Grand River Transit workers vote in favour of strike action

Unifor Local 4304 members have rejected a tentative agreement with the Region of Wateroo.

The union representing some Grand River Transit workers will be on strike as of 12:01 a.m. Monday morning. That includes Grand River Transit, busPLUS, MobilityPLUS operators, reservationists, fleet mechanics and service attendants.

Regular bus service, MobilityPLUS, and busPLUS services will not operate as of Monday morning at 3 a.m. Due to the strike, Grand River Transit Customer Service Centres will be closed.

A tentative agreement was reached between the union and the Region of Waterloo on Saturday.

The region said in a news release late Sunday evening that it remains committed to reaching an agreement and is open to further discussions with the union.

“Despite an offer that was competitive for GRT staff and affordable for residents, unfortunately we were not able to reach an agreement.”

Brendan Burke is President of Unifor Local 4304 and spoke with CityNews Kitchener on Monday afternoon about the strike action.

He wasn’t able to discuss specifics of the tentative deal that was reached with the Region of Waterloo and then struck down, but said union members ‘have spoken’ and sent a message to the region.

“We brought a large number of issues forward that we need to try and get resolved, and spent a great deal of time going over everything; scheduling, work-life balance, and wages are the major issues. We just need to come closer on those issues to get things resolved.”

Some of the other oustanding issues, according to Burke, have been building for some time and reached a breaking point.

“It’s difficult when you don’t have enough layover time to get where you need to be, and you don’t have time to get out of your seat to use the washroom or stretch your legs, that kind of stuff,” explained Burke. “We worked through the pandemic as front-line workers and we didn’t get anything for continuing to keep the system rolling through that whole time. Lots of members got sick with COVID and it’s just been a frustrating number of years.”

Burke said the union is willing to get back to the bargaining table but notes currently, no dates have been set to resume negotiations.

GRT and the region are encouraging those who rely on public transit to find alternative transportation options.

The region said ION train service will continue as it is maintained and operated by Keolis.

Mark is a transit user, and he said he wouldn’t be able to get to his job without the help of a co-worker.

“I totally rely on the bus everyday to get to and from work. This is very, very important for me. I found out this morning, but this is the only way I can get to work on time, and it’s now adding an extra hour to the commute each way.”

Another frequent transit user, Doug, told CityNews it cost them 70 dollars to travel to work.

“I’ve been highly affected, especially when you live somewhere else and you go on transit quite frequently, actually. Now I have to take a cab to get to the train and hop on the train to get to work.”

Back in 2020, the region and Unifor members also reached a tentative agreement which was later rejected at the ratification process, triggering the first strike in GRT’s history.