The union representing Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) workers says 99 per cent of its members are in favour of a strike should a deal not be reached with the City of Hamilton in the latest labour talks.
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 107 says the turnout for Thursday night’s vote was the highest seen in some time and president Eric Tuck says the decision allows the bargaining team to go into the next round with “more muscle.”
“So at this point, we have filed for a conciliation,” Tuck said.
“We’re waiting for the labour board to appoint a conciliator. Once a conciliator has been appointed, both parties should be coming back together at the table.”
Tuck says his members are very angry that while the union was at the table for six months trying to get a deal, the city was handing out large wage hikes to administrators.
The ATU represents some 850 HSR transit workers, including drivers and mechanics, and has been working without a collective agreement since December 2022.
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.
Tuck says the union and the city have completed 23 days of negotiations with “little success, so far.”
Meanwhile, the City of 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.