The union that represents some 850 City of Hamilton bus workers is seeking a strike mandate and expects members to vote on the action Thursday.
In a release on Tuesday, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 107 says Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) staffers have been working without a collective agreement since December 2022 and characterizes the latest talk over wages as “miles apart.”
Wages, safety and light rail transit (LRT) job protections are the key issues, with the union pointing to double-digit increases it says senior city administrators recently received from the city.
ATU Local 107 president Eric Tuck says the union and the city have completed 23 days of negotiations with “little success, so far.”
“So based on that, we’re going to our membership to get a strike mandate and hopefully that will be enough motivation for the city to come to the table and get serious,” Tuck said.
He says a “sore point” with his membership revolves around “senior bureaucrats” who received an estimated four per cent increase recently.
“As front frontline workers who worked throughout the pandemic, we didn’t get to sit it out at home as many of the senior bureaucrats that are earning between $120,000 and $160,000 did,” Tuck alleges.
He also claims an additional 11 per cent “market adjustment” was given based on a consultant’s recommendation, with most of those workers having a hybrid work week and “enjoying a huge economic and lifestyle benefit.”
ATU Local 107, which represents drivers, mechanics and other transit workers, has been working with the city to reach a contract settlement since February.
Hamilton’s director of Employee Health and Labour Relations says he’s “looking forward” to working with a conciliator to “make further progress in negotiations.”
“The city remains committed to continuing to meet with the ATU Local 107 negotiation committee, with a view of negotiating a renewed collective agreement that is fair for workers and fair for taxpayers,” Yakov Sluchenkov said.
Sluchenkov was unable to provide further details due to the “active and ongoing” negotiations.
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