Media Advisory: Unifor opens contract negotiations with Coast Mountain Bus Company (TransLink)

SURREY, BC, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Members of Unifor Locals 111 and 2200 will open bargaining February 23 with Coast Mountain Bus Company.

Unifor members share an important goal with the region's transit ridership: more busses and more bus service," said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. "Transit operators were on the front lines of the pandemic and maintenance staff kept the vehicles running. Transit workers are vital to the Lower Mainland's economy and they deserve fair wages that keep pace with inflation."

WHAT:	Unifor comments following the first day of bargaining
WHEN:	Thursday, February 23 at 12 p.m.
WHERE:	Lobby of the Sheraton Guildford Hotel, Surrey B.C.
WHO:	Unifor Western Regional Director Gavin McGarrigle and the joint Unifor Local 111 and 2200 bargaining committee

The Metro Vancouver mayors' transit plan calls for hundreds of more busses to be added in the next decade.

Unifor represents more than 4,000 transit operators and nearly 1,100 skilled trades and support workers. During bargaining in 2019, talks broke down and transit workers took various forms of job action, including overtime bans and uniform bans.

A failure to reach a fair settlement in the Sea to Sky transit negotiations in 2021 led to the longest transit strike in B.C.'s history.

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

SOURCE Unifor

For media inquiries or to arrange interviews via FaceTime, Zoom, or Skype please contact Unifor Communications Representative Ian Boyko at [email protected] or 778-903-6549 (cell)