Road

WHISTLER—By removing its latest offer from the bargaining table and suggesting binding arbitration, the employer in the seven-week long Sea to Sky transit dispute has ensured that the parties are farther from reaching a conclusion, not closer.

“PW Transit squandered weeks of progress with their stunt today,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “The employer’s stubbornness on fair wages has set negotiations back weeks, if not months.”

BELLEVILLE—Mayor Mitch Panciuk used his YouTube channel to deliver deceptive comments about the city’s bargaining with transit workers represented by Local 1839, says Unifor.

“Either the mayor is out of the loop or he is misleading his constituents about the state of play in transit bargaining,” said Chris Macdonald, Unifor Assistant to the National President. “His comments are inaccurate and will only damage the already tense negotiations created by his human resources team.”

WHISTLER—Negotiations in the Sea to Sky region transit dispute came to a halt this evening after the employer refused to agree to any plans for eventual wage parity with Metro Vancouver transit operators. 

Unifor Western Regional Director Gavin McGarrigle and senior staff joined the talks today to end the 48-day transit strike covering Squamish, Whistler, and Pemberton. 

“Progress was made but there must be a roadmap to wage parity,” said McGarrigle, referring to the massive gap between the corridor’s transit workers and those in Metro Vancouver. 

BELLEVILLE—After concessions were tabled during contract negotiations, Unifor Local 1839 members have voted 100% in favour of taking strike action if bargaining doesn’t produce a tentative agreement by April 1, 2022.

“Seeking concessions from front-line workers is shameful,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer. “Transit workers have earned a fair contract and we will accept nothing less.”

Whistler resident Isla shares her petition on the picket line. Since January 29, the petition to support Local 114 members on strike has been signed by 1,900+ supporters in the region.

WHISTLER—Community members and area transit workers will hold a rally in the heart of Whistler Village during spring break to demand a fair contract.

VANCOUVER—Wage increases are a key component of the new contract ratified late on March 7, 2022 by transit operators and maintenance staff working at Coast Mountain Bus Company/Translink.

“Transit workers have been serving communities on the front lines of a pandemic for two years,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “We will revisit this collective agreement next year with an eye to securing additional gains going forward.”