Bus drivers being used as 'cannon fodder' during Metro Vancouver transit strike, union says

The union representing thousands of Metro Vancouver transit workers weighed in for the first time Tuesday on a strike that halted bus and SeaBus service in the region – saying its members and the public are being used as "cannon fodder" in the dispute while urging people not to take their frustration out on bus drivers and other frontline workers when service resumes.

A dispute between CUPE 4500, the union representing about 180 transit supervisors, and Coast Mountain Bus Company escalated early Monday morning, when 48-hour strike action stopped service. As a result, thousands of bus drivers and other workers have been off the job.

Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor's western regional director held a news conference Tuesday, marking the first official statement of any kind from the union amid the ongoing dispute. Unifor local 111 represents more than 4,000 bus drivers and Unifor Local 2200 represents an additional 1,100 support, trade and SeaBus workers.

"Our members are very concerned," McGarrigle said.

"They're very concerned about going back to work tomorrow where the public thinks it's the bus drivers and maintenance staff who are on strike and not the supervisors. We want all the workers under the system to reach a fair agreement. But our members are quite concerned that the public will take out the frustration on our members, who are not on strike."

McGarrigle says Unifor members would not have crossed picket lines if they encountered them on Monday, but that a system-wide shutdown came into effect before that could happen.

He says Unifor respects free and fair bargaining but wants to see a deal made without any further disruption for commuters, and before there are any additional impacts on members. But he lays the blame for a failure to reach a deal squarely on the shoulders of the employer.

"This is Coast Mountain Bus Company's decision not to reach an agreement. This is Coast Mountain Bus Company's strike," he said.

"The fact of the matter is Coast Mountain has not been able to reach a deal with 180 people. And they somehow think the cost of that is worse (than) impacting thousands of workers directly employed by the system and the public."

The company issued a press release consisting of a single sentence in response.

"If CUPE accepts the same wage increases Unifor already has, there would be no more labour action. The strike would end immediately," Michael McDaniel, president and general manager, wrote.

A wage increase has been the apparent sticking point in negotiations, which broke down over the weekend.

Coast Mountain has accused the union of making unrealistic wage demands, including raises of between 20 and 25 per cent over the next three years. The employer countered with 13.5 per cent, something spokesperson Mike Killeen argued was consistent with other recent collective agreements.

O'Neill called the employer's remarks a mischaracterization that "does not reflect the discussions that happened at the table."

He stressed that the union's main point of contention is a pay disparity between members and other supervisors employed by TransLink.

"When workers from one group do the same job as they do in another group, they should be paid the same wages," he said Monday. "If they're saying it's unrealistic to be paid fairly, that's fine, I'll let them say that."

McGarrigle declined to comment on the specific wage demands at the centre of this dispute, saying that is a matter to be settled at the bargaining table.

He did, however, take issue with TransLink's CEO saying the "ripple effect" of costing $250 million over the next 10 years, a figure he estimated based on other unionized transit workers getting the same wage increases as CUPE 4500 workers.

"This is about sending a message to the bigger groups that you're not getting any more money," McGarrigle said.

Service is set to resume at 3 a.m. Wednesday, but CUPE 4500 has warned of further "escalation" in the absence of a deal. A hearing at the Labour Relations Board that will determine if pickets can be set up at SkyTrain stations is set for Monday. If pickets are allowed, a full shutdown of the SkyTrain will likely follow.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Kaija Jussinoja