Transit strike: What you need to know for your commute this week

The Sunday Scaries for Metro Vancouver residents dependent on public transit has been overwhelming as we enter a new week of uncertainty. 

After a highly disruptive 48-hour bus and SeaBus services shutdown last week, all kinds of commuters took the brunt of it all. This came after negotiations between TransLink subsidiary Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 4500 failed. 

Meetings are now taking place to decide if and where transit workers can picket. 

The BC Labour Relations Board’s (BCLRB) scheduled hearing date to consider the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 4500’s complaints and application to expand the job action of Metro Vancouver’s public transit workers has moved from Monday to Wednesday. 

This meeting will determine whether CUPE 4500’s members — 180 CMBC supervisors for bus and SeaBus operations — can legally expand their picketing lines to other public transit facilities across the region.

An empty bus stop in Downtown Vancouver in January 2024. (Daily Hive/Claire Fenton)

Due to labour solidarity understandings, the unions of the other public transit services have told their members not to cross CUPE 4500 picket lines at their facilities. This means other services, such as SkyTrain, West Coast Express, and the Blue Bus, would also be effectively shut down. 

According to CUPE 4500, Metro Vancouver public transit riders can expect no major service disruptions until at least 12:01 am on Saturday, February 3. 

CUPE 4500 has indicated that if it cannot reach a deal by Friday, February 2, it will begin a 72-hour expanded strike and shutdown of services the next day.

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Thousands of people have signed an online petition calling for public transit buses to be designated as an essential service.

Should Metro #Vancouver public transit be declared an essential service? https://t.co/N2lrzhN5rG

— Daily Hive Vancouver (@DailyHiveVan) January 26, 2024

However, the BC Ministry of Labour explained, “It is up to the union and the employer to establish which of the specific transit services are essential through an application to the Labour Relations Board.”

That board would then be able to issue an order to establish the services that must continue despite the strike. 

Under the provincial government’s direction, CUPE 4500 and CMBC are engaged in special mediation for up to six days to reach an agreement. After that, if both sides still cannot find common ground, the union and employer will have five days to accept or reject the deal. If the maximum bargaining timeline is used, both sides may not decide until Wednesday, February 7.

With files from Kenneth Chan