Simon South

(Update: Back-to-work legislation has since been called for by three York Region MPPs, and the Labour Minister has responded saying it is not being considered. Be sure to read my most recent post or follow me on Twitter to get the latest information.)

Today marks the start of the third week of the transit strike in York Region. To the best of my knowledge the union has had nothing to say to the contractors since before the strike began. In other words, it appears not a single bit of progress has been made towards restoring transit service.

But this is not for lack of trying on the contractors’ part. A YorkRegion.com article indicates two of the three contractors against whom the union is striking, Veolia and First Transit, have both made new offers in the interim that have been ignored:

The ball is in their court, said First Transit spokesperson Maureen Richmond.

The company has made a fair, equitable offer to the union and is willing to keep negotiations going, but the union has been unresponsive since rejecting a deal last week, she said.

Veolia spokesperson Valerie Michael said her company offered Viva workers what they wanted following the rejection of an earlier offer last week, but never heard back from the union, ATU 113.

We really can’t move forward, because, as far as we know, we gave them what they asked for, she said, adding no new talks were scheduled.

I speculated in my last post that the wages-and-benefits issue is really just a smokescreen for the union’s longer-term strategy, which is overturning the privatization of transit in the region and replacing it with a completely public model. If this is true—and if it isn’t, why is the union picketing Region headquarters while ignoring requests from contractors to meet?—there is no hope for talks between the two sides to continue, because the union is demanding something the contractors can’t offer.

Consequently I’ve lost faith that the union and the contractors can resolve this dispute on their own. Like many of the riders who are busy tearing up the Region’s Facebook page, I’m now thinking political intervention is the way forward.

Legislate ‘em Back to Work

A political solution to the strike would normally take the form of back-to-work legislation, which would mandate that the bus drivers return to work and specify penalties if they fail to do so.

For those who (like me) are just learning about all this, the CBC website has a great FAQ on the subject. I was mistaken earlier in assuming any such legislation would require the drivers to return to the job at their existing wages. Instead, it is likely the government would require the union and the contractors to submit new offers to an outside arbitrator, who would prepare a new contract to which both would be bound. Presumably, this contract would force concessions from both sides.

Regardless, once the legislation is passed and the arbitration process completed, we could expect the strike to be over and transit service to be resumed.

How do we Make it Happen?

Public transit is considered a provincial concern, so any back-to-work legislation would need to come from Queen’s Park.

Posters on Facebook have told me for this legislation to be introduced it must first be requested by York Region council. Assuming this is true (I haven’t yet found a source), if you believe it’s time for politicians to intervene, your first step should be to contact the councillors for your municipality to explain how the transit strike is affecting you and to express doubt in the negotiations. It probably wouldn’t hurt to contact your MPP at the same time, asking him or her to support the introduction of back-to-work legislation.

Scott Burlovich has created an automated form that will do this on your behalf.

If you do contact your councillor or MPP, be polite. Regardless of how you feel about the strike or the government, remember that politicians are people and that a confrontational attitude is not going to motivate anyone to seek a solution on your behalf.

The Downside

Before you rush off to do this, if it’s the union you’re angry at, there’s reason to think a legislative solution can wait.

Frankly, I can’t escape the thought that back-to-work legislation might be just what the union is hoping for. It seems to me it has been negotiating in bad faith, framing the issue as being about wages but ignoring concessions on that front so it can pursue a much different goal. While relying on a legislative solution is a risky strategy (no one knows ahead of time what terms will be imposed) it’s likely any arbitrated contract will include concessions to the union, ones that may go beyond what it feels it can negotiate from the contractors directly.

In a CTV News article published during last summer’s postal-workers’ strike, labour lawyer Howard Levitt is quoted warning that back-to-work legislation can actually work in a union’s favour:

Levitt said that the public has little sympathy for both the Air Canada and Canada Post unions, and Canadians would likely allow the strikes to go on indefinitely. In such long-term disruptions, management gains the upper hand, said Levitt.

This provides both employers an unprecedented opportunity to permanently weaken the union and impose contracts on their terms, he said.

Instead, they are seeking return-to-work legislation, which will result in the normally union-friendly terms imposed by most arbitrators…

In short, Levitt said that governments in Canada appear incapable of playing hardball, however opportune the circumstances.

If you believe the union is at fault for the strike, this should give you pause. As painful as it is to contemplate, continuing to wait things out might place the contractors or the Region in a better position to make long-term gains against the union. And regardless of your position, reducing the likelihood of future strikes can only increase the viability of transit as an alternative to driving.

Do you think it’s time for politicians to force the bus drivers back to work? Post a comment and let me know.

We’re now nearing the end of the second week of the transit strike in York Region and it appears no progress has been made. I’m becoming just as frustrated as the many others who are without an easy or affordable way to get around the area.

There’s been much outcry from riders, on Twitter and particularly on the Region’s Facebook page, about the strike, and many are loudly demanding various actions be taken to end it. Here are my thoughts on the three parties involved and what can be done.

The Region

The government of York Region has consistently said they are not involved and will not become involved in the labour negotiations, as they do not employ bus drivers directly. Rather, they contract out the operation of the transit system to private companies, and it is these contractors who are responsible for negotiating with their workers.

Nonetheless, many have called for the Region to get involved in some way, with demands ranging from councillors forcing the two sides back to the table to the Region itself taking over operation of the transit system. So far no politician seems very interested in entering the dispute. Perhaps that will change if the strike drags on, although I wonder what can be gained when neither side seems willing to make concessions.

(Update: The same day I wrote this, three York Region MPPs, Frank Klees, Peter Shurman and Julia Munro, issued a statement calling for the strike to end. Thanks to councillor Maddie Di Muccio for pointing this out.)

On the subject of the Region dismissing the contractors and taking on a greater role in transit operations, there are a couple of things I want to point out. First, the fact this is not the situation presently is the only reason there are any buses operating at all right now. If there were a single employer (York Region) and a single union, a strike would bring the entire transit system to a halt.

Second, I cannot imagine the Region would be able to run the transit system as cost-effectively as the private operators do currently, and I commend it for admitting as much on the YRT strike-information page:

Generally, publicly-owned transit operations are more expensive to run than their private counterparts. Public ownership in York Region would mean an increased burden on taxpayers and riders. It would not make financial sense to take on a model that would actually cost more—for everyone.

People who argue this point seem to forget it is competition between contractors during the bidding process, and the possibility of earning a profit afterwards, that is keeping transit costs down. Remove these factors and there would be less incentive, not more, to constrain transit spending—which is perhaps why the union seems so interested in pursuing this outcome.

The Contractors

Speaking of which, one of the things that stands out in my mind is how little noise the union seems to be making in the contractors’ direction. If the workers believe the contractors are treating them unfairly, why have we not seen any picketing outside those buildings?

More and more I’m inclined to think wages are only a secondary concern for the union, with its primary complaint being the privatization of transit operations. As evidence, I note the one rally we’ve seen so far was staged outside York Region headquarters, home of the only party (aside from the riders) not actually involved in the negotiations. Here the interest in pressuring the Region to take over transit operations seems clear. An article on YorkRegion.com about the rally quotes John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council:

York Region should say, Yes, we have to have a properly run system, run by the public, for the public. That’s what a mature government does. But we’ve still got a disconnect which is that the leadership of York Region is addicted to privatization.

The same article quotes a spokesperson for Veolia, the contractor responsible for operating the Viva lines, saying their organization has told the union it will meet its demands but has not heard a response. If this is true (and I’ve yet to see a denial from the union), why was a new contract not immediately signed? Again, it suggests higher wages are not actually what the union is agitating for.

Despite any of this, it is still possible the remaining contractors are paying their workers too little. I’ll get to that in a moment. For now I’ll note that if I were negotiating on the contractors’ behalf and it started to appear the issue wasn’t compensation at all but rather the employers’ very presence in the region, I’d be tempted to think the union was acting in bad faith. I’m not surprised the contractors aren’t rushing back to the table.

The Union

Let me preface this section by stating that I do feel sympathy for the drivers. I was in a similar situation myself once, when I discovered a co-worker of mine was being paid a significantly higher salary to deliver work no better than my own. So believe me, I understand the anger and the pain these people are feeling.

Having said that, I’m a long way from being convinced that agreeing to the union’s demands is the correct response. If we assume higher wages are indeed what the union is after (and not the end of privatization), we first need to make sure higher wages are warranted. To do that we need to ask, What should a bus driver in York Region be paid?

As things stand right now, this question is difficult to answer. The union has said drivers in York Region should be paid as much as drivers in the surrounding regions. But this argument rests on nothing more than the union’s say-so. Without any further information, we could use the same argument to conclude that drivers in other regions are being paid too much. After all, until recently YRT drivers were willing to work for $22 an hour. If we believe the union that transit jobs across the GTA have equal value, why should a TTC driver have been earning more?

I’m no free-market extremist, but it seems to me this is just the sort of question for which market forces can produce a good answer. Suppose people were free to be hired as bus drivers and to move between jobs at will. If not enough people were willing to drive a bus in York Region for $22 an hour, contractors would have little option but offer a higher wage until they found enough drivers to provide the service they’ve promised. Alternatively, if there were a surplus of willing applicants, contractors would have an incentive to lower the wage. Either way, I expect we’d soon have our answer, as wages settled at an amount balancing the contractors’ need to supply service with the drivers’ need for income and their desire for the work.

But this seems to be just the situation the union wants to prevent. Remember, its goal is to secure the greatest value for its members, independent of any outside considerations. If it is so obvious to union leaders that drivers in York Region are underpaid, why don’t they step aside and let market forces reveal the true value of the work? If YRT drivers can get a better deal working for the TTC, or for Brampton Transit, or for GO Transit, why don’t they quit and go do so?

What have I missed? Post a comment below to let me know. And to my fellow riders, I wish you luck in arranging transportation over the weekend.

(Update: I now regularly post updates about the strike myself, both on Twitter and on my blog. You can subscribe to the RSS feed to be notified right away when I post something new.)

One of the things I find most frustrating about the ongoing transit strike here in York Region is the almost complete lack of information being provided to riders. Here’s a quick rundown of the ways I’ve found so far to keep in touch about what’s going on.

On Twitter

@YRTVivaStrike and @YRTVivaStrk2011 are both tweeting updates and retweeting posts from riders affected by the strike.

The Region itself tweets as @YorkRegionGovt. York Region Transit doesn’t appear to have its own Twitter account, although it’s possible they might communicate through @vivaNext.

Riders are using the hashtags #YRT, #YRTStrike and #YRTVivaStrike on tweets about the strike.

On Facebook

York Region’s Facebook page has become a de facto outlet for riders expressing their frustration.

On the Web

Responding to the outcry from riders, the Region has announced they’ll be posting daily updates on YRT’s strike-information page. The value of this remains to be seen, as they maintain they have no involvement in the labour negotiations.

An unnamed individual has set up an automated form that will send an email to the Region, the contractors, councillors and your MPP on your behalf expressing concern over the strike.  (Thanks, Tracy Smith.)

Amazingly, none of the union, the contractors or the media have had much to say online. YorkRegion.com has posted a couple of articles but doesn’t even consider the strike a hot topic. You might try checking Google News periodically.

More

If you know of any other resources, or you’re also blogging about the strike, please post a comment below and I’ll add your information.

Gandhi said, Be the change you wish to see in the world. (At least, he might have.) One of the changes I wish to see is the end of our reliance on personal cars. And so, in line with Gandhi’s (alleged) wisdom, I sold my car a few years ago and have since relied on public transit and my own two feet to get around.

There are many reasons why I think our present-day obsession with cars is harmful to ourselves and to society—enough to merit their own blog post. And I think public transit is a big part of the solution, in large part because the technology and infrastructure for it already exist. Naturally, it would be impossible to take me seriously on this if I wasn’t willing to walk the walk, so to speak, and demonstrate that even in the suburbs, you can have a good lifestyle without needing to own your own car.

So it kind of hurts my case when major problems with the transit system crop up and I’m unwillingly kept landlocked at home. Like, for instance, when the bus drivers go on strike and 60% of the system stops running. Which has been the situation here in York Region for the past week.

The Amalgamated Transit Union local 1587 is at odds with several of the private contractors that operate York Region Transit‘s network, and is vowing to keep their workers on strike until their demands are met. In the meantime, many of us transit riders are simply out of luck.

The Issue

As usual, it’s all about the money.

Neither the contractors nor the union are saying much about what’s going on, but it seems the main issue is that bus drivers in York Region are paid less than their counterparts in nearby areas (particularly Toronto) and the union is insisting their wages be raised to match.

I understand this is actually a classic strategy unions often pursue, by holding up the gains made by other unions and telling their employers, You need to do the same for us. (I’m pretty sure there’s a name for it, even. I remember reading an article several years ago, during the auto-industry crisis in the States, that claimed the federal government had successfully used this strategy against the United Auto Workers union: They first negotiated a major concession from workers at one of the auto makers, then demanded the union make the same concession for workers at all the others. Naturally the UAW, despite having used the same strategy many times in the past, howled in indignation.)

There’s at least one problem with the ATU taking this stance, and that is it’s pretty obvious driving a bus in York Region is not the same as driving a bus in Toronto. Up here there are fewer buses, fewer stops and fewer riders, and things tend to be spread much further apart geographically. The roads are generally wider, there’s usually less traffic and—I would say, based on my own experience—drivers are less aggressive overall. When I had a car, I didn’t mind driving in York Region too much, but I hated the idea of driving in Toronto. I know there are a lot of people who feel the same way. If the average car owner acknowledges driving is very different between the two regions, why shouldn’t the transit union?

Here’s another way of looking at it: Were I a bus driver in York Region and told my job was being moved to Toronto, I would absolutely insist on a raise in wages to offset the additional challenge and stress of Toronto driving. Makes sense, right? And yet, turning things around, the ATU is effectively arguing such a raise would be unnecessary as the two jobs are interchangeable.

The Upshot

While the Region, the contractors and the union engage in trench warfare, the transit system is broken and lying in pieces. Getting around via the patchwork system of buses that are still running is time-consuming and frustrating, and some parts of the region are cut off completely from the rest of the network. And there’s currently no end in sight.

Perhaps the worst outcome of all is this: As each day passes without a resolution to the strike, the legitimacy of the transit system itself fades further away. For transit ever to be viewed as a viable alternative to car ownership, we need to find a way to end the threat of labour disruptions. Toronto took one approach to the problem this past spring by declaring their transit system an essential service, forbidding workers from striking. I wonder if it is time for York Region, with their characteristically forward-looking approach to public transit and major transit projects already underway, to consider doing the same.

What are the other options, short of giving workers the freedom to write their own contracts?