FRUSTRATED GO TRANSIT WORKERS OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVE
STRIKE AUTHORIZATION BY 93%
Media contact: Sarah Maceda-Maciel, 240-475-3226, [email protected]
2,200 ATU Local 1587 members—bus operators, station attendants, plant and fleet maintenance workers, transit safety officers, and office professionals— vote 93% in favor of strike action if necessary
TORONTO, August 8, 2022 – Pushed to the brink by Metrolinx’s refusal to negotiate on critical issues, GO Transit bus operators, station attendants, plant and fleet maintenance workers, transit safety officers, and office professionals have voted overwhelmingly in favor of going on strike if necessary. A strong majority of the 2,200 members turned out to vote, and the final result approved a strike by 93%.
Rob Cormier, President of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1587, said his members are frustrated by Metrolinx failure to bargain on priority issues, including protections against contracting out, improved work-life balance after two years of pandemic, and a wage reopener that would allow the union to negotiate higher compensation should it win its constitutional challenge to Bill 124 or the legislation be repealed.
“This is by far the largest turnout for a strike vote in our Local’s history,” Cormier said. “Workers have said loud and clear that we will do whatever it takes to reach a collective agreement that addresses our priority issues and treats us fairly.”
The Local said Metrolinx has so far refused any changes to the contract that would provide greater job security to its members, and has also refused to commit to renegotiating wages if there were to be a change to Bill 124.
As it currently stands, Bill 124 would force GO Transit workers to take an 18% cut in real wages over the 3-year moderation period. On August 5th, the Local applied for an exemption to the legislation from the Treasury Board, and for months the Local has been part of a multi-union Charter challenge in the courts.
“Our members have been putting their lives on the line every day at work over the last two years of pandemic, and now they are facing the greatest cost-of-living crisis in decades. Metrolinx has repaid their dedication to our public transit system with precarity, a refusal to negotiate a reopener on double-digit real wage cuts, and unsafe, exhausting work schedules,” Cormier said. “We have had enough: unless Metrolinx abandons its extremist position and listens to reason, we will be forced to strike.”
Metrolinx has been stonewalling negotiations since they started in April, and workers have been toiling under an expired contract since June 1.
“These workers are the lifeblood of Go Transit. They are bravely reporting for work to keep their communities moving," said ATU International President John Costa. "The disrespect that Metrolinx has shown our members is shameful. This overwhelming strike vote sends a strong message. It’s time for Metrolinx to come for to the table and give our members the fair and just contract that they deserve.”
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