A complete Metro Vancouver bus strike prevented thousands of locals from making it to work, school, and other appointments starting in the wee hours of Monday, Jan. 22, morning.
The strike is slated to end 48 hours after it commenced — but there is a possibility it could continue — or even be expanded to other transit services.
University of British Columbia (UBC) professor emeritus Mark Thompson says the union was “being nice” by putting a timeframe on its job action. While the 48-hour strike affects thousands of people across the region, most unions strike indefinitely.
“That’s why I’m calling it a shot across the bow,” he told V.I.A., characterizing the job action as a type of “wake-up call” or “last resort.”
While he feels fairly confident CUPE 4500 — the union representing transit supervisors, including bus and mechanical — will reach an agreement with Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) before the end of the two-day strike window, there is a possibility they won’t.
The union is asking for wages commensurate with SkyTrain Field Supervisors — who it says do equivalent work — that would work out to less than 0.05% of Coast Mountain’s 2024 budget for wages, salaries and benefits.
But CMBC says the roles are incomparable because SkyTrain Field Supervisors are responsible for directly managing employees, including hiring, firing and disciplining, which are duties that bus supervisors don’t perform.
TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn told reporters at a press conference Monday afternoon that the company is already looking at a structural deficit of $4.6 billion over the next 10 years and that “the ripple effect of the union’s demands [would] be in the order of $250 million.”
“Now is not the time to be demanding wage increases that are far beyond everyone else,” he said.
If an agreement isn’t reached before 3 a.m. Wednesday, several outcomes are possible.
Vince Ready has been appointed by the province as a mediator between the union and its employer. While has “a good track record of success,” he wasn’t able to facilitate an agreement between the two parties over the weekend, noted Thompson.
Metro Vancouver bus strike could be expanded to the SkyTrain
CUPE 4500 representative Liam O’Neill said in a media availability Monday afternoon that the union put in a “solid effort” over 20 hours on the weekend to reach a deal with CMBC to avoid service disruptions.
“Coast Mountain attempted to bully us into accepting their proposal,” he said. “There is a long-standing wage discrepancy that we’re trying fix.”
CUPE 4500 will continue its overtime ban at the end of the 48-hour strike and will plan its “next escalation” if a deal isn’t made.
“Since it’s an escalation, that means more than our current one,” O’Neill warned. “We’ll be announcing something at some point.”
The union has applied to the BC Labour Relations Board for expanded job action, which could include expanding its picket lines to the SkyTrain.
“We do have a complaint in with the board and we’re waiting for that to go through the process,” he told reporters. “It’s an ally application and if we are successful, TransLink or the SkyTrain would act as an ally.”
If the union expands its job action to the SkyTrain, TransLink would face a complete shutdown of its transportation network.
“This is a small union but they can have a disproportionate impact if they can expand [this strike action],” Thompson said.
It’s also in the incumbent New Democratic Party’s “DNA that they don’t want to order people to go back to work,” he said. This means the government can and will most likely try a variety of strategies to reach an agreement before forcing the CMBC employees back on the job, he added.
Talks previously broke down between the union and CMBC after their collective agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2022; the parties didn’t start bargaining until Oct. 16, 2023.
The union voted 100 per cent in favour of strike action on Dec. 22, 2023.
TransLink advises riders to stay up to date with the bus service by signing up for Transit Alerts, consulting its Trip Planner, following @TransLink on X (formerly Twitter) or by calling the customer information desk at 604-953-3333 (translation services are available in over 300 languages).
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.
In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
