Share
VANCOUVER – Unifor Locals 111 and 2200 have served 72-hour strike notice to Coast Mountain Bus Company. Members will begin a uniform ban on Monday, August 17. Bus and SeaBus service will continue to operate normally.
“Our members have chosen a collective show of solidarity as their next step in the bargaining process,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Collective transit services in British Columbia depend on transit workers who connect people and communities every single day”.
A uniform ban means members will report for their regular shifts out of uniform. Riders will see no change to schedules, routes or service levels.
“Our members picked an action that pressures the employer without taking service away from the people who rely on it,” said Unifor Western Regional Director Gavin McGarrigle. “Nobody should read that as hesitation. This is a membership that voted almost unanimously to escalate, and they will if this employer forces the issue.”
Bargaining opened in February and members identified cost-of-living pressures, health and safety, and dignity in retirement as their core priorities. The parties later entered mediation, which did not produce a settlement. Wages and working conditions remain unresolved.
Unifor is prepared to return to the table at any point before the notice period expires.
Unifor Local 111 represents Transit Operators and Local 2200 represents Skilled Trades, Service and SeaBus workers, together representing over 5,000 transit workers negotiating through a joint bargaining committee.
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
For media inquiries please contact Unifor Communications Representative Hamid Osman at @email or 647-448-2823 (cell).
