A complete Metro Vancouver bus strike prevented thousands of locals from making it to work, school, and other appointments starting in the wee hours of Monday, Jan. 22, morning.
The strike is slated to end 48 hours after it commenced — but there is a possibility it could continue — or even be expanded to other transit services.
University of British Columbia (UBC) professor emeritus Mark Thompson says the union was "being nice" by putting a timeframe on its job action. While the 48-hour strike affects thousands of people across the region, most unions strike indefinitely.
"That's why I'm calling it a shot across the bow," he told V.I.A., characterizing the job action as a type of "wake-up call" or "last resort."
While he feels fairly confident CUPE 4500 — the union representing transit supervisors, including bus and mechanical — will reach an agreement with Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) before the end of the two-day strike window, there is a possibility they won't.
The union is asking for wages commensurate with SkyTrain Field Supervisors — who it says do equivalent work — that would work out to less than 0.05% of Coast Mountain’s 2024 budget for wages, salaries and benefits.
But CMBC says the roles are incomparable because SkyTrain Field Supervisors are responsible for directly managing employees, including hiring, firing and disciplining, which are duties that bus supervisors don't perform.
TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn told reporters at a press conference Monday afternoon that the company is already looking at a structural deficit of $4.6 billion over the next 10 years and that "the ripple effect of the union's demands [would] be in the order of $250 million."
"Now is not the time to be demanding wage increases that are far beyond everyone else," he said.
If an agreement isn't reached before 3 a.m. Wednesday, several outcomes are possible.
Vince Ready has been appointed by the province as a mediator between the union and its employer. While has "a good track record of success," he wasn't able to facilitate an agreement between the two parties over the weekend, noted Thompson.
Metro Vancouver bus strike could be expanded to the SkyTrain
CUPE 4500 representative Liam O’Neill said in a media availability Monday afternoon that the union put in a "solid effort" over 20 hours on the weekend to reach a deal with CMBC to avoid service disruptions.
"Coast Mountain attempted to bully us into accepting their proposal," he said. "There is a long-standing wage discrepancy that we're trying fix."
CUPE 4500 will continue its overtime ban at the end of the 48-hour strike and will plan its "next escalation" if a deal isn't made.
"Since it's an escalation, that means more than our current one," O'Neill warned. "We'll be announcing something at some point."
The union has applied to the BC Labour Relations Board for expanded job action, which could include expanding its picket lines to the SkyTrain.
"We do have a complaint in with the board and we're waiting for that to go through the process," he told reporters. "It's an ally application and if we are successful, TransLink or the SkyTrain would act as an ally."
If the union expands its job action to the SkyTrain, TransLink would face a complete shutdown of its transportation network.
"This is a small union but they can have a disproportionate impact if they can expand [this strike action]," Thompson said.
It's also in the incumbent New Democratic Party's "DNA that they don't want to order people to go back to work," he said. This means the government can and will most likely try a variety of strategies to reach an agreement before forcing the CMBC employees back on the job, he added.
Talks previously broke down between the union and CMBC after their collective agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2022; the parties didn’t start bargaining until Oct. 16, 2023.
The union voted 100 per cent in favour of strike action on Dec. 22, 2023.
TransLink advises riders to stay up to date with the bus service by signing up for Transit Alerts, consulting its Trip Planner, following @TransLink on X (formerly Twitter) or by calling the customer information desk at 604-953-3333 (translation services are available in over 300 languages).
