Three union chapters in Vancouver and Victoria have issued a strike notice, starting with a uniform ban on Monday
Article content
It will look different, but the service will remain the same.
Article content
The union representing members of the Coast Mountain Bus Company, which provides nearly all the buses and SeaBuses for TransLink, issued 72-hour strike notice on Thursday and said it would start with a uniform ban for its members.
Article content
Article content
The Unifor chapter representing transit workers in Victoria has also stated they will join the uniform ban and issued a strike notice.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
Members had rejected a second offer in collective bargaining and said job action will begin on Aug. 17, but bus service would not be disrupted.
Article content
Sunrise
Article content
“Our members have now turned down this employer’s offer twice and the message has not changed,” Unifor’s national president, Lana Payne, said in a statement. “This dispute is about working conditions. Wages matter, but our members are telling Coast Mountain Bus Company that the day-to-day realities of the job must be fixed. That is what is standing in the way of a deal.”
Article content
All transit schedules remain in effect, with the only change being the employees being out of uniform, a move the union says is designed to make the dispute visible to the public and to the employer while keeping people moving without disrupting service.
Article content
“Riders should be clear about what this is and what it is not,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor western regional director. “Service is not shutting down. Our members are going to work, driving their routes and doing their jobs. This is a measured first step, and whether anything further is needed is entirely in the employer’s hands.”
Article content
In Victoria, negotiations have gone on for more than a year, and members initially voted to strike in May. It’s been similar with negotiations in Vancouver with the other two chapters.
Article content
Unifor Locals 111 and 2200 represent transit operators, SeaBus crews, community transit and maintenance workers at Coast Mountain Bus Company. Unifor represents 315,000 workers in many different areas of the economy.
Article content
