Updated: Wed Aug. 20 2008 19:01:36
ctvwinnipeg.ca
Winnipeg Transit drivers have voted 57% in favour of a contract proposal negotiated between their union and the city. That means there will not be a strike.
The votes were tallied Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier this month City Council approved a settlement with the Amalgamated Transit Union; but there were rumors that bus drivers might not accept the deal.
Bus drivers that CTV News spoke with said they thought there was a 50/50 chance they could strike.
They said overtime, split shifts, and Sunday schedules were the biggest issue they had with the proposed contract.
The union says the close vote indicates there is still a moral problem among it members -- but they are committed to providing quality services to Winnipeggers.
The city and the union were in talks all week working to avoid a strike. They released a joint statement Tuesday.
Tune in for more details tonight on CTV News at 11:30.
Comments are now closed for this story
pam
this is in regards to "An Old Driver": you signed up for this job, I am pretty sure that you were given this information very early on. If you do not like it then you should retire and find something else, you cannot get mad at management for having the job that they have. They made the decision to get a management job and you made a decision to take yours, you choose your own happiness. If anyone doesn't like the work they do they should leave instead of spreading bitterness.
Some Winnipegger
Those who say "suck it up or quit", how would you feel if you were only given 5 minutes an hour to use the washroom in what amounts to a shack that makes a porto-poty look luxurious? No meal breaks. No coffee breaks (and apparently drivers are being disciplined for having beverages with them while on duty). Or being suspended (without pay of course) for letting a fare dodger on, even if you were physically threatened with a knife? Bus drivers have it as bad as paramedics in my opinion, they both provide a valuable service, and only when you need it do you realize how valuable they are. Cops and firefighters get all the glory and attention from the public and at City Hall, but we should realize that a lot of civic employees put up with a lot of garbage, and then to hear their fellow citizens say they should "suck it up or quit" just adds salt to the wound. Even though they didn't go on strike I would've supported the ATU on this one because transit drivers deserve better working conditions. And I'm a regular transit rider who would have needed to find alternate transport should the ATU have walked.
A stike may have finally forced the City administration and Council to give their heads a shake and do something about the horrible job they've been doing the past couple of years. I wonder if the $43-M that was earmarked for transit that Mr. Katz shifted to recreation (which strangely didn't prevent the closure of community centres) could have been used to hire more drivers and improve transit facilties and have avoided this problem in the first place?
I do give kudos to the ATU and the City for providing its riders adequate notice, unlike in other cities (Toronto) where the public was given literally an hour's notice before operators went on strike.
Angele
I take the bus to and from work everyday. Now if this strike goes as planned, i will be away from my 3 young children for 5 days out of the week so i can support my kids by going to work. My kids will not understand why it is that their mom has to stay somewhere's else to get to work. This is not fair to the bus riders. But on the other hand, i completley understand the concern and sympathize with the drivers. I just wanted to voice my opinion on the whole situation, i understand. Do i like it?? No, but these drivers need to be heard and respected.
Jamie
I completely support the drivers in this situation. The bus is a very unpleasant place to be in this city, primarily because of the people who abuse the rest of the social systems we have in place.
I'd like to see a reform in their union agreement that stipulates that drivers must NOT treat riders as if they're charity cases and look down their noses at them. Most don't, but the few that do make the trip a little more sour.
There have been people who have gagged because of the smell of other riders on the bus - I can only imagine what the bus driver doesn't allow to ride.
It's a horrible, horrible job, and should be treated much better to compensate. Many of us rely on the bus, myself included. This is due to awful city planning and suburban sprawl. The very least the city could do is make something that's become a necessity due to their incompetence a good job to have.
Erin
I hear there's going to be a strike (4 pm , Aug 20)I agree bus drivers should have better wages and less split shifts; however I don't have any other way to get around. No vehicle and no cash for cab fare. Let's get this sorted out people!
Daily Rider
I too, ride the bus each day, and have complete respect for our bus drivers. I see what they put up with, and from whatever situation, they always try their best to be friendly and courteous to all passengers. They deserve our support & respect and to be treated fairly.
fed-up
I too am a Transit bus operator and I'm unable to sit back and allow some of these comments to go unchallenged:
I'm wondering what some of these people would do in certain situations.
I've had more rocks thrown at me that I can count, eggs, bottles, watermelon, even a kids tricycle once, I've been slapped at, punched at, spit at, swore at until the air was blue, what would these people do if they were at work and someone threaten to come up and stick a shiv into them, (happened to me)
I wonder what they would do if someone opened their office door and threw a slurpee cup full of faeces on them, FACT! or a young woman walks into your office drops her jeans and has a bowel movement on the floor, FACT! happened 11:00 a.m. Confusion Corner. or if some spaced out doper starts punching at passengers, the driver intervenes and he is given 3 days off without pay and these things happen a lot, so its not just a matter of driving around and enjoying the scenery
I know I'm going to get a bunch of people saying..ahhh if you can't handle it quit blah...blah...but I believe in public transit..I want it to work...if we were to get the support from management that we get from our passengers we would not be in this position
Tara
Let's go the way of the horse.
John
I hope they do strike. It will force the City of Winnipeg to adjust their attitude when it comes to treating their transit drivers so poorly. They have enough money in their budget to accommodate any reasonable demand set fourth by the union.
One of the demands should be to have security cameras in all buses sooner than the three year time period that was mentioned earlier.
B. Friesen
Our Transit Drivers deserve better & safer working conditions as they put up with a lot of situations that are NOT reported on the daily news.
Whatever the decision, I'm prepared. I use Transit Monday-Friday & I consider my self lucky to have access to my vehicle.
Our Transit Drivers have put up with too much B.S. & they deserve better working conditions!!
As I see it, better working conditions for Transit Drivers means improved service for the rest of us.
GM
While I understand the concerns and arguments that the drivers have, I hope that even if they reject the offer that they choose to remain on the job and not strike.
Russ
If they could find people to do the job, they wouldn't be so short staffed now, would they?
Clem
Bus drivers, ask your union if they will strike with you. You know what the answer is to that. The unions are very quick to strike when it doesn't affect their pay cheques.
From all the comments I've read, it seems that pretty well everybody couldn't care less about you striking. Go ahead and strike, then maybe when your bills pile up you'll realize that the job is not that bad after all.
Irene
I rely on the bus every day to get to & from work. I am unable to drive, and have no other means of getting to work. I cannot afford a taxi every day, and it would take me 2 hours to walk each way. Please think of people like us who need this service as essential. I have no one to help me out. I have been ill, and out of sick days, and probably will have to take a leave of absence from work for the duration of the strike.
Kat
#32 Rider:
I agree that bus drivers should have better conditions. It's just that I don't know how I will get to work. Not everyone has an alternate way to get to work. I hope things can be settled without a strike.
Russ
Yes, we knew what the hours were when we started.
We trying to stop it from getting even WORSE.
Its as simple as that.
fed up
Dump the lot and hire someone who wants to work.
Susan
I am so sick of people taking a job and then complaining about what they have to do to do that job. No one is forced to be a bus driver. You know what the job consists of before going in. If you don't like the job, QUIT. It's as simple as that...
B.W.C.
Unions are only good for the lazy or union reps. The money you lose on strike you will never get back.
No one forced you to take this job, so if you don't like it be like the rest of us and get a better job. Everybody is sick of you union guys whining all the time.
#17 Bus Rider
Bus drivers should have much better working conditions and pay. They should be off at least every other weekend and have shorter work hours unless they receive some benefit. And by the way, people do have the right to stand up and take action in order to receive fair and humane working conditions - they do not have to find another job and be cowards.
A New Driver
Let me make this clear! the drivers DO NOT WANT AN ALL OUT STRIKE and some of us can not afford to strike we have new families and need to work on the most part we knew of the hours and some of the conditions that exist at transit and we took the job. but now the city is asking for more from us and that is too much, my children need me as much as I need this job so lets try and work this out and get on with it.
A daily rider
Why is it that when workers fight to make their lot better, people argue they should love their job or leave it?
Unionized workers brought us all minimum wages, vacation time, and the weekend.
To all the members of the Amalgamated Transit Union: Stand firm! While your "leaders" are more worried about "togetherness" with the employer (see their letter to the editor)you are doing the right thing for your selves, your families, and all workers.
Wendy Giesbrecht
why bash the bus drivers , if alot of them are surly then you can thank alot of riders for that and other rude drivers on the road for that and a few bike riders who think a bus can stop on a dime.
I for one would never apply for a job like that not even for 25 bucks an hour , my hats off to all the bus drivers out there even the surly ones .
I say do what you have to.
A bus rider
THIS IS SO UNFAIR. I ride the bus everywhere, what the heck am I suppose to do if the drivers strike. I can't afford taxis everywhere.
I have heard so much about Winnipeg getting rapid transit. Why not use that money to help these drivers out. Without them, this city would be full of cars and traffic would be even worse then it is now.
Please lets hope that the drivers and the city can work together to avoid this at all costs.
I love the transit system. Help me save money.
Transit Tom
I am a former transit operator. I quit when it started to affect my home life. Working 12-14 hour days, every weekend, and running on empty all the time takes its toll. My marriage was suffering and we were still practically newly weds.
Money is secondary in this strike. The drivers want fewer splits, less weekends, and better working conditions.
Vote NO.
www.peever.org/transit-tom
north
well strike if you want. ill drive fulltime since the bus service is kind of crappy anyway. rude bossy drivers and the unwashed masses. overpriced fares is a factor also. i know some drivers are awesome, but the stinkers really ruin the effect the good ones give you.
Andy in Winnipeg
In regards to the first comment...If you don't like the wage and hours then why not find a better job? There's a ton of jobs for drivers!
Supporter
I am not a fan of unions for the most part, I think they protect the lazy. However, I think that the drivers have quite possibly the worst job in the government. The things that they have to put up with and the abuse that they deal with. The lack of better scheduling is not the drivers issue, people need to complain to the government. A strike would really inconvenience me and alot of people, but I guess that is the point. STRIKE!
CB
A note to An old driver.
When bus drivers accept the job they also accept the hours that they work. If they don't like it, get another job. No job is perfect.
Garrett
And the city wants more people to use transit to improve the environment? Both sides stop squabbling and offer a service which is effective and convenient. Until then, I love my car.
An old driver
STRIKE GUYS!
Anyone who thinks it's a wonderful job should sign-up for one weekend off ever 6 weeks, not to mention spending up to 12 hours a day in uniform just to get paid for 7.5 hours.
If management thinks this is such wonderful working conditions then why in the last 30 years haven't they changed their 8 to 4 schedule over to that of A group?
Before EPC and it's marvelous leader speak-up about how great a job it is, let me know when their butts are in the drivers seat for a period of time not less than 10 full weeks.
Then and only then whatever they say - I'll listen to.
Oh and lets not forget that fabulous starting wage that's' attracting hundreds of people to come and apply ever week. That's 12.00 per hour.
Any one out there want to give up your freedom and life for 12 bucks and hours?
Nope - I didn't think so
Time to strike.
