Wildcat strike leaves Toronto stranded

A month-long labor management dispute bubbled over into an illegal strike in Toronto on Monday, leaving many citizens stranded in record-breaking heat until the afternoon commute, according to a Toronto Star report. The spontaneous strike began when 800 mechanical workers walked off the job to call attention to a series of ongoing disputes between the union and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The strike was intensified when drivers and other workers refused to cross the picket line. Although a morning order to return to work from the Ontario Labour Relations Board was ignored, an afternoon order saw unionized TTC employees return to work for the afternoon commute. The TTC has pledged to pay back $4 each to the 210,000 riders with monthly or weekly Metropasses. It also vowed to sue the union to recover the $2 million to $3 million in revenue lost during the shutdown, according to the Toronto Star report.