TransLink's CMBC bus supervisors' strike comes ahead of expected snow

TransLink's CMBC bus supervisors' strike comes just ahead of expected snow

EJ Nickerson/Shutterstock

What could be more disruptive for Metro Vancouver’s public transit bus network over the coming days: the escalating impacts of job action taken by bus operations supervisors, the slick conditions of the region’s roads due to snowfall and ice, or both from potentially less coordination and leadership in preparation for winter weather?

Could this be the perfect storm of impacts on bus services?

This past Saturday morning, 180 bus operations supervisors with TransLink subsidiary Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) began an overtime ban on their work. This followed a 72-hour strike notice provided last Wednesday.

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In a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized today, Liam O’Neill with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4500 says there will be an accumulated impact on bus services soon from the overtime ban, coupled with the forecast for snowfall starting this Thursday and into next week.

“The impacts of this action will be felt across the system in the coming days as buses are lost to unaddressed maintenance issues, and supervisors are unavailable to help resolve the many service interruptions that can naturally occur across the system,” said O’Neill.

“The threat of snow in our region will only make the impacts greater should the Lower Mainland experience substantial accumulations.”

He adds that the decision to proceed with job action “follows multiple attempts to reach a fair deal at the bargaining table and through mediation,” and that they hope to avoid escalating the strike into a full walkout in the days to come.

In response, CMBC President and General Manager Michael McDaniel reiterated a previous statement that the TransLink division overseeing bus operations and SeaBus has made CUPE 4500 the same wage offer already agreed to by all other CMBC employees.

“CMBC is urging the union representing CMBC supervisors to return to the bargaining table with realistic expectations,” said McDaniel in a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized today.

“We will be closely monitoring the ongoing job action, but do not expect the union’s overtime ban to have significant impacts on the delivery of transit services.”

The union is at odds with working conditions, compensation, and CMBC’s “measures to address unmanageable workloads.” This also comes at a time when TransLink is looking to retain and hire many more workers for its ambitious bus service expansion plans over the coming years.

The union members involved in CUPE 4500’s job action are employed in roles such as transit supervisors, maintenance supervisors, service supervisors, tire person supervisors, TComm supervisors, field service trainers, engineers, and warranty administrators, as well as supervisors for the parts department, body shop, trolley overhead, and fare box.

These supervisors coordinate, lead, and oversee thousands of bus drivers, mechanics, and engineers.

It should be emphasized that these CMBC supervisors under CUPE 4500 are separate from the vast majority of CMBC workers under Unifor Local 111 and Unifor Local 2200. Unifor Local 111 represents over 4,000 bus drivers, while Unifor Local 2200 represents 1,100 workers in the trades, support, and within SeaBus operations. Both Unifor unions were responsible for the last strike impacting TransLink services in Fall 2019.

In April 2023, Unifor Local 111 and Unifor Local 2200 reached a three-year agreement with CMBC. This separate contract for bus drivers and other CMBC workers will expire in March 2026. Over the life of the contract, these other CMBC workers will receive a wage increase between 11.25% and 12.5%, along with other benefits.

Then in July 2023, CUPE 7000, representing over 1,000 workers on SkyTrain’s Expo and Millennium lines, reached a five-year agreement with TransLink subsidiary BC Rapid Transit Company (BCRTC). The contract will expire in August 2028.

Additionally, workers on SkyTrain’s Canada Line, which is separately privately operated by SNC Lavalin’s Protrans BC division, just saw their four-year contract expire at the end of December 2023. Nearly 200 Canada Line workers are represented by the BC Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU).

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