TFC Good, TTC Union Bad

Yesterday, me and Arnaz were gearing up for Toronto FC's second home game of the 2008 season. However, the snap TTC transit strike messed up our plans to get downtown. Ideally, we park up in the Yonge & Eglinton at friends' places and take the subway downtown to Union Station, and then grab the Harbourfront streetcar to Exhibition Stadium where BMO Field is located. The strike killed that plan, and many others' normal plans. That definitely confirms that Toronto cannot operate without the TTC.

In my humble opinion, the TTC Union (Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113) decision to reject the contract negotiated by their exec, and then strike without warning was totally unwarranted and irresponsible. To strand thousands of Toronto's citizens forcing them to either shell out massive cab fares, making emergency calls to friends & family for rides, or walking excessive distances to get home. What's the point in negotiating a contract if the union in the end will vote against it. Sorry, I have very little sympathy for workers who can make over $100k taking tokens and then complain about job security. In my 10 years of working in engineering roles, I have never had job security and do not make anywhere close to $100k.

To get around the lack of TTC, and avoid driving/parking near BMO Field, we opted to park near Eaton Centre and then grab a lift from our friends joining us at the game. They were running a bit late, so we decided to start walking towards BMO Field along King Street West and hope to get a cheap cab ride. Around King and Simcoe, we spotted a double-decker tour bus with a bunch of Toronto FC fans yelling at us to jump aboard for a free ride to the stadium. Toronto FC (MLSE) hired this bus to pick up fans at some favourite watering holes and give them a free ride to the stadium. Thank you Toronto FC! You have once again confirmed my commitment to being a season ticket holder for life! T-O-R...O-N-T...OHOOOHOOOOH T-F-C!!!

While on the bus, we were greeted by a reporters from CityTV, CFRB 1010, TFC TV, and the Toronto Star who interviewed us about our thoughts on the TTC strike and what we thought of TFC arranging this bus.

We have our pic published in the Toronto Star:

(were right behind the fan with the scarf)

From the Toronto Star:

"We think this is wonderful that the club will do this," said Arnaz Jasumani, sitting in the upper deck.

Asif Rashid, 31, a season ticket holder, was grateful for the bus.

"We were walking toward the field. Normally we take the subway, then grab the streetcar. I'm so annoyed at the TTC," he said. "We saw this bus full of fans. They made the day
brighter."

Is that really what I said? Maybe the reporter spiced up the words to make it more newsworthy. I think I probably said something of the order of, "Ungh, TTC bad, TFC good, me like!" I'll take 15 minutes of fame regardless. You can see the full article here:
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/418875

The related CFRB 1010 audio clip can be found at http://www.cfrb.com/news/565/707291

You can see us being interviewed on TFC TV at http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/sights/index.jsp?club=t280. We're about halfway through Episode 6 (2008).

Apparently, we did get on CityTV news, but I have yet to see the clip. If you happened to have seen this, please let me know!

Toronto FC beat the Kansas CIty Wizards 2-0, so all-in-all, a great day thanks to TFC. Allez Les Rouges!

Today, the Ontario Provinical Government came into session on a rare Sunday to pass a motion to force the TTC into back-to-work legislation. You can see the full article here:
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_22090.aspx

I sincerely hope that the TTC Union thinks twice about screwing over the city again. I highly doubt that they have many supporters anymore.

imho
-A

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