TTC union president Bob Kinnear spoke out on Tuesday about the bitter battle that's brewing between some employees and riders.
He says his organization wants to meet face-to-face with customers in a series of town hall meetings.
"As a union, we acknowledge that there are things we can do as workers to improve the customer experience," Kinnear said in a press conference at the Sheraton Centre.
"We are prepared to listen to constructive criticism and take it to heart."
The move comes after some employees called for a work-to-rule campaign in response to negative photos and videos posted by riders and the media in recent days.
With harsh words, Kinnear says he's had enough of the negative publicity. He backed his union members by insisting that everyone has the right to work in a harassment-free workplace.
Kinnear says workers have no control over some aspects of the operation such as fares, routes, schedules and the number of available vehicles.
"We want the public to understand the difference between those service issues front line employees cannot change and those we can. We will work on what we can change."
He also says video harassment has demoralized many operators who now fear taking a needed washroom break for a few minutes.
Kinnear went on to criticize TTC chief general manager Gary Webster for issuing a statement over the weekend that he was "tired of defending the TTC."
"He's only been Chief General Manager for four years and before that he was General Manager of Operations for only ten years. How could any of this customer service dissatisfaction possibly be Mr. Webster's fault?" Kinnear says.
Details of the town hall meetings will be publicized once they are finalized.
