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Stalled transit talks slow Blue Buses Union declares overtime ban after bargaining breaks down
JANE SEYD jseyd@nsnews.com
Some bus riders in Caulfeild, Dundarave and those hoping to get home to West Vancouver from UBC or Capilano University found themselves cooling their heels at bus stops Monday and Tuesday as the first stage of a bus drivers’ strike hit the West Vancouver Blue Bus system.
Some buses on specific routes were either running late or were cancelled entirely both days as the union representing West Vancouver Blue Bus drivers and mechanics put an overtime ban in place as the first stage of job action following a breakdown in mediated bargaining talks. Several buses including those on routes between downtown Vancouver and Horseshoe Bay, Dundarave and Caulfeild, and those between West Vancouver and Capilano University and UBC were among those affected. “I’m very disappointed,” said West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith. “We’re in the business of providing service to residents. One of the services they value is transit services. The union has seen fit to go on strike and use our citizens as a strategy. It’s completely unnecessary.” Mediated talks between the municipality and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 134 broke down on
Bus riders in West Vancouver wait at a busy stop at the Park Royal shopping centre Monday afternoon. Runs on some bus routes were cancelled Monday and Tuesday after unionized bus drivers and mechanics instituted an overtime ban when bargaining talks broke down. PHOTO CINDY GOODMAN Friday when mediator Grant McArthur booked out of talks because the two sides were too far apart. The union had served 72-hour strike notice prior to the Labour Day weekend in September after receiving a 100 per cent strike vote from its members. Job action had been on hold as long as mediated talks continued. The overtime ban means when a bus gets delayed and a driver might have to work longer to complete the route, that doesn’t happen, said Jeff
McDonald, spokesman for the district. If a driver calls in sick and another driver would have to work overtime to replace them, “they won’t do that either,” he added. The municipality is posting a list of impacted bus routes on its website. Both sides blamed the other for the breakdown in talks. Union spokesman Bill Tieleman said the dispute between the union and the
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City delays vote on LoLo BIA after counter-bid fails to stop motion MARIA SPITALE-LEISK mspitale-leisk@nnews.com
A proposed Lower Lonsdale business improvement area has earned enough support from landowners, but is still awaiting council’s blessing before it can go ahead.
City council opted Monday to defer the BIA decision, a motion made by Coun. Holly Back who requested staff report back with a clearer picture of how much the BIA levy would cost individual business owners. The deferral comes on the heels of a counter-petition that recorded opposition to the BIA from 31 per cent of
the area’s landowners – well short of the majority needed to defeat the proposal. The BIA has proposed a $500,000 annual operating budget set to be divided proportionally amongst property owners, which would likely be downloaded to tenants.
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