The union that represents TTC workers has taken its spat with management over air quality in subway tunnels to a new level.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Amalgamated Transit Union released a video to back up it's case.
This comes on the heels of a Health Canada study that suggests the pollution in the TTC's subway system is 10 times higher than it is above ground.
It compares the air to smoggy urban centres in Beijing.
At the core of the issue in Toronto's tunnels are tiny bits of metal debris that are kicked up by trains running the rails.
ATU officials argue TTC managers should be fired for being "willfully blind" to air quality issues, given that the last time the Transit Commission studied underground air quality was in 1995.
"It's criminal," says acting ATU Local 113 leader Kevin Morton.
"I want to know how a safety manager ... can get away with not providing an updated air study for 22 years."
Morton accuses the TTC of breaking Ontario labour regulations, and the collective agreement it has with the union.
He claims the TTC "intimidates" and "bullies" workers who refuse jobs in the tunnels over fears about exposure to potentially harmful substances in the air.
The TTC argues pollution in the tunnels is within standards set by Labour and Health authorities.
The union says its members should be allowed to wear protective masks at all times of day, and not only during nighttime hours.
Morton promises the ATU will launch its own "independent" air quality study.