“Junior” Giambrone refuses to swallow union bait

Yesterday, transit union president Bob Kinnear decided to run an idea up the flagpole and see if TTC chair and political whippersnapper Adam Giambrone was fool enough to salute it: he asked the thirtysomething Giambrone to take over from TTC Chief General Manager Gary Webster as the city’s lead negotiator in contract talks. “If Gary Webster is still in control,” Kinnear said, “we are very concerned we will not be able to reach a deal.” He even tried to ply Giambrone with flattery, saying what a good listener he is, but Junior didn’t flinch: “Our negotiating team has the confidence of the TTC commission” was his reply. Still, Giambrone better hold fast and watch his back.

Remember what happened in the wildcat strike: then-TTC chair Howard Moscoe did an end-run around Chief General Manager Rick Ducharme, who then performed the you-can’t-quit-you’re-fired routine for everyone’s amusement. A few months later, Mayor Miller removed Moscoe from the TTC, leaving Kinnear as the winner of that little game of Survivor. Webster was the logical choice as Ducharme’s replacement, but should he quit, he will prove irreplaceable. If politicians and union leaders keep tossing TTC General Managers under the bus (pun intended), no one will want the job.