TTC STAFF COULD FACE DRUG TESTING

Union Against Proposal Because 'There's No Problem'

Four Toronto bus and streetcar operators were found to be under the
influence of alcohol in the first half of this year and another 35 TTC
employees were involved in drug or alcohol-related incidents since
2006, according to a report released by the TTC that recommends random
testing.

The controversial proposal is part of a new "Fitness for Duty Policy,"
which will be debated by nine Toronto transit commissioners next week.

It recommends that employees in "safety sensitive" jobs such as
vehicle operators or track workers, their supervisors and members of
the TTC executive be subject to six stages of drug and alcohol
testing: when applying for a job, when there is "reasonable" suspicion
of impairment, after an incident, after a violation, after treatment
and randomly. The frequency of random testing has not been determined,
and it would be conducted by a third party.

TTC chairman Adam Giambrone believes it is unlikely the commission
will approve random testing, but he supports the other testing.

"People have real serious privacy concerns on it, and before you go
down that route you should have a very good rationale as to why you're
doing it," Mr. Giambrone said. "Thirty-nine incidents over three years
[is a] concern, but when you think about the 4,000 to 5,000 operators,
the 1,700 service vehicles plus all the subway trains and, of course,
the fact that they operate 24/365, we're not in crisis here."

He notes that no other public transit agency in Canada authorizes
random testing, and he questioned whether it would withstand a court
challenge.

Of the four alcohol-related incidents this year, only one was verified
with a Breathalyzer test administered by police. The others are based
on observations of impairment. The other 35 cases mostly involve
maintenance workers, including janitors and others who do not hold
safety sensitive positions. The report says drug and alcohol use has
become a "serious issue" in the TTC workplace, and the potential for
"catastrophic" consequences has executives convinced drug testing is
necessary.

Last year, maintenance worker Tony Almeida was killed in a work-car
crash in a subway tunnel. An autopsy found that Mr. Almeida had smoked
marijuana on the job, although it did not blame the death on any impairment.

In the United States, federal law mandates that safety sensitive
employees in aviation, pipeline, public transportation, trains, ships
and buses be tested for drugs and alcohol at various intervals,
including at random. There are no similar laws in Canada, but Canadian
companies in high-risk industries have alcohol and drug policies that
include testing.

Bob Kinnear, president of the largest TTC union, said his membership
is dead set against any form of testing.

"They're interested in deflecting attention away from their
incompetence to protect their employees and create the perception that
there's a systemic problem out there. There is no problem out there,"
he said yesterday. This is the first he has heard of the 39 incidents.
"We don't want to live in a society where people basically have to be
strip-searched before they go to work."

Gary Webster, general manager of the TTC, said that given the nature
of a job in which a driver may not come face to face with a supervisor
during his or her shift, testing is the only way the commission can
assure itself it has done everything to ensure employee and public
safety.