Bus Operators in St. Thomas Vote to Join Canada’s Largest Transit Union

January 14, 2020

St. Thomas—Employees at St. Thomas are the newest group to join the Amalgamated Transit Union. Bus operators in St. Thomas voted on Tuesday afternoon to unionize with the ATU local 1415.

“This is a huge victory," said ATU Canada President John Di Nino. “With all the money being invested in public transit, the workers want to ensure that those who are actually on the buses have a voice in decision-making. These operators interact with the citizens of St. Thomas everyday—from shoppers to students, from elderly residents to residents with accessibility issues—bus operators do incredible work as customer service professionals and the riding public knows that. We are excited about their first big win.”

St. Thomas Transit is operated by Voyago, a company headquartered in London, Ontario. Voyago is owned by TransDev, a multinational corporation headquartered in France. The Amalgamated Transit Union represents transit professionals at over 40 TransDev properties in North America, including St. Thomas and York Region. 

“People join unions because they want a seat at the table,” said Di Nino. “Transit professionals continually turn to the ATU because of our collective transit expertise and we are the specialists when negotiating with TransDev. From our experience as a 120-year old union, a strong union contract means a safe, reliable, affordable transit system for all.”

The ATU is looking forward to being a stakeholder in the expansion and improvement of St. Thomas Transit.

“Whether its London Transit, Greyhound or St. Thomas, the ATU is going to work with the transit authority to bring improvements for the riders and clients. With a union, there is communication and cooperation because it is backed up by recognition and a united voice on the issues that matter like schedules, equipment, routes and employee retention,” added Di Nino.

The Amalgamated Transit Union was created in 1892 and represents over 200,000 transit professionals in North America, 34,000 of which are based in Canada at transit agencies such as Greyhound, London Transit and Hamilton Street Railway.

Media Contact:

John Di Nino

ATU Canada President

416-938-0746

St. Thomas Transit Bus

St. Thomas Transit Services. Photo retrieved from: https://www.stthomas.ca/living_here/transportation



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