VANCOUVER -- VANCOUVER - The union representing SkyTrain workers in Metro Vancouver has voted overwhelmingly in favour of job action.
CUPE 7000 announced Thursday that members voted 96.8 per cent in favour of a strike this week, though the union has not given the 72 hours' notice necessary to actually begin job action.
“This vote demonstrates that our members are deeply concerned that the company has not addressed our key issues at the table,” union president Tony Rebelo said in a statement.
“It also reflects the frustration that many SkyTrain workers feel about how long the process has taken, after more than 40 sessions at the table.”
CUPE said 87 per cent of local members participated in the vote, which the union called "likely the highest turnout ever for a strike vote."
It's unclear if or when the union is planning to give strike notice, and members have not suggested what form any potential job action could take.
Whatever happens, Canada Line and West Coast Express service should not be affected. TransLink said the services are not part of the ongoing negotiations.
Eight days of mediated talks are currently scheduled between CUPE and the B.C. Rapid Transit Company beginning on Nov. 28, but the union said it's ready to return to bargaining sooner – provided the employer is ready to address "wages, staffing levels, forced overtime and the sick plan."
In response to the strike vote, BCRTC president Michel Ladrak said the company is looking forward to the previously scheduled talks to help the two sides reach a "fair and reasonable collective agreement."
"Mediation is a very important and productive way for parties to resolve their differences in any labour negotiation," Ladrak said in a statement.
Meanwhile, commuters are bracing for a full-scale shutdown of bus and SeaBus service that's planned for next week.
Unifor, which represents bus workers and maintenance staff, announced there will be a "complete system shutdown" for three days beginning on Nov. 27.
”We’ve tried everything we can to avoid disruption on the passengers, but like any labour dispute at the end of the day, the power that the workers have is the power ultimately to withdraw their labour,” Unifor’s Gavin McGarrigle said Wednesday.
Compensation has been a sticking point of the dispute, with Unifor wanting the employer, Coast Mountain Bus Company, to consider a comparison to Toronto bus drivers, which they say comes out to a difference of about $3 an hour.
The company says their wage offer of a 9.6 per cent increase for drivers and a 12 per cent increase for tradespeople is already in excess of other public sector settlements.
Previous story: The results of the SkyTrain workers’ strike vote are expected to be released Thursday, as commuters brace for a full-scale shutdown of bus service next week.
CUPE 7000 called the strike vote Tuesday, and union president Tony Rebelo said they would be ready to announce the outcome within a couple days.
If the vote passes, the union will still have to give 72 hours’ notice before beginning the strike. It’s unclear what the initial stages of the job action could look like.
On Tuesday, Rebelo stressed that the union is “committed to reaching an agreement without any disruption to service.”
Bus workers and maintenance staff, who are represented by Unifor, began their strike early this month with an overtime ban that mostly impacted SeaBus service.
But on Wednesday, the union announced it was ramping up the job action due to a lack of progress in negotiations.
Beginning on Nov. 27, workers are planning to walk off the job for three days, resulting in what the union described as a “complete system shutdown” that will impact buses and SeaBuses across the region.
”We’ve tried everything we can to avoid disruption on the passengers, but like any labour dispute at the end of the day, the power that the workers have is the power ultimately to withdraw their labour,” Unifor’s Gavin McGarrigle said Wednesday.
Compensation has been a sticking point of the dispute, with Unifor wanting the employer, Coast Mountain Bus Company, to consider a comparison to Toronto bus drivers, which they say comes out to a difference of about $3 an hour.
The company says their wage offer of a 9.6 per cent increase for drivers and a 12 per cent increase for tradespeople is already in excess of other public sector settlements.
