Strike hits York transit 

CHRIS DOUCETTE and JENNY YUEN

York Region transit workers were poised to walk off the job Monday morning. (QMI Agency File Photo)

Thousands of people north of the city are scrambling to find a way to get to work as hundreds of bus drivers in York Region hit the bricks Monday morning.
“We regret the inconvenience this causes for York Region transit users and we urge them to contact their councillors and mayors,” Ray Doyle, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587 president, said after his members decided to strike.
“The politicians are the ones who are ultimately responsible for this mess and they are the ones who must fix it,” he added.
ATU Local 1587, which represents about 1,500 GO drivers and other workers as well as 250 bus operators and maintenance staff at Miller Transit and more than 90 bus drivers at First Student, and ATU Local 113, which represents about 220 Viva bus drivers, had all been poised to strike Sunday night.
Commuters who rely on GO buses to travel into Toronto, however, are breathing a collective sigh of relief thanks to an eleventh hour deal. A tentative deal was struck around 10 p.m. between the GO bus drivers and their employer Metrolinx.
However, YRT and Viva workers were unable to reach an agreement with their employers Veolia Transport, First Student Canada and Miller Transit.
The 560 or so drivers and maintenance workers walked off the job at 4 a.m. leaving about 44,000 transit riders in York Region stranded.
Wages and benefits are believed to be the major stumbling blocks in reaching a new deal.
“These private companies are raking in profits by the millions from taxpayers and passengers, while paying their employees seven dollars an hour less than transit workers doing the same jobs in adjoining cities,” said Doyle.
“This is not a sustainable situation,” he said, adding many workers are “lined up to get the next open jobs at nearby transit agencies.”
ATU Local 113 president Bob Kinnear echoed his Doyle’s sentiment.
“We’re not looking for parity with our TTC counterparts, all we’re looking to do is close the gap ... and make sure these employees don’t continue to fall further behind,” Kinnear said.
He pointed out that as of Jan. 1, York Region’s single zone fare will be going up to $3.50, an 8% increase from the current $3.25. Moreover, the taxpayer-funded transit subsidy in York Region is about $4 per ride, compared with about 90 cents in Toronto.
It’s business as usual for GO Transit users.
GO workers still have to vote on their new deal, so details of the contract won’t be released until it’s ratified.