A Monday transit strike seems more likely with the rejection of an offer by transit workers this afternoon.
YRT bus drivers and maintenance staff, represented by Amalgamated Transit Union 1587, rejected offers from two contractors, Miller Transit and First Student Canada.

“It was not unexpected, but certainly disappointing,” First Student spokesperson Maureen Richmond said.

Miller is responsible for YRT routes in the region’s southeast, including Markham and Richmond Hill, while First Student is responsible for the north, including Newmarket and Georgina.  Unless a last-minute deal is reached, about 250 transit employees will be on strike Monday morning.

“We’d like to continue negotiations because we’d like to get a resolution,” Ms Richmond said.

Two more important transit contracts are also being negotiated.  About 1,500 GO workers are also set to walk off the job Monday. Bus service would be affected, but train service would continue.

Read More…

TORONTO, Oct. 17, 2011 /CNW/ – Negotiations for new collective agreements covering employees of York Region Transit contractors Miller Transit and First Student are reaching a critical phase as the strike deadline of Monday, October 24 approaches.

“We expect an offer from both companies tomorrow,” says Ray Doyle, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587, “but we’re not holding our breath that they will be acceptable, given what we have seen so far from management.”

Doyle says that the offers will be put to a membership vote on Wednesday but declined to say whether or not the union would be recommending their acceptance.

“We’ll have to see what’s in the package before we give a recommendation. Our members are the lowest-paid in the industry in the GTA, by far, and there has to be some real movement towards equity for an offer to be acceptable.”

If the offer is turned down, the union will call a strike as of 12:01 a.m. next Monday. It is possible that one group could accept and the other reject their respective settlements but Doyle does not expect that to happen.

Read More…

The union representing more than 1,500 GO Transit workers could announce a new strike date as early as Wednesday afternoon – and employees could be off the job by the end of the month.

“Later this afternoon, early this evening, I will be announcing a strike date — and it will be for this month,” ATU Local 1587 union president Ray Doyle told CityNews.ca.

A strike would affect GO bus passengers, as well as those who use York Region Transit (YRT).

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587 also represents workers who operate and maintain YRT buses for Miller Transit and First Student Canada. Miller Transit operates buses on 51 routes in Markham, Richmond Hill, Whitchurch-Stouffville and parts of Vaughan that handle 16,000 daily rides.

“Right at the moment, I have negotiation dates set with Metrolinx, First Student [Canada] and Miller Transit. I’ve had very high strike mandates from each of those groups,” Doyle added.

Doyle said the public will have “ample” notice before employees walk off the job. Last year, GO Transit carried about 57 million passengers between Toronto and outlying areas like Peterborough, Kitchener, Niagara Falls and Barrie. On a typical weekday, GO buses alone transport 37,000 riders.

“The issue with Metrolinx is that we had an essential services agreement (ESA) we agreed to in March,” he said. “On August 30, Metrolinx cancelled two negotiations dates we had set up for September. On September 6, they no longer agreed to ESA. Everybody knows it was politically motivated — to prevent us from striking during the election campaign.”

The Ontario Labour Board (OLB) ruled Tuesday the union has a legal strike agreement with Metrolinx.

Read More…

Some buses could be idled in York Region now that drivers for Miller Transit are in a legal strike position.

No date for a walk-out has been set and the union representing workers insists it will give plenty of warning of a strike.

Negotiations continue between Miller Transit and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587. York Region Transit contracted Miller to operate buses on 51 routes in Markham, Richmond Hill, Whitchurch-Stouffville and parts of Vaughan that handle 16,000 daily rides.

Read More…

The clock is ticking towards Air Canada’s second strike this year and potentially the big carrier’s most costly labour dispute in 13 years.

Negotiators for the airline and the union representing flight attendants have been meeting since Sept. 1 trying to hammer out a second contract that can win member approval.

Flight attendants overwhelmingly voted to give their union a strike mandate, less than a month after they rejected a previous tentative agreement.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees gave strike notice Friday night meaning the flight attendants will legally be able to walk off the job as early as Wednesday.

Hanging over the heads of the two sides is believed to be a government threat to quickly order an end to a strike that could threaten the country’s weakened economic recovery.

Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt has invited both sides to a meeting if they can’t hammer out a deal this weekend.

“If there is no progress after this weekend, I intend on meeting with both parties face-to-face Monday in Ottawa,” Ms. Raitt said in an email.

“I had a conference call with parties Wednesday evening. My message was that we want them to get a deal that can be ratified by membership. And if they can’t get a deal then I asked them to find a process to get them to a deal.

“Both parties understand the effect that a work stoppage has on the economy and will work hard to get a deal.”

A three-day strike in June by Air Canada customer service agents ended after they reached a deal once the government tabled back-to-work legislation.

The precedent created by the government appears to have reduced the anxiety of some passengers planning last-minute trips next week.

Rivals such as WestJet Airlines and Porter Airlines say they have not seen any substantial increase in bookings as Air Canada customers seek alternative transportation.

“We do have the ability to add some capacity (extra flights) if it becomes necessary… but so far, we haven’t seen any increase in calls or bookings as a result of this situation,” said Robert Palmer, spokesman for the Calgary-based airline.

Brad Cicero of Porter Airlines added that there is “currently no change in the booking pattern.”

Business passengers have greater flexibility to change flights if there is a strike. But leisure travellers with firm bookings in the coming days may be concerned about plans being disrupted, said Robert Kokonis, president of airline consulting firm AirTrav Inc.

Read More…

MONTREAL — A strike at CTV Montreal’s news operation appears to have been averted — at least for now.

This month, the 126 reporters, camera operators, office staff and video editors voted 80 per cent in favour of a strike mandate in the six-month-long labour dispute. The union has been without a contract since Dec. 31.

Both sides had agreed on a moratorium against any job action until midnight Thursday. Because of progress made during negotiations this week, however, the parties agreed to extend that moratorium, said John Caluori, the national representative for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.

Read More…

More than 150 workers at a steel plant in Arnprior went on strike Wednesday morning after talks between management and the Canadian Auto Workers broke off just before midnight Tuesday.

The CAW union and Sandvik Materials Technology Canada have been negotiating since June 15 — the workers’ collective agreement expired July 1.

“We were informed by [management] that it appeared we weren’t going to get an agreement,” CAW representative Derek Mosley told assembled workers Wednesday morning.

His announcement was greeted with silence.

“So we at the time made the decision to notify the members at the plant to leave,” Mosley said.

The Swedish-based multinational company has plants across Canada and around the world. The Arnprior plant makes steel tubing for the nuclear, aerospace and automotive industries.

Gary Riopelle, 63, came to work for his regular shift Wednesday morning. Instead, he placed a picket sign around his neck.

Riopelle has worked at the plant for 35 years, and it’s the first time he’s been on strike.

Read More…

Talks between Canada Post and its union broke off Wednesday night as MPs prepare to deal with back-to-work legislation.

Canada Post said that despite 72 hours of negotiations they have not been able to reach an agreement with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

The company in a release late Wednesday said the two sides are far apart on several issues.

The union says the Crown corporation made no significant moves were maintaining 10 demands for major rollbacks.

The House of Commons was expected to break for the summer on Thursday but all parties say they’re prepared to keep sitting through the weekend to debate legislation that would send thousands of locked-out postal employees back to work.

The Tories want the bill passed as soon as possible but the NDP wants to delay it to give both sides more time to reach an agreement on their own.

The back-to-work bill contains several controversial measures, including wage rates that are lower than what Canada Post had been offering its union and guidelines for the arbitrator that some suggest are biased towards management.

While the Conservatives will use their majority numbers to cut short discussion on how the bill should be debated, government House leader Peter Van Loan says there are no restrictions on the length of debate on the bill itself.

“If everyone wants to co-operate, we could finish as early as Thursday or early into Friday, but if the other parties are determined to prolong this matter, we could be sitting into the weekend,” Mr. Van Loan said following the final Conservative caucus meeting of the spring session.

The bill would then go to the Senate, which has also said it will sit as long as needed to pass the government’s agenda.

Sitting on Friday means parliamentarians will be at work on St-Jean-Baptiste Day, a provincial holiday in Quebec that parallels Canada Day.

The Liberals said that’s inappropriate.

“We don’t sit on July 1, we don’t think we should be sitting on June 24,” said Liberal Leader Bob Rae.

“So whatever happens, we’re happy to sit on a Saturday, we’re happy to sit on a Sunday but we think it sets a terrible precedent for us to be sitting through that kind of a holiday,” he said.

Conservative Senator Claude Carignan, who is from Quebec, likened the work his colleagues need to do to essential services like nurses and police officers.

“There are plenty of people who work on St. Jean Baptiste Day,” he said in French.

“It’s not our first choice but if it’s what we have to do to make sure postal service resumes as quickly as possible, that’s what we’ll do.”

While the Tories stress the legislation is the only way to avoid economic fallout from a prolonged lockout, NDP Leader Jack Layton suggested any economic damage is their fault.

The union had been carrying out a series of rotating strikes before they were locked out by Canada Post, a Crown corporation, last week.

The workers argue that management barred the doors precisely to get the back-to-work legislation now on the table. Canada Post has said they still want a negotiated settlement.

“It seems pretty obvious to me that Canada Post and the government have been in some kind of discussions,” said Mr. Layton.

“If you just look at the way the legislation is constructed and the timing of when it was brought in, it’s pretty much impossible for me to believe that there were no discussions.”

Read More…

(Reuters) – Finning International Inc , the largest dealer of Caterpillar equipment, said it’s unit in British Columbia received a strike notice from a workers union.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) union intends to go on strike from late Monday.

The current two-year collective agreement for British Columbia and Yukon union employees expired on April 14, the company said in a statement.

The IAMAW represents about 700 hourly-paid Finning parts and service employees in British Columbia and Yukon.

Finning, which has operations in western Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Ireland and the UK, has a contingency plan to minimize the impact of a strike on its customers, it said.

It added that equipment and parts sales will not be impacted while shop and field services will be restricted if the union starts the strike.

Read More…

The city and its largest union have exactly two weeks to reach a deal before the strike or lockout deadline.

Representatives from the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 5167 will be in a legal strike position as of Saturday, June 18. On that date, the city will also be able to legally lock out CUPE employees.

Negotiations have stalled over wage increases for CUPE local’s 3,200 employees — roughly 40 per cent of the city’s 8,000-member workforce. The city’s best offer is a 1 per cent increase in each of the next four years. CUPE’s counter-offer is a 4.25 per cent increase over two years.

City councillors set a firm precedent for fiscal conservatism earlier this year when they approved a 0.8 property tax increase, the lowest since amalgamation. Around the council table, they have also repeatedly stated that during October’s municipal election campaign, voters overwhelmingly asked for belt-tightening at City Hall.

However, other municipalities that have made deals with unions over the past six months have settled on wage increases that are closer to CUPE’s offer than the city’s.

Frederick Ho, a CUPE national representative, said the 2 per cent mark is about the average for recent union wage increases across the province.

“We do see a very consistent pattern in terms of settlements in and around 2 per cent in the municipal sector,” he said. “The broad trends are pretty clear.”

Kingston, York Region, Barrie, Markham and Brantford are among the cities that offered unionized employees at least two per cent a year for the next three years. On the higher end of the spectrum are Markham and York Region, whose union employees will receive 2.35 per cent in year one and two of their contracts and three per cent in the third year.

London, which settled with two CUPE units in December, offered an increase that’s slightly lower than the 2 per cent trend. In the first year, members’ pay will stay the same. In each of the following three years, members will receive 1.9 per cent.

The average wage increase for the private sector is also around 2 per cent.

Read More…