TTC UNION SLAMS DRUG TEST IDEA

Kinnear Won't Rule Out Labour Disruption If Proposal Goes Ahead,
Saying It Violates Privacy

The head of the Toronto transit workers' union, Bob Kinnear, says he
won't rule out the possibility of a labour disruption or legal action
if the TTC goes ahead with a controversial drug and alcohol testing
policy.

TTC chief general manager Gary Webster says the proposed policy,
believed to be among the most far-reaching in Canada, is essential to
protect workers and the public.

It would include random testing of workers and some managers in
"safety sensitive" jobs. Positions are likely to include drivers,
mechanics and maintenance workers.

Job applicants would be tested, as would employees suspected of using
drugs and alcohol on the job or those involved in serious incidents.
Workers disciplined for being unfit for work or those returning from
drug or alcohol rehabilitation would also be subject to testing.
Office staff and others who have no impact on the public would not.

The proposal, released in a report yesterday, still needs approval
from city councillors on the transit commission. Specifics would then
be developed for further approval.

Kinnear, who heads the Amalgamated Transit Union, says the plan
violates the privacy of workers. He has vowed to fight it.

"We have a number of options available to us and we will take a look
very closely at each (one). We will do what needs to be done to ensure
that the TTC doesn't arbitrarily impose this policy on us," he said.

The report suggests there's a systemic problem with drug and alcohol
use that doesn't exist, Kinnear said, adding that if the TTC suspects
an employee is intoxicated it already has the right to call police.

He contests the report's finding of 39 incidents of drug and alcohol
use among TTC employees between January 2006 and June 2008, including
17 recorded since asbestos-removal worker Tony Almeida was killed in
April 2007.

Although Almeida wasn't blamed for the accident involving a subway
work car that killed him and injured two others, the coroner found he
had been using drugs earlier in the shift.

"The incidence of impairment (is) very low, but the consequences are
very high," the TTC's Webster said. "The potential consequences can be
catastrophic. That is an unacceptable risk. Our current policies need
to be changed so we can reduce that risk," he said.

"We don't want anybody to believe it's unsafe to ride the TTC. That is
not the case. The point is, once is too often."

Webster said safety is a "sacred trust" for the TTC. But current
training, support and education programs have not been effective
enough, he said.

"This is not a 'gotcha' policy. This is a policy that will have
assistance programs improved for our employees, prevention programs
for our employees. It will make it clear that if employees are
detected to have alcohol and drug abuse, there are potential
consequences."

But even the TTC's chair, Adam Giambrone, thinks random testing may be
going too far, though he supports testing for applicants and "with
cause."

"We have to strike a balance between passenger safety and the rights
of our employees," he said.

The TTC report quotes a study by the U.S. Federal Transit
Administration that showed the number of employees testing positive
for drug and alcohol abuse was cut by half over a 10-year period of
random testing.

Mayor David Miller also advocates caution about random testing, but
supports testing with cause. "We are entitled to know that people who
drive and operate this very important system are completely free from
any impairment. And sadly, there have been some recent cases of people
being impaired and operating these vehicles. It's not acceptable," he
told reporters.

Councillor Michael Thompson, who sits on the commission, said he's 100
per cent behind the proposal. "I have TTC workers in my ward and they
tell me guys are drunk and guys have been smoking up," Thompson said.

Although Canadian law and human rights policies have typically taken a
dim view of substance testing of workers, Thompson said the courts
have made exceptions for jobs involving operating heavy machinery,
vehicles or aircraft.

The testing policy would become part of a larger set of "fitness for
duty" guidelines being developed by the TTC.