West Van’s Blue Bus union to escalate job action next week

The union representing West Vancouver Transit Blue Bus employees says it will escalate job action next week as it continues to bargain for a new collective agreement with the District of West Vancouver.

Come Wednesday, Sept. 7, if a new agreement has not been reached, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 34 is advising West Vancouver transit riders to “seek alternate transportation.”

“We regret the inconvenience to our valued riders but West Vancouver District is making a bad situation worse for everyone,” ATU Local 134 President Cornel Neagu wrote in a statement Tuesday.

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Neagu says the union “made significant moves by giving up” washroom breaks to avoid a full-scale strike, but “the employer is not moving on out most important issues — wage parity for West Vancouver shuttle bus drivers … and a mandatory 5 minutes recovery time at the end of each drivers’ route.”

“We know it will be especially busy with the return to school, but we can’t keep going without a contract and no willingness by West Vancouver to address our major issues, so we can only advise residents to seek alternate transportation — and tell the Mayor and Council to negotiate fairly with us,” Neagu wrote.

According to the district, Blue Bus is the oldest municipally-owned transit service in North America. It has 69 buses in its system which carry a daily ridership of almost 18,000 boardings.

Earlier this week, almost a fifth of the Blue Bus fleet was out of action due to an overtime ban. The ban resulted in buses sitting unused since they hadn’t had safety inspections.

Neagu at that time said union members will picket bus stops at Park Royal beginning Sept. 7.

CityNews reached out to West Vancouver Mayor Mary-Ann Booth for comment.