretary-treasurer of ATU Local 113, said in a statement. “More united than ever, we’re moving forward to fight the TTC’s plans for alcohol and drug testing and to prepare for next year’s important collective bargaining.”
ATU International President Larry Hanley called the last several weeks a “traumatizing chapter” for the union.
“With the resignation of Bob Kinnear as their president, today marks a new beginning for the 11,000 members of ATU Local 113,” he said.
“The last six weeks have been extraordinarily difficult for them and their families and, in fact, the entire labour movement. Fortunately, union democracy and international solidarity have prevailed.”
Hanley also denounced Unifor President Jerry Dias, and Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff for “violations of the CLC Constitution and taking sides in the struggle.”
In a statement posted on Twitter by spokesman Brad Ross, the TTC confirmed Kinnear’s resignation and wished him well.
“(The TTC) wishes Mr. Kinnear well in his future endeavors,” it read. “The TTC looks forward to continuing to work with the union, indeed all of its unions, to modernize the TTC and improve service for its 1.8 million daily riders.”
Kinnear has been at the helm of Local 113 since 2003.
The union represents nearly 11,000 public transit workers.
