Blue Bus drivers in West Van vote 96% in favour of strike as contract negotiations crawl

Bus drivers and mechanics who are members of West Vancouver’s Blue Bus union have voted 96 per cent in favour of a strike if they can’t get a contract deal with the municipality.

But union reps said this week they are still optimistic that a deal may be reached in talks scheduled for next week.

Approximately 150 members of the Blue Bus union voted in favour of a strike Tuesday.

The strike vote means the union can now give the district 72 hours notice of any planned job action.

Amalgamated Transit Union president Cornel Neagu said that won’t happen immediately.

Three days of talks are scheduled between the union and the municipality next week, May 6-9.

Neagu said working conditions and benefits are the major sticking points in the talks. The union says Blue Bus drivers are “way way behind” working conditions and benefits that TransLink drivers who work for Coast Mountain Bus in the rest of Metro Vancouver receive.

“West Vancouver is the richest community in the region and paying our members the poorest benefits and working conditions is not acceptable,” said Neagu.

Some issues in the contract dispute include the union’s request for more “recovery time” for driver washroom breaks built into bus schedules, split shifts on weekends and workers being required to pay 100 per cent of their premiums for long-term disability benefits, according to the union.

The district maintains that recovery time and washroom breaks have always been built into the schedule but were not formally written into the collective agreement.

Wages for regular bus drivers range from $22/hour to $36.73/hour, depending on length of service. Wages for shuttle bus drivers range from about $27/hour to $33.73/hour.

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 134 represents 150 bus drivers and mechanics who operate and maintain West Vancouver’s Blue Bus system of 64 buses that transport about 18,000 passenger trips per day.

The union’s last contract expired March 31, 2024.

Earlier attempts at mediated talks did not result in a deal.

Blue Bus union members last went on strike in West Vancouver in 2016 – the first time in 100 years. A full strike lasted about 10 hours before talks resumed and a new contract was settled.