On the Fourteenth Week of the York Region Transit Strike
Today is day 92 of the transit strike in York Region, now in the start of its fourteenth week.
I’m happy to say that for once, there seems to be good news arriving from every direction. As David Fleischer wrote this morning, this stands to be the most eventful week of the entire dispute. Here’s what’s going on:
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On Friday, ATU Local 1587 and Miller resumed negotiations following a request from a provincial mediator. While previous talks had fallen apart quickly, this time the two parties spent the whole day meeting and negotiations are continuing today. Local 1587 president Ray Doyle has characterized the discussions as
positive
; he’s also said he hopes a deal might be reached today. -
Also today, Local 113 is meeting with its employer, Veolia. There’s been no word yet on how these talks are proceeding, which actually suggests they are going well—the union has said in the past it will not comment on negotiations until either a deal is reached or talks break down.
This is a promising development, not only because the two parties are talking again but because I expect that neither local will return to work until both do. The fact Local 113 is putting itself in a position to accept an offer lends weight to Mr. Doyle’s suggestion that a resolution could be at hand. As still further evidence, there was apparently no picketing from the striking drivers this morning, a show of good faith and respect for the process on their part.
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This Wednesday is the new deadline for the two remaining contractors, Miller and Veolia, to submit to the Region their plan as to how they intend to restore partial transit service while the strike is underway. (Apparently Veolia already submitted theirs last week.) While the Region will need some time to review the proposals it seems we could know soon how the situation is going to be improved for riders.
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On Thursday, Regional Council will meet to vote on the new contract for operating the north division, the responsibility recently taken away from First Canada. If the vote passes, the way should be clear for the Region to restore service along route 98 on February 5th as it has planned, with additional routes following that.
Considering all this, I am cautiously optimistic we are now entering the endgame of the dispute, a full thirteen weeks after it began. And it seems all it took was the Region finally flashing a bit of its power.
What’s Being Discussed?
One thing I’m very curious about is what’s actually being talked about in the negotiations going on between each local and its employer. Previously the two sides seemed to be at a complete impasse, my impression being that the union was demanding greater total compensation for its members while the contractors were adamant about containing their labour costs.
Suddenly this impasse seems to have cleared, at least between Local 1587 and Miller. What’s changed? My first thought was that one side or the other has started to give in—either the union is saying it will now accept a compromise on some front, or the contractor has agreed to expand its budget for labour. The problem with this idea is that even now, neither side seems to have much incentive to budge.
As a commentor named Some1 pointed out a while back, there are not many companies either equipped to provide transit service here or interested in doing so, making Miller’s and Veolia’s position fairly secure. On top of this, the Region actually rents garage space for some of its buses from Miller, giving that company additional leverage. So I doubt the contractors are feeling all that intimidated right now, even after having watched First Canada get the axe.
However, the union has now spent so much time on strike it really needs a big win to save face publicly and with its members. It has almost nothing to lose by continuing to hold out for the best deal it can possibly get—the opportunity has long since passed for it to accept a modest gain and rationalize it as a stepping-stone for the future. Speaking of which, it will be years before the contract renewals line up in such a way that the union has as much leverage as it had in October to make demands. So it’s basically now-or-never for the two locals.
Of course, more cynical interpretations are possible. Perhaps the contractors really have been as selfish and greedy as the union has said, and they are now realizing they have no choice but to loosen their purse strings. Or perhaps the union really has been avoiding useful negotiation by playing a game of move-the-goalposts, and they now realize they are going to have to begin taking the process seriously.
We should know the outcome within a few days.
Despite the show of bravado they like to put on for the public, the unions are nowhere near as sure of their position or of their own job security as they were at the beginning of the strike. Hopefully, they have actually come to the table in good faith, their first show of good faith to date in this three-month mess. If there were any measures in the provincial labour laws to protect the public, Bob Kinnear and the other union heads would be held accountable in court for all the damages suffered by innocent people as a result of their political showboating.
@CAM: Part of me wants to believe the union was cowed after First Canada’s dismissal, but here again its position seems pretty secure. The new contractor is still going to need workers, and the most obvious pool to hire them from will be the same group laid off by First Canada. And even if the employer were to purposely avoid hiring those people it’s by no means clear it could avoid the union itself.
Incidentally, it seems to me also these are among the first honest moves we’ve seen from the two locals in this strike. I don’t think they ever intended to accept an offer from any contractor. Come to think of it, perhaps that’s what’s changed.
Unions and contractors will reach a deal this week but unfortunately, most likely, we won’t find out the details. We will not find out anytime soon what the union got and where is the money coming from (contractors’ profit share? YR coffers?). No part has any interest to disclose such details, so we will be left in limbo as of what was the price of this deal. Overall, a loose-loose-loose situation for the YR residents, the YR politicians and the unions.
The impact of this strike will be fully visible in a year or so, with dropped YRT ridership, increases fares and decreased service.
@OP: Sadly, all of that sounds correct. The worst part is how this has likely set back transit in the region by years while driving up its cost.
However, there could yet be good news for taxpayers. And in a further effort to end the day on a positive note: It would be a huge relief for many to have the buses running again next week.
May I speculate and assume that one of the reasons for the union current full commitment to negotiation is this: http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1283585–bus-injunction-violated-region
@OP: Could be. I’d been thinking that might have been retaliation for the union accusing the Region of interfering with the Veolia vote last week. I wonder if they ever filed their complaint with the Labour Relations Board?
Simon, the union did file a complaint. I believe they are in front of the labour board tommorrow. In addition, while I agree the recent moves by the region regarding the termination of First Student and the supposed injunction violation that the region has brought up may have pushed the union to negotiate.. i believe it has/had also pushed the CONTRACTORS to also take negotiating seriously instead of sitting on their hands just waiting for this to blow over. That’s the problem. I feel it was BOTH sides (the union AND the contractors) that are at fault here with letting this drag on too long. And the region also had a small part in it as well. 3 parties to blame here for this going on so long IMO, and they all share the blame almost equally but the unions and the contractors more.
@Some1: Yeah, well, to my mind most of the bad behaviour we’ve seen in this strike has come from the union, not the contractors. You can hardly blame a company for balking at the idea of a 16% raise, on top of all the other demands that rather suspiciously seemed to shift between each meeting.
I will say this: The idea that both sides have found a reason to compromise does explain the situation well.
And of course, now ATU 113 is proudly claiming “we got everything we wanted”, and the YR was “exposed as our real employer” and “Bill Fish was ridiculed”. The propaganda machine is back.
And of course, the contractors are mum about the deal, and so it’s YR.
It’s disgusting. Buses running or not, I still feel captive by these unionized thugs. I’m almost wishing the drivers reject the offer tomorrow, so a more radical stance would be required.
@OP: Got a link? The only propaganda I’ve seen recently is Local 113 trying to blame the strike on Mr. Fisch.
Dunno how to link to facebook messages, but take a look at the messages posted last night by one of the (official) union leaders, under the “ATU Local 113 and York BRT Services, as well as ATU Local 1587 and Miller Transit resume negotiations today” root post.
@OP: I see. Well, we’ll see how much of what Rocco is saying is true and how much is merely an attempt to save face. I don’t believe most of it, given what I know about the situation.
Incidentally, like Some1 mentioned both union locals are indeed in front of the Ontario Labour Relations Board today. Here’s a PDF link to the daily schedule, good only for today:
http://www.olrb.gov.on.ca/english/HearingRep%5CHearingSchedule.pdf