How ironic that I would post more about the TTC today — right after my post about subway seating. I was at a friend’s place yesterday and it was pretty amusing to me when our host informed us that the TTC had just declared a strike. It wasn’t the fact that amused me, in fact it was the shock and expressions on everyone’s faces around me that indicated to me how bad of a situation the Toronto Transit Union (ATU Local 113) had put themselves into.
Davisville Entrance at First Hour of Strike - by jbcurio
Generally speaking, the Toronto Transit Union gets somewhat of a bad reputation right off the bat and work actions/strikes will rarely ever automatically get the support of the public who is the key customer of the service they provide. That all said and done, the Toronto Transit Union (ATU Local 113) doesn’t do much to reach out to their key stakeholder — their actual customers (Torontonians) — here is their website. (Update: Erin Balser pointed out that there is a new website albeit limited - WeMoveToronto.ca)
Why does the website look so poorly made (i.e. from the early 90s)? Why is there no blog? And why do I never hear the Toronto Transit Union say something to me — the customer? As soon as you take a look at the website, you will realize it was not meant for the customer or the public — it was meant for union members. Did they not think that the public may want to visit their website and hear what they want to say?
I may not be keen on supporting the Toronto Transit Union or the city for that matter because I find they that they like to play political games by using the public as a pawn, but I sure think that the union is lacking some major communication skills with the public. Let’s take a look at a series of events last night (technically this morning) from my perspective around 12:15am (April 26 2008):
1. Host comes out and tells everyone that the TTC is on strike.
2. People are silent as the shock settles in.
3. Anger replaces shock as they think about getting home or the plans they made for the next few days.
4. Flick on the television and tune into CP24 which confirms that the TTC is on strike.
5. The media continues to broadcast Mayor David Miller’s unedited announcement to the press.
6. The media continues to post or blog ttc strike-related news and encourage commuters and stranded TTC users to call in and tell their story.
Where is the Toronto Transit Union at this time? Sleeping already? Why aren’t they saying anything?
Right — they are going to hold a press conference sometime today.
My point is that by the time they get around to holding a press conference; the city, the public and the media have already thoroughly communicated with one another. This means the average citizen in Toronto and TTC user will have already formulated in their head, how they perceive TTC workers and their union (or at least the latest ‘version’ so to speak). In a world where communication is now almost a constant and instantaneous between an organization and their stakeholders, why isn’t the Toronto Transit Union reaching out and informing their customers with their side of the story?
I find that while the media and the city of Toronto continue to try and simplify the issues so that it is more easily consumable content via newspapers and the internet, I still only have a vague idea as to what the TTC workers want. Inform your customers — it will only help you gain support and at the very least, not make you seem arrogant.
The Kicker
It’s a funny thing about promises and a person’s word (or word of honour). You may not say that you guarantee it — you may not say that you promise it, but if you say that you will do something — you better do it and deliver. Otherwise, don’t say it. Surprise surprise! This applies to organizations as well.
The Toronto Transit Union had originally promised a 48-hour notice before any strike action took place. Granted, the TTC did do that over the past weekend and then declared that there would not be any strike on Monday as they were making progress over some tentative agreement — but fast forward to Friday April 26 2008 — there was no 48-hour notice. In fact, the transit union decided to leave people stranded in the middle of the city at midnight when plenty of people are still out and about. Wow — good job with the public relations (hello karma!).
The Consequences
There won’t be any visible consequence. A strike may happen, the government may interfere and recall them to work, or perhaps there will be an agreement made. People will move on in their daily lives. That said, Torontonians will hold yet another grudge against the Toronto Transit Union and lose respect for TTC workers for holding them hostage yet again. Why else can’t we ever get majority of people to commit to using only public transit (yes I am simplifying — I know there are other reasons)?
Customers don’t care about how a service works — they just want it to work. That said, they will care about the people and organizations who serve them well but as always, communication is key — particularly when it comes to accountability and transparency. Is this how ATU Local 113 (Toronto Transit Union) markets themselves? Probably not.
Some may point out that there are legal issues that can’t be discussed publicly — ok. fine. So? How does that prevent them from communicating properly and being upfront to the public that they serve?
As a final note, let’s take a very brief look at the media coverage thus far on the current strike.
Media Comparison
Globe and Mail - Public comments / Encouraging people to submit videos or photos / Live blogging / Video
The Toronto Star - TTC Strike Watch Blog / Back-to-work legislation / TTC Strike Survival Guide / Video
National Post - TTC Strike Edition / More news about negotiations (with more from Transit Union)
Local Online Media - Transit Toronto / BlogTO
Toronto Transit Commission - Just a website but with an update.
ATU Local 113 - Oh…just this website no updates. WeMoveToronto.ca has a few updates.
*****
At least the TTC and the city are going public with announcements, but really the Toronto Transit Union should be doing more to communicate as well. All three organizations are part of a larger picture. As I think I’m saying way too often these days — we must keep thinking about our role. A blog just might help … it’d be a good start.
you’re missing http://wemovetoronto.ca which isn’t much better, but it is still a step up in terms of communication & news updates. there’s a (non-RSS) newsfeed and a feedback form…
Thanks Erin!
I will update the post. I had no idea that existed and when I searched for information on ATU Local 113 or Toronto Transit Union with Google, I never saw that website. Interesting eh?
I find many arms-length government agencies and/or public organizations attempt to interact with the public but put in very little effort. The website WeMoveToronto.ca is a good example of that. Not badly designed but it is much too small of a step to “show” that they’re doing something but not actually trying to communicate with Torontonians. It also has very little about the sudden strike which does not impress me.
I actually didn’t even know about it until today–shortly before I read your article–when I was reading one of the many, many threads about the strike.
and I agree–it’s far too small a step!
do you read http://stevemonro.ca? he wrote a great post about local 113 today.
Yes! I actually read Steve Monro’s blog every so often but I did not notice his new post about local 113. Thanks for the heads up!