Transit strike affects 18,000 Blue Bus users

Transit buses will not be running in West Vancouver today, after last-minute talks between the district and the union representing West Vancouver Municipal Transit drivers and mechanics broke down Sunday night.

“We are extremely disappointed and frustrated with the District of West Vancouver,” said Bill Tieleman, spokesman for the transit union. “We’ve tried everything we can to get to an agreement without disruption of services, and now we have no choice but to go on a fullscale strike.”

About 18,000 people who use the Blue Bus service daily will be affected. The strike will also halt bus service between downtown Vancouver and the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal. There are no talks scheduled. Representatives of the District of West Vancouver and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 134 had been in intensive negotiations with Labour Relations Board mediator Grant McArthur at a downtown Vancouver office starting at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, but failed to reach a deal.

Both sides have been negotiating for a new contract since May after the last contract expired March 31.

The union had started partial job action last week.

The district had said it provided a fair offer, comparable with a recent TransLink Coast Mountain Bus Company agreement, including the same wage increase. It said the union was insisting on proposals that would affect the district’s ability to offer bus service efficiently.

The local, which represents 149 drivers, mechanics and servicemen, said the district was demanding concessions on working conditions and benefits — something the district denied. The union also said the district refuses to work to retain mechanics, a position that’s experienced a high turnover rate in the last two years. The union received a 100-per-cent strike mandate from its members in September.

“We are extremely disappointed and frustrated ...” — Bill Tieleman, transit union spokesman