Metro Vancouver public transit workers reject deal, union triggers some job action | Daily Hive

TransLink's special Renfrew Street shuttle bus during the PNE Fair. (Kenneth Chan)

For the second time this summer to date, bus drivers, mechanics, maintenance workers, and SeaBus staff employed by TransLink operating subsidiary Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) have rejected a tentative agreement hammered out between the employer and union leaders.

Unifor announced today that the second tentative agreement made just over two weeks ago has been turned down by a majority of the union’s membership in a new vote.

This follows the membership’s rejection of the first tentative agreement in late June during the 2026 FIFA World Cup period.

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“Our members have now turned down this employer’s offer twice and the message has not changed,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne in a statement today.

“This dispute is about working conditions. Wages matter, but our members are telling Coast Mountain Bus Company that the day-to-day realities of the job must be fixed. That is what is standing in the way of a deal.”

As a result, beginning on Monday, Aug. 17, about 5,000 workers with Unifor Locals 111 and 2200 who are employed with CMBC will begin labour action with a ban on wearing uniforms. It should be emphasized that public transit services will continue to run normally as scheduled, although this could change quickly soon after later this month if the union decides to escalate its labour action.

In late May, union members overwhelmingly voted in favour of strike action, giving Unifor the legal authority to issue a 72-hour strike notice if negotiations had broken down. At the time, statements made by the union leader focused on wages and the high cost of living in Metro Vancouver.

“Riders should be clear about what this is and what it is not,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor western regional director. “Service is not shutting down. Our members are going to work, driving their routes and doing their jobs. This is a measured first step, and whether anything further is needed is entirely in the employer’s hands.”

Upon inquiry, CMBC told Daily Hive Urbanized it remains committed to reaching a “fair agreement.”

“Coast Mountain Bus Company acknowledges that the tentative agreement has not been ratified by union members in Unifor Locals 111 and 2200. CMBC remains committed to the collective bargaining process and to reaching a fair agreement. Based on the job action announced by the union at this time, we do not anticipate any impacts to transit service,” said CMBC president and general manager Michael McDaniel.

The previous three-year collective agreement for these 5,000 workers expired on March 31, 2026. According to the union, the negotiations for a new contract began on Feb. 2, 2026, but talks deteriorated after the employer refused to withdraw proposals the union says would weaken workplace protections and allow more contracting out of public transit work.

The last labour dispute of Metro Vancouver public transit workers occurred in late 2023 and culminated in early 2024, involving over 180 workers — employed in the key CMBC positions of transit managers and supervisors — under the separate union entity of CUPE Local 4500 walking off the job in late January 2024. As workers under different unions could not cross picket lines, the strike led to major bus service disruptions across the region and continued service uncertainty for weeks, and there was also a threat of labour action spilling into other unions representing SkyTrain and SeaBus workers as a measure of solidarity. However, with the help of mediation, a full strike-induced shutdown of all services was narrowly averted in early February 2024.

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