Contractor used by TTC and Crosslinx in Toronto, is same cleaning company involved in scandal where an investigative report finds workers were cheated out of millions in unpaid wages in Seattle’s transit system

TORONTO, Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An investigation by the Lynnwood Times “uncovered that dozens of employees working for a subcontractor under Sound Transit were cheated out of millions of unpaid wages while working on janitorial services at several transportation sites related to the Link light rail.”

According to the Lynwood Times, the subcontractor was brought on by Dexterra Services LLC. “The cleaners were working 8-10 hours daily, seven days a week, including holidays with no rest days. Workers were also being paid $20 an hour rather than the prevailing wage rate of $29.33 for janitorial work on the public light rail project.”

Sound Transit is the public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in Washington state.

“There are worrisome parallels between the situation in Seattle and what’s been transpiring in Toronto’s public transit system,” said Tom Galivan, SEIU Local 2’s Secretary-Treasurer.

In 2025, Dexterra misled the Union and the Ministry of Labour when it represented it had no cleaning accounts in the City of Toronto that would fall under the union’s collective agreement and therefore would not be participating in negotiations for a new collective agreement.

However, SEIU later discovered Dexterra had been contracted by the TTC and Crosslinx to provide in-service streetcar cleaning, cleaning at LRT stations, the Eglington Maintenance and Storage Facility, and the Operations Company Building located at 70 Industry Street in Toronto. Dexterra subcontracted much of that work to smaller companies, including PrimePro Staffing.

As a result, Dexterra was able to avoid providing workers with union wage rates and benefits inclusive of wage increases that were negotiated through industry-wide collective bargaining that same year.

“It is hard to believe Dexterra’s actions represent anything other than a deliberate deceit aimed at undercutting its competitors and its own workers in order to gain an unfair advantage in the cleaning industry,” said Galivan.

The Union began investigating in early 2026. Shortly thereafter, a worker came forward to complain that they were not receiving the proper wage rates or benefits while working at a Dexterra account. The Union initiated the legal action after it confirmed Dexterra was hiding at least five accounts from the Union.

“We’re still fighting to get Dexterra to apply the collective agreement at the LRT,” said Tavoie, a Dexterra employee working on Eglinton LRT line. “The company is not living up to its legal obligations.”

SEIU alerted the TTC Board and Crosslinx Transit Solutions Maintenance to serious and ongoing violations of labour and employment laws by Dexterra on June 30, 2026, and July 16, 2026, respectively. No action has been taken by either to rectify the situation.

Details about the union’s complaints are set out in an Unfair Labour Practice complaint filed with the Ontario Labour Relations Board available at https://dexterrawatch.org/legal/.

Dexterra’s disregard for labour and employment laws is not isolated to the Toronto transit system. Since taking over as the janitorial contractor for the Skytrain in Vancouver in February 2026, SEIU has filed over 40 grievances against the company. Three recent WCB Reports (Workers’ Compensation Board) have found Occupational Health and Safety violations. A report published on September 21, 2026, found that cleaners on Vancouver’s SkyTrain “could be exposed to moving trains and the potential for serious injury.” The WCB reports are available at https://dexterrawatch.org/reports.

The Lynnwood Times is based in Snohomish County, just north of Seattle, Washington. Their report, published on September 28, 2026, is available at: https://lynnwoodtimes.com/2026/09/28/jusalis-wage-theft/

SEIU Local 2 represents 20,000 workers in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.