News Labour Relations
Vancouver bus union warns of shutdown, employer calls expectations ‘unreasonable’

The union representing transit supervisors in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland says it will be “withdrawing all services” on Monday if an agreement with Coast Mountain Bus Company isn’t made.

CUPE Local 4500, representing more than 180 bus workers, says it has been waiting more than four weeks for Coast Mountain to respond to its latest proposal.

The union says its patience has now “been exhausted” as it waits for the company to take bargaining seriously, and unless an agreement is reached all services, including the SeaBus, will be suspended by 3 a.m. on Jan. 22, for two days.

Coast Mountain president Michael McDaniel called the move “disappointing,” adding that it will disrupt thousands of people who depend on the bus and SeaBus each day.

He says the company is urging the union to end its job action and return to the bargaining table with “realistic expectations.”

The move by the union comes after it began an overtime ban on Jan. 6.

McDaniel says Coast Mountain has made CUPE 4500 the same wage offer already agreed to by all other unions.

“The union has demanded 25-per-cent wage increases for transit supervisors over three years,” his statement said. “Simply put, it is unreasonable for this group of supervisors to demand nearly double the increase that all other CMBC unions have accepted.”