West Vancouver transit strike leaves almost a dozen buses parked, union says

Almost a fifth of the Blue Bus fleet aren’t budging due to an overtime ban, the West Vancouver transit’s union says.

ATU Local 134 President Cornel Neagu says the union’s overtime ban has resulted in buses sitting unused since they haven’t had safety inspections.

“We already know that more than 10 buses are parked – out of 69 in total in the Blue Bus system, because of our overtime ban,” Neagu said.

Neagu says that “basic issues” in negotiation are not getting any traction.

“We still have no movement on basic issues like washroom breaks and wage parity for shuttle bus drivers with every other driver in Metro Vancouver.” said Neagu.

“Our membership greatly values our riders but we are unable to reach a new contract unless we put more pressure on West Vancouver District, which has not made any significant effort to reach a new and fair collective agreement,”

Related links:

• West Vancouver Blue Bus drivers threaten further job action

• BC General Employees’ Union serves strike notice on provincial government

• West Vancouver Blue Bus workers vote overwhelmingly in favour of strike action

He adds that more job action is on the way next month if no new agreement is reached.

“We will escalate job action on Sept. 7, unless there is an agreement. And we want to tell our riders that they may need, regrettably, to make alternative plans to get around on that day,” Neagu said.

“We hope [it] won’t come to that; but if necessary, we will be picketing bus stops at Park Royal, including Coast Mountain Bus Company bus stops there.”

ATU Local 134 represents 150 members who operate and maintain West Vancouver’s Blue Bus system.

118 voted yes, while a single individual voted no, with 81 per cent of the membership turning out to vote.

At the time, Neagu said West Vancouver had refused to negotiate with the union and workers were “fed up.”