Andrew has been a champion for health and safety at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the third largest transit authority in North America. After joining the TTC in 1995, Andrew worked in several areas, including the Bus Rebuild Program.
From 2008 to 2012, Andrew was a Behavioural Science Technology Instructor in the Department of Vehicle Maintenance. This experience sparked a desire in Andrew to pursue career options in the field of teaching, so he enrolled and graduated from Centennial College in the Teaching and Learning for Higher Education Certificate Program in 2015.
In January of 2015, Andrew joined the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 (ATU 113) as the Health & Safety Representative. In this role, Andrew oversaw 50 Joint Health and Safety Committees involving 140 union members representing the interests of 12,000 transit workers.
Andrew’s leadership in health and safety increasingly became a focus area of his work. In 2021, Andrew was hired by the ATU International as a Health & Safety Consultant. His primary responsibilities included health and safety training curriculum development and the delivery of that curriculum to ATU Local union representatives across North America.
In August of 2023, Andrew transitioned to a new position with the ATU International as their first Director - Health and Safety. Andrew’s responsibilities in this role were all-encompassing in nature: from developing, implementing and overseeing health and safety education programs, to teaching health and safety concepts, to designing various health and safety initiatives to improve safety for staff and operators while also improving accessibility for disabled populations. He is responsible for engaging with the Advisory Committee on Accessible Transit (ACAT) which provides a mechanism for ongoing public participation in decisions affecting accessible transit in the City of Toronto, and gave him the opportunity to advocate for improved accessibility on future bus designs with manufacturers.
Andrew’s passion for passenger and operator safety has not gone unnoticed. Over the past several years, Andrew has been a driving force on the Bus Design Innovation Project - working collaboratively with the TTC and Centennial College to incorporate Federal Transit Administration Bus of the Future recommendations that address several safety concerns.
Andrew’s leadership on this file has made a difference. As the ATU International designate on this project, Andrew travels all over North America, speaking at conferences and trade events to impress upon stakeholders the importance of health and safety advances in future transit bus designs. In this role, Andrew interacts with politicians, bus manufacturers, other members of the ATU, and transit agencies. The TTC is one of the largest transit agencies in North America and the continuous improvement initiatives embodied in the Bus Design Innovation Project have received positive engagement from policy makers and stakeholders; resulting in transformational change in new product design.
Andrew makes it his business whether in Toronto or at an ATU conference with over 3,000 attendees in New York City to let everyone know he is a proud graduate of Centennial College. He also cites the work done here at the College in the Bus Design Innovation project as something that everyone should come and see. His health and safety leadership in the ATU supports over 200,000 members in Canada and the US alone. Andrew's passion for his business and his love for Centennial is evident every time he speaks.