Striking bus drivers rally in Newmarket

As the transit strike in York Region enters its fourth day, hundreds of bus drivers gathered in Newmarket for a rally Thursday.

About 600 bus drivers walked off the job Monday and so far, no new contract talks are scheduled. The workers haven’t picketed so as not to further inconvenience riders. Thursday’s rally marks the first public protest since the strike began.

“You stay on that picket line as long as it takes, until you get some dignity and some respect from this employer,” Sid Ryan, the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, said at the rally.

“Tell the chairman that it’s time to fish or cut bait! It’s time that he got involved in this strike. He’s got the responsibility to make certain that 50,000 commuters have their transit system back again. The only way to get it back is to get the workers with dignity and respect and to get them a decent collective agreement,” Ryan said.

The rally, which got underway at 10:30 a.m., is being held at York Region headquarters on Yonge Street near Davis Drive and is aimed at municipal politicians.

“Every generation that’s come here has discovered two things. One is that there’s an opportunity for prosperity. But secondly, without a union, that prosperity is not shared. You need a trade union to raise the standards in your workplace and your communities,” John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, said.

The strike involves Veolia Transportation, Miller Transit and First Canada workers.

Veolia is under contract to operate five VIVA bus routes in York Region and its workers are represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113.

“We are coming to the Region of York headquarters to make our point that this strike is a problem that must be addressed by the politicians who caused it through privatization of what should be a publicly-owned and operated service,” Bob Kinnear, president of ATU Local 113, which represents the VIVA workers, said in a statement.

Miller is under contract to operate 51 bus routes in Richmond Hill, Markham, Whitchurch-Stouffville and some routes in Vaughan. First Canada runs 29 routes in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Georgina and East Gwillimbury. The ATU local 1587 represents their workers.

The ATU says the main issues are wages and benefits. Ray Doyle, president of Local 1587, says YRT drivers earn 40 per cent less than their counterparts around the GTA.

Shift lengths are also an issue. The union said members are expected to work 16-hour split shifts.

“The members are very determined to stick this one out,” Doyle said in a statement Wednesday.

“They are tired of being treated as second-class workers when, in fact, they provide York Region passengers with a first-class service.”

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