Another transit worker labour dispute in Metro Vancouver is brewing

West Vancouver Blue Bus. (District of West Vancouver)

The union representing West Vancouver Blue Bus workers has established a deadline by late this month to reach a new contract.

Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) 134 announced today that if a new contract is not reached by April 29, 2024, there could be a strike vote and possible job action impacting Blue Bus services.

Although it is integrated with TransLink’s fare system, Blue Bus is separately owned and operated by the District of West Vancouver, and it is responsible for most of the bus routes that run between downtown Vancouver and West Vancouver.

You might also like:

ATU represents 150 bus drivers, mechanics, and other staff who operate the Blue Bus’ fleet of 64 buses, which sees about 18,000 boardings per day.

ATU’s warning comes after unsuccessful mediation sessions that ended earlier this week after the mediator book out. The union says it has been attempting to have the municipal government reach a new agreement ahead of the previous contract’s expiration date of March 31, 2024.

“West Vancouver District has obviously not made reaching a new contract with Blue Bus system drivers and mechanics a priority so we will have to take this issue to our members with a strike vote if nothing happens before April 29 to resolve this situation,” said ATU 134 president Cornel Neagu.

“Our bargaining committee has already rejected West Vancouver’s last offer – but if they want to test our membership’s position, they can use Labour Relations Board rules and put a formal ‘final offer’ vote to them and see the results.”

According to the union, it has rejected the municipal government’s previous offers. The union says it takes issue with the latest offer as it is not consistent with the benefits and working conditions of TransLink subsidiary Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC), which operates the vast majority of bus services in Metro Vancouver and the SeaBus ferries.

In September 2022, a full shutdown of the Blue Bus was narrowly averted, when the District of West Vancouver reached an agreement with ATU at the 11th hour.

In a statement in response to the union’s deadline, the District of West Vancouver told Daily Hive Urbanized it “remains willing and available to continue bargaining in good faith with the ATU.”

“We were very disappointed and confused by the ATU’s decision to leave the bargaining table and ask the Mediation Officer to report out on Tuesday. We had been making good progress towards reaching a deal that provides several improvements in wages and working conditions that is consistent with the region,” stated the municipal government.

The municipal government also notes that it filed an application during earlier bargaining to the BC Labour Relations Board alleging the union had been bargaining in bad faith.

“We do not know what the ATU means when it says that West Vancouver has asked for concessions no other recent contract has included. When the Union asked the Mediator to book out, we had already agreed on almost all monetary items,” continued the municipality’s statement.

In early February 2024, a labour dispute of 180 supervisors under CMBC that threatened to spill over across Metro Vancouver’s public transit system came to an end after weeks of service disruptions and uncertainty. At the time, ATU said it was willing to direct its members to join solidarity picket lines if the CMBC supervisors were in a position to picket outside Blue Bus facilities.

Last year, separate new years-long contracts were reached with the respective unions representing thousands of CMBC bus drivers and mechanics (until March 2026), and SkyTrain Expo/Millennium lines’ attendants and mechanics (until August 2028).

However, SkyTrain Canada Line workers have been without a new contract since the end of 2023. They are represented by BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU), and the employer is SNC Lavalin’s ProTrans BC.

You might also like: