After nearly two weeks of bargaining, the union representing the majority of Guelph Transit employees has voted in favour of a strike mandate if a collective bargaining agreement is not reached with the city.
With around 260 members, Local ATU 1189 represents conventional drivers, mobility drivers, utility cleaners who clean the buses, mechanics, those who order the parts for the mechanics, those who fix the bus shelters – basically everyone involved in Guelph Transit besides administrative staff and management.
The vote was held on Sept. 20 after talks fell through, with 99.5 per cent voting in favour of a strike mandate, and between 70 and 80 per cent of members participating in the vote.
The contract expired at the end of June, and bargaining began in September. In a press release, union president Scott Bate said the team “was left with no choice but to file for conciliation.”
“We were bargaining for about nine days. It wasn’t going as well as we thought,” Bate told GuelphToday in an interview
When talks slowed they requested a conciliator, he said, who will help mediate the process and make a plan to move forward.
What they’re bargaining for is the meat and potatoes of a contract agreement, he said, things like work-life balance and recruitment.
“It’s about work-life balance, about being treated fairly, about setting up a career and not just a job. It’s about keeping people here and getting people here,” he said.
When asked for the city’s stance on contract negotiations, the city’s acting general manager of human resources Stephen O’Brien said “the city has been working collaboratively with ATU for a number of months and we look forward to continuing productive discussions toward a successfully bargained collective agreement.”
Work-life balance and recruitment were issues when their contract last expired three years ago, Bate said, but they took concessions because they were “in the middle of a pandemic and we needed to keep the buses running.”
“Obviously it was hard on all of us. We stayed on our buses every day. We showed up for work every day. And now they’re asking us for concessions and we truly believe it’s unfair. It’s going to hurt recruitment, and our retention levels are really bad too.”
That agreement was reached in about nine days, going fairly smoothly. But now, he said they’re not concession bargaining.
“We’re at nine days now, and we have a long way to go,” he said, adding that finances aren’t even on the table yet.
When asked how likely a strike is, Bate said they never want to strike.
“We believe the citizens of Guelph and the ridership deserve to know what’s going on and be informed about the issues that are ahead of us, but we don’t want to be pulling service ever. We’re looking for a fair collective bargaining agreement that helps the city, our members, our ridership, but also sets us up for the next 20 or 30 years.”
He wants stakeholders, students and community members to “reach out to their city officials and get this whole process moving.”
Bate has been with Guelph Transit for 20 years and the president of the union for two terms.
“I’ve never been on strike, but I’ve sure been locked out by the city,” he said. “Our goal is never to go on strike. We’re here to serve the public. We’re here to grow the transit system.”
Moving forward, they have two more bargaining dates planned, but they won’t be set in stone until the conciliator speaks with both parties.
“We’re committed to working through it. I’ll sit there from seven in the morning until midnight if I have to, every single day we’re bargaining, if that’s what’s needed to get a deal.”
