By: Olivia Sherman, News Writer
The transit supervisors in Metro Vancouver have begun an overtime ban after the vote to strike gained 100% support on December 22, 2023. Transit supervisors have been without a contract since late 2022.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4500 (CUPE 4500) represents 180 transit workers. The job action remains limited to these CUPE members. Other employees, such as operators and mechanics, are not on strike.
At this time, key demands of the Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) include a wage increase, reduced workload, and increased staffing. The CMBC is contracted by TransLink to provide bus services in Vancouver. CMBC has stated the wage increases are “unreasonable” and “unrealistic,” citing the “25% wage increase over three years” is “almost double what all other unionized CMBC employees settled on just last year.”
In a news conference, CMBC spokesperson Mike Killeen said CMBC is strongly urging the union to return to the bargaining table with reasonable and realistic expectations, but raised concerns over the wage increase CUPE 4500 is demanding.
In a statement to Global News, CMBC president Michael McDaniel said he does not expect the overtime ban to have “significant impacts to the delivery of transit services.”
The Peak contacted a transit supervisor, who is under a gag order — a judge ruling that a case may not be discussed publicly — due to the strike, and requested to remain anonymous. The source said “negotiations stopped as they could not negotiate a settlement between CUPE members and the employer,” and as the “discussion continues, the [overtime] ban remains in place with the legal right and possibility of escalation.” Overall, the source said their “official position is always to settle and minimize impact.”
Transit supervisors “supervise, coordinate and schedule the activities” of public transportation operators, such as trains, the SeaBus, and buses. They are also responsible for problem solving duties, such as vehicle malfunctions, ordering materials and supplies, staff training, and route monitoring.
While the collective agreement expired in October 2022, bargaining between the parties didn’t begin until December 2023, when the vote to take job action was cast and received 100% in favour of striking.
Negotiations between CUPE 4500 and CMBC are ongoing. At the time of writing, CUPE 4500 has announced that they will “escalate to a full-blown strike” starting at 3:00 a.m. on Monday, January 22.
The Peak contacted TransLink and CMBC for an interview but did not receive a response by the publication deadline. For more information on service closures or delays, visit the TransLink website.
