Even though TTC CEO Rick Leary said that he was "hopeful" that the commission would reach a fair deal with thousands of staffers who threatened strike action in April, it looks like work stoppage is looming as soon as next month.

Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113, which represents some 11,500 employees of the city's transit network and is the largest TTC union, has just received a no-board report from the Ministry of Labour, which the union had requested last week.

Once a no-board report is granted, it begins a 17 day countdown to the union being in a legal strike position.@zoomerradio

TTC WORKERS' UNION REQUESTS NO BOARD REPORT, "FINAL STEP TOWARD POSSIBLE STRIKE" (https://t.co/wZeDP2RmFu)

— ATU Local 113 (@ATUlocal113) May 17, 2024

The report serves as confirmation that the Province will not help mediate the case with a conciliation board, which gives the unionized workers legal right to strike 17 days from when it was granted — which would be 12:00 a.m. on June 7.

At that time, the union has said that it is prepared to fully withdraw the services of collectors and station staff, vehicle operators, maintenance workers and more over wages it considers too low, job insecurity and insufficient benefits.

If it happens, this would be the first TTC strike in 16 years, following a 2008 strike that lasted less than two days. A City report at that time said the work action was going to cost our economy $50 million each day it dragged on.

Transit workers support TTC strike that could shut down Toronto https://t.co/TZkG2b4bBn

— blogTO (@blogTO) April 29, 2024

Leary — who some residents want fired — said in a statement that the no-board report handed down on Tuesday does not guarantee a labour disruption, but "only indicates the earliest date such a disruption could begin."

"Currently, bargaining teams from ATU and the TTC remain at the table, where we continue to negotiate a new collective agreement to replace the one that expired on March 31, 2024," he continued.

"However, we need to be honest with all our employees and customers. Past experience tells us that if there is a labour disruption with ATU Local 113, there will be service impacts. What exactly those impacts could be will depend on the extent and nature of the disruption and are not yet known."

Experts say more and more unionized employees in Canada have been exercising their right to strike lately, from AGO staffers to factory workers to, potentially, rail workers.