Should Not the Radical Left Take into Account the Attitude of Workers Towards Their Own Jobs? Part Two, The Case of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)

Preliminaries

There may be a strike by members of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents around 11,000 frontline workers out of a total of 25,000 workers very soon (June 7). 

There has been some movement by management today, but whether that will suffice for the union bargaining team to recommend ratification remains to be seen (see https://www.cp24.com/news/ttc-union-says-some-progress-at-bargaining-table-as-strike-deadline-nears-1.6915772). 

According to one so-called socialist organization (Socialist Action), there are three issues: compensation, privatization and contracting out (what SA wrongly calls “Bargaining should occur openly, open to all members) and keeping transit public (see  https://socialistaction.ca/2024/06/01/victory-to-the-toronto-transit-workers/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2gq9uHLhCKYRh5d6JEuP6LeGh7ieJl8ZxE2etv3lRqLdt-8Wa8vLgNmGY_aem_AcZcbq2ouJN7HbR7eT71cOJVhfm8VNId0QLAEAdUOOifhGh0C1X8tfvOWx9hSR5MP39R6JOZbxfjAJ5JLm-Lk2pq). 

Let us look a bit more closely at what Socialist Action says: 

 Privatizing or contracting out work is not just a threat.  It has already occurred to certain maintenance jobs within the TTC, primarily to cleaners. Management proposes changes to language in our contract that would remove the protection to existing quality jobs. Similarly, cross boundary would open up to other transit authorities the services that ATU 113 members provide. Service integration is important, but Local 113 has the workforce to meet those needs currently.  Having other companies undermine us would lead to a cut in the workforce and again to the loss of quality jobs. ATU 113 fought long for good jobs [all bolded words are my emphases].

“Quality jobs?” “Good jobs?” This is the rhetoric of unions, but such rhetoric coming from a socialist organization expresses the state of the left here in Toronto. If good jobs can indeed be achieved by being a member of the ATU, then why would it be necessary to struggle for the abolition of the class power of employers and the associated economic, political and social structures? 

Should not socialists be doing the opposite of what SA is doing? That is to day, showing that the jobs which workers perform, whether in the private sector or in the public sector, is anything but “quality jobs?”

But the SA, like social democats, idealizes the public sector: 

ATU 113 seeks greater partnership with communities and transit users on improving the system.  The connection has been strengthened in recent years and jointly they have presented evidence to improve service and confront challenges in the system. Members know that our job is to work for the public.  We want that experience to be as good as possible.

Although public-sector transit is certainly preferable to privatized transit since public transit can be subsidized and thereby make public transit more accessible to lower-income members of the working class, to say that “our job is to work for the public” asserts something that is impossible to achieve in the present economic system. Do not transit workers have to subordinate their will to management to obtain money and by that means obtain the commodities they need for themselves and their families? To work for the public is mediated by an employer–even a “public employer.” SA and like leftists conveniently forget this fact when it suits them, and then inconsistenly then refer to big-bad management:

The union has elected as far as I know to keep a skeleton crew of wheel trans running to deliver patients with critical health care needs to and from appointments. It’s a shame when we support striking nurses, and we know that everyone deserves their needs being met in a dignified way, but management withholds from us that same dignity and then dangles a moral obligation over our heads.

Is not management a representative of a public-sector employer? If so, then how is it “that our job is to work for the public?” Even private-sector workers ultimately “work for the public”–but the employers intervene between them and “the public.” 

Such is the nature of the left these days in Toronto. 

Introduction

One of the few things that I agree with the academic leftist Jeff Noonan, professor of philosophy at the University of Windsor, Ontario, is that leftists must start where workers are at:

Political engagement begins from trying to understand where people are coming from.

But where people are coming from can be interpreted in at least two ways: objectively–what their real situaiton is, and subjectively, what their attitudes towards their interpreted situations are. In relation to workers, there is their objective situation of being treated as means towards ends defined by employers (see The Money Circuit of Capital).

Subjectively, though, there are undoubtedly a variety of attitudes and interpretations of their own work and life situations.

Some among the radical left do not even address the issue of what workers think of their own jobs. It is hardly idealist to inquire into such attitudes for such “materialists.”

I will start to gather evidence about the attitudes of some workers in unionized and non-unionized settings where I have calculated the rate of exploitation of those workers. I will also in the not-too-distant future start a similar inquiry process  for unionized public-sector workers with the largest employers in Canada and in various Canadian cities.

Objective Exploitation and Oppression of Toronto Transit Commission Workers

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is one of the largest employers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (see A Short List of the Largest Employers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada), with about 2,500 employees.

It impossible to calculate the rate of exploitation of Toronto Transit Commision (TTC) workers since what they produce, although it has a revenue component linked to it by means of, for example, revenue from payment of passangers and revenue from advertising (as reported in the annual reports–see https://www.ttc.ca/transparency-and-accountability/Annual-Reports), also receives substantial subsidies for operating expenses and expenses related to the purchase of means of production (called in the annual report capital subsidies). Thus, operating revenue constituted only 37 percent of total revenue, with the other revenue originating from subsidies. Similarly, in 2022, operating revenue amounted to only 26 percent of total revenue. When the subsidies are disregarded, in both 2019 and 2022 the TTC operated at a substantial loss.

However, as I have argued elsewhere, this situation does not mean that they are not exploited and oppressed (see the public-sector section of The Money Circuit of Capital). They do not, however, produce surplus value in any calculable fashion, so a quantitative characterization of their exploitation is impossible. However, if they may well perform surplus labour and thereby indirectly permit an expansion of the production of surplus value (profit) by reducing the costs of production of workers for employers, thereby increasing surplus value (profit) for private employers, as Charles Umney (2018), in his book Class Matters:  Inequality and Exploitation in 21st Century Britain, argues (pages 108-109):

So, for people on the left, it is politically useful to sentimentalise ‘our’ NHS [National Health System, the public health system in the United Kingdom] (recall the tribute to it in the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony), but this sentimentality can also be a problem – as, arguably, is the left-wing fixation on what percentage of the NHS is being outsourced to the private sector. Quasi-privatisation has been a priority of successive governments, but it only benefits small segments of capital. The bigger issue, and the more important thing from capital’s perspective, is the need to apply intense budget pressure so as to lower the costs of the system as a whole.
…
The main effect of the policy obsession with ‘competition’ and the market was not so much crony capitalism – i.e. a nefarious scheme to hand NHS services to mates in the private sector – but just plain capitalism: growing pressure on NHS workers themselves to produce more and more indirect surplus value to capital as a whole. This meant extracting
more work for less, and it is this obsession that defines working life in the NHS today as much as in Sports Direct or Amazon. NHS staff are harder to bully than those warehouse workers in some respects (since they are typically higher-skilled and more likely to be unionised). But in other ways they are easier to push around, since they tend to be very
squeamish about making too much of a fuss in the workplace because of their sense of duty.

The same applies to the TTC workers.

Even if TTC workers were not exploited, they would still be subject to the oppression of management since they are subject to the dictates of the employer–even when they are unionized; the employer-employee relation is not a democracy but a dictatorship (see  for example Employers as Dictators, Part One).

You would think that, given these circumstances, TTC workers would find their work situation mainly negative.  Indeed, there are leftists who have argued that workers explicitly experience alienation from their work. David Graeber (2018), in Bullshit Jobs A Theory, states (page 19):

The result was to reveal that men are far more likely to feel that their jobs are pointless (42 percent) than women do (32 percent).

Drawing upon data provided from another survey, he states:

… the survey makes abundantly clear that ( 1) more than half of working hours in American offices are spent on bullshit, and (2) the problem is getting worse.

In another survey, we read the following (Peter Fleming (2015), The Mythology of Work: How Capitalism Persists Despite Itself, page 3):

A recent survey … reveals that only about 13 per cent of the global workforce considered themselves ‘engaged’ by their jobs. The remaining 87 per cent feel deeply alienated.

Subjective Attitudes of Toronto Transit Commission Workers  Towards the Toronto Transit Commission and Their Working Situation

The data provided below, however, does not substantiate such views.

To obtain such data, I provided a review of my last employer–Lakeshore School Division–for the website Indeed in order to gain access to company reviews.

There were 437 reviews at the time at the time that I first consulted the website. I provide further statistics for the various subcategories, but I may not do so in the future for other employers; it requires a lot of time, and the additional information may not be worth the effort.

Of course, the numbers above will have changed in a relatively short period of time.

Toronto Transit Commission Workers’ Attitudes Towards the Toronto Transit Commission and Their Working Conditions

Conclusions First

As usual, I start with the conclusion in order to make readily accessible the results of the calculations for those who are more interested in the results than in how I obtained them. The ratings are from 5 to 1, with 5 being the most positive evaluation and 1 the worst.

Distribution of the Evaluations to the Various Ratings: Quantitative Data

437 reviews

#5 184

#4 127 [311]

#3 9+58=67 [378]

#2 2+13=15 [393]

#1 7+37=44 [437]

I will consider #5 and #4 ratings to be positive evaluations of their work experiences with the Toronto Transit Commission.  I split the #3 into two since some ratings with a #3 rating are positive evaluations while others are negative. I will consider #2 and #1 ratings to be negative evaluations.

I justify the categorisation of #5 and #4 as positive because, in addition to being quantitatively higher than #3–a nominal middle evaluation–comments made by some workers that correspond to the quantitative evaluation seem to indicate a positive evaluation. Further on, I give a couple of arbitrary examples drawn from each numbered evaluation.

Positive attitude towards working for the Toronto Transit Commission

184 #5+ 127 #4 +34 #3=345
345/437×100=79%

Negative attitude towards working for the Toronto Transit Commission 
33 #3+ 15 #2, 44 #1=92
92/437×100=21%

To get a flavour for the ratings, I include immediately below a couple of comments from each rating. They are not meant to be representative since I chose them to reflect the above characterizations of the evaluations.

A Few Comments from Each Evaluative Category: Qualitative Data

#5

1. Fast paced, friendly environment, great pay, work independently, flexible hours
   Customer Service Representative (Former Employee) – Toronto, ON – 20 February 2024
   Fast paced, friendly environment, great pay, work independently, flexible hours.
   Fast paced, friendly environment, Fast paced, Flexible hours. 

2. Exceptional Mentorship and Empowerment: My Experience at the TTC
   Transit Operator (Former Employee) – toronto – 10 May 2023
   While I no longer work at the TTC, I look back on my time there as an exceptional journey. Throughout my training, I was fortunate to receive unparalleled mentorship that not only facilitated my professional development as a transit operator but also had a positive impact on my personal growth. I felt a strong sense of fulfillment and empowerment from my work with the TTC. The organization’s commitment to its employees was evident in the supportive work environment it fostered, which promoted personal and professional growth.

   Pros
   internal growth
   Cons
   none

#4

1. Lots of extra activities and games
   Transit Bus Operator (Former Employee) – Toronto, ON – 28 September 2022
   They show a lot of care for you and your family also care about your safety and well being also very big on equity for everyone gender colour and religions it’s almost like one big happy family. If run in a problem there’s always some one to offer a helping hand that means you are never alone
   Pros
   There’s time we have a free lunch
   Cons
   That’s your choice to work long hours
2. Fast-placed and responsive
   Customer Service Representative (Current Employee) – Toronto, ON – 28 May 2020
   I worked in a TTC as a customer service representative for about 3 months. It was good to work there. I got many friends while working there. It wasn’t that hard job, but you have to be a quick responder all the time.

#3

1. Work fun and friendly
   Janitor (Former Employee) – Toronto, ON – 18 July 2016
   I guest one of the biggest Company in Toronto I will happy to work with you .. mostly the employee is very patient and respectful.
   Pros
   Free ride
   Cons
   Long hours
2. Great pay and benefits
   Janitor/Service Person (Former Employee) – Toronto, ON – 23 July 2022
   I worked here for 7 years, it was a good place to work overall. The pay was great, the benefits were even better but the management could use some work. I was treated like a number.

#2

1. Interesting job
   Operator (Former Employee) – Toronto, ON – 22 January 2021
   Intersting job very poor management but was a good run just the same. Pension makes the job worth while but dealing with public can be very difficult indeed
   Pros
   Great benefits
   Cons
   Work all shifts

2. Government job but pay and benefits quickly losing ground. No opportunity for promotion. Culture has gone down the drain.
   HR Assistant (Current Employee) – Toronto, ON – 27 August 2023
   What is the best part of working at the company?
   Benefits and pension. Work life balance is possible in some areas.

   What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
   No opportunity to move up in the organization. The limited job openings are reserved for outside candidates.

   What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
   The culture used to be supportive and healthy. That is no longer true.

#1

1. Just another day has passed with low productivity overpaid for job being performed
   Store Person / Stock Keeper (Former Employee) – Toronto, ON – 31 May 2023
   What is the best part of working at the company?
   Good wages and benefits vacation pay and overtime opportunities

   What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
   Strive under pressure, stress created by management and lazy co workers those with more seniority than you and expected to do their part of job putting extra stress and workload on you

   What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
   Harassment by senior employees and management and Union doesn’t care about it

   What is a typical day like for you at the company?
   confusion, sometimes feeling you overworked and sometimes you feel you did nothing and no one appreciate and no one recognize or reward your hard work and dedication

2. horrible management
   STATION SUPERVISOR (Former Employee) – Toronto, ON – 21 November 2019
   title sums it up. feel sorry for Toronto tax payers as they have been contributing and funding a system thats broken and no one has a real progressive solution after how many years….

Political Relevance

Such analysis forms only a preliminary tool for socialists interested in relating to workers working for this particular employer. It is crude quantitative and should be supplemented by a qualitative analysis of comments–a much more labour-intensive task.

Unlike Jane McAlevey’s approach, which focuses on organic leaders–leaders who form a key focus since winning their allegiance leads to other workers (or community members) being convinced to join a union or community campaign (see my review in the Links section)–the issue here is to see which workers are the most disgruntled and the least disgruntled in relation to a particular employer.

It may be thought that the more disgruntled workers would then be the focus of socialists’ efforts. That may well be, but the issue is of course more complicated than that. For example, for socialists the issue is not just being disgruntled against a particular employer but generalizing this to all employers. It would be necessary for socialists to use their judgement in determining how susceptible disgruntled workers are to such generalization. In some cases, less disgruntled workers may well be more susceptible to generalizing than more disgruntled workers. Initially, though, it does give socialists a preliminary method of approaching workers, at least in a general way. Of course, no specific workers can be identified through such an approach. That would be the responsibility of socialists engaging with specific workers or community members.

Quantitative Data for the Above Conclusions

Installation & maintenance 80 reviews

25 #5, 22 #4, 16#3, 3 #2, 14 #1 [80]

Customer service 66 reviews

33 #5, 15 #4, 12 #3, 3 #2, 3 #1

Driving 65 reviews

18 #5, 21 #4, 13 #3, 4 #2, 9 #1

Administrative assistance 32 reviews

13 #5, 11 #4, 5 #3, 0 #2, 3 #1 

Management 29 reviews

15 #5, 4 #4, 6 #3, 2 #2, 2 #1 

Cleaning & sanitation 22 reviews

11 #5, 6 #4, 4 #3, 1 #1

Security & public safety 13 reviews

6 #5, 5 #4, 1 #3, 1 #1

Information design & documenation 10 reviews

2 #5, 6 #4, 1 #3, 1 #1

Accounting 9 reviews

6 #5, 1 #4, 1 #3, 1 #1

Software development 8 reviews

4 #5, 3 #4, 1 #2

Retail 6 reviews

3 #5, 3 #4

Education & instruction 5 reviews

1 #5, 3 #4, 1 #1

Project management 4 reviews

2 #5, 2 #4

Arts & entertainment 4 reviews

2 #5, 2 #4

Logistic support 4 reviews

1 #5, 3 #4

Mechanical engineering 4 reviews

2 #5, 2 #4

Production & manufacturing 3 reviews

2 #5, 1 #4

Banking & finance 3 reviews

2 #5, 1 #3

Human resources 2 reviews

1 #5, 1 #2

Construction 2 reviews

1 #4, 1 #1

IT operations & helpdesk 2 reviews

1 #5, 1 #3

Electrical engineering 2 reviews

1 #5, 1 #4

Civil engineering 2 reviews

1 #5, 1 #1

Insurance 1 review #5

Sales 1 review #5

Legal 1 review #2

Loading & stocking 1 review #1

Dental 1 review #5

Marketing 1 review #3

Community & social service 1 review #5

Medical technician 1 review #5

Architecture 1 review #1

Mathematics 1 review #5

[Others 47 reviews

Ambassador 3 reviews
3 #5

Summer student 3 reviews
3 #5

Student ambassador 3 reviews
2 #5, 1 #4

Engineer 3 reviews
2 #4, 1 #3

Helper 2 reviews
2 #5

Coordinator 2 reviews
1 #5, 1 #4

Operating garageman 1 review #1

Serviceperson 1 review #1

Buses/subway 1 review #3

Co-op student 1 review #5

Customer experience verifications 1 review #4

Elevating devices foreperson 1 review #4

Co-op 1 review #3

Co-op program 1 review #5

Night-shift foreperson 1 review #4

Technical person 1 review #4

Customer service representative 1 review #4

Prosecutor co-op student 1 review #5

Rail vehicle analyzer 1 review #5

Great place [sic] 1 review #5

Summer intern 1 review #5

Executive 1 review #5

Shunner 1 review #5

Trying to get hired [sic] 1 review #5

Co-op student 1 review #4

Apprentice 1 review #4

PCC 1 review #5

Streecar op 1 review #3

Summer student 1 review #5

Access control specialist 1 review #5

Summer student full-time 1 review #5

Specifier 1 review #4

Garage foreperson 1 review #4

Technical support–contract 1 review #5

Foreperson 1 review #3

ITS 1 review #4

Service person 1 review #1]