SkyTrain workers take strike vote, bus drivers look to escalate job action
Credit to Author: Jennifer Saltman| Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2019 01:12:52 +0000
Metro Vancouver transit users are in for more service disruptions as striking bus drivers, maintenance workers and SeaBus workers prepare to ramp up job action, and SkyTrain workers take a strike vote.
CUPE 7000, which represents 900 SkyTrain attendants, control operators, administration, maintenance and technical staff who work on the Expo and Millennium lines said its members are taking a strike vote, the results of which will be available Thursday.
Union president Tony Rebelo said although mediated talks are scheduled for later this month, the union wanted to get back to bargaining sooner after talks reached an impasse last week. When the employer, the B.C. Rapid Transit Company, rejected new proposed dates, union members requested a strike vote.
“Once again, I want to emphasize that we are committed to reaching an agreement without any disruption to service,” Rebelo said in a news release.
Meanwhile, Unifor plans to announce Wednesday what form the next phase of its members’ action will take, but some possibilities include refusing to collect fares, working-to-rule, sporadic strikes or a rotating strike.
Bus drivers have already declined overtime for two days and plan to do the same Wednesday and Friday. Since Nov. 1, drivers have refused to wear uniforms and maintenance workers have turned down OT.
The overtime ban has caused bus-trip cancellations and delays on routes across the region, and almost daily SeaBus trip cancellations.
Although its workers aren’t involved in the strike, HandyDart service has been impacted by the continuing job action. The regional transit authority has warned users that they may have to wait longer than usual to book rides through the call centre because of high call volumes linked to the strike.
TransLink’s door-to-door shared ride service for people with disabilities has seen a bump in the number of calls taken and rides given since the Metro transit workers’ strike began nearly three weeks ago.
According to TransLink data, between Nov. 1 and 15, HandyDart delivered 137 more trips on each weekday than it did during the same period in October, an average of 5,363 per day, versus 5,226. The call centre took an extra 86 calls each weekday compared with the same period last month.
TransLink spokesman Ben Murphy said the increase in calls and rides — and by extension longer waiting times — is tied to the job action, but it’s difficult to be specific about to what extent.
“Because of union job action our conventional bus system is less reliable than usual, while HandyDart services are unaffected. Some customers who use both systems may choose to book trips in advance using HandyDart given the current uncertainty caused by union job action,” Murphy said in an email.
He said at this point there are no plans to increase staffing at the call centre or put more HandyDart vehicles on the road to deal with the bump.
HandyDart Riders’ Alliance co-chairwoman Beth McKellar hasn’t heard of any issues with the service related to the job action, however she said long waiting times to make bookings through the call centre are nothing new for regular users.
“I’ve not heard a squeak about how that’s inconvenienced anybody,” she said of the bus strike’s effect on HandyDart. “I’m very grateful for the fact that the buses haven’t affected us.”
Contract talks broke off a second time between Unifor and the Coast Mountain Bus Company last week, and no more are scheduled because the sides are too far apart. After making some headway during talks on the topic of working conditions for bus drivers, wages remain a major sticking point.
For SkyTrain workers, staffing in the operations department, which includes attendant and control operators, as well as wages, are big concerns, along with forced overtime and sick leave.