Latest news with #AmalgamatedTransitUnion
Ottawa Citizen
23-07-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Denley: Some Ottawa city councillors want a big pay raise. They shouldn't get it.
Some Ottawa city councillors are quietly working on a proposal to give themselves a double-digit raise. To call the idea untimely would be an understatement. Ottawa is facing significant public service layoffs, our city government is struggling with a transit deficit, and the city is in negotiations with eight unions. Article content Still, some councillors want more money. How much and when have been the subject of discussions at City Hall for weeks. A notice of motion proposing a raise is expected soon, but it's not yet clear whether the pro-raise group constitutes a majority of council. Article content Article content Article content Coun. Riley Brockington, for one, passed up the opportunity to talk pay raises in an interview. In a statement, he said, 'Talks have been ongoing with members of council for many months, with a number of options being considered. The motion has not yet been finalized and a few discussions are still needed.' Article content The perceived need for higher pay stems from recent big raises for Toronto city councillors and provincial MPPs, councillors say. In March, Toronto city councillors awarded themselves a stunning $33,000 raise, pushing their salaries from $137,537 to $170,588. MPPs, whose salaries had been frozen since 2009, boosted their pay from $116,500 to $157,350, still considerably less than what a Toronto city councillor makes. Article content In Ottawa, salaries of between $137,000 and $150,000 have been discussed by councillors. They currently make $119,654. In 2022, when they were elected, the job paid $111,000. Since then, councillors have received three annual increments of 2.5 per cent, a figure tied to the raises for non-unionized managers at the city. Article content Article content It's convenient for Ottawa councillors to point to the pay of their Toronto counterparts, but the workload is not the same. Ottawa has 24 councillors to serve 1.1 million people. Toronto has 25 councillors and three million people. Article content Article content A better comparator can be found in a consulting report presented to councillors in January. The consulting firm MNP compared Ottawa to other major Canadian cities and concluded, 'We have found that the current remuneration for elected officials in Ottawa aligns with the median market rate. Therefore, data-driven results across comparators' research do not indicate that a salary increase is needed presently.' Article content Even if councillors could make a good case for more money, and they can't, the timing of such a request is lousy. Among the unions the city is currently negotiating with are the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the city's two largest. A big raise for councillors would be like gold for union officials at the negotiating table.
CTV News
02-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Edmonton transit workers get 3% raise a year after reaching agreement with city
After nearly a year of negotiating, the City of Edmonton has finalized a new collective bargaining agreement with transit workers. Workers who are part of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 569 will receive a three-per-cent raise each year until Dec. 11, 2027. The previous agreement ended on Dec. 31, 2023, meaning workers will get retroactive pay. 'We are pleased to finally have a ratified collective agreement,' said ATU 569 president Steve Bradshaw in a statement Wednesday. 'Though not all of our objectives were achieved, this outcome sets us on a path to continue working towards achieving those pending objectives in future rounds of bargaining.' Bradshaw said collective bargaining is a complicated practice at the best of times – and this round was no different. 'It is to everyone's credit that we come away from the table, not only with a new collective agreement in place, but also with our collaborative working relationship intact.' The agreement also includes increased shift differential pay, increased footwear allowances and increased enhancement to health benefits. There are over 2,500 transit workers in the city including bus drivers, maintenance personnel and other transit employees. 'These are difficult jobs, they have been difficult jobs for a while,' said Ward pihêsiwin Coun. Tim Cartmell. 'I think it's a reasonable and fair deal.' Cartmell, who is also running for mayor, said council heard workers were also feeling financial pressures with COVID-19 inflation. Ward Dene Coun. Aaron Paquette said increased safety measures that were voted on by council earlier this summer will increase safety for transit workers, something that has been top of mind, especially for those working downtown. 'We've had infinite incidents and we've had people feeling unsafe,' said Paquette. 'We've been through a really dark time post-COVID, I think everyone can recognize that.' 'These are good moves and I think we have turned the corner on the dark times of COVID.' The city and the ATU began negotiations on Aug. 14, 2024.
CTV News
10-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
City, transit union reach tentative agreement
The city and ETS workers reached a tentative agreement on Monday following months of negotiations. ETS workers are represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 569. The ATU will hold a ratification vote with its members in the coming days. The City of Edmonton did not provide further details as the process is still ongoing. 'Both parties are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that balances the needs of Edmonton transit workers while considering the sustainability of city finances,' said a statement issued by the city Tuesday. The city and the ATU began negotiations on Aug. 14, 2024, and have met for 17 bargaining and mediation sessions since then. The last contract ended on Dec. 30, 2023. The tentative agreement, which needs to be ratified by both parties before coming into effect, will cover a four-year term from Dec. 31, 2023 to Dec. 11, 2027.
CTV News
07-06-2025
- CTV News
Plan to better shield Winnipeg bus drivers moving ahead
Jeff Keele reports on the city's search for a manufacturer to build an improved shield to protect bus drivers. The City of Winnipeg has released an expression of interest to see if someone can make an extension or full shield to completely surround drivers on transit buses. Shields were installed on all city buses in 2019, following the 2017 stabbing death of a driver. Right now they cover most of the area around the driver's seat. Amalgamated Transit Union President Chris Scott said it protects drivers from getting sucker punched from behind but still leaves them vulnerable. 'Now assailants have become more brazen and they're now reaching around the shield to get at the operator to the point where they're even grabbing the steering wheel, which puts everybody on the bus and outside the bus in jeopardy,' said Scott. Public Works Committee Chair, Coun. Janice Lukes, agrees. 'It's a different world now, unfortunately, it is a different world now, it's a crazy world,' said Lukes. Both Lukes and Scott say the option to replace the current ones with a full shield might make the most sense for both safety and cost. 'I'm hoping it comes back and we get a reasonable price on a full wrap-around (shield). That's what I'm hoping for,' said Lukes. 'If an extension is going to cost $10,000 to $15,000 and we can find a full enclosure for that price from a provider, then why not put the smart money on the full enclosure?' said Scott. Lukes said there is around $2.4 million in the budget for the shield upgrades. She said that might not be enough to retrofit all 600 buses but suggested the province could help foot the bill.
CBC
05-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Winnipeg Transit considering shield extensions or full enclosures to better protect drivers
Social Sharing Winnipeg Transit is exploring options for new shields to provide increased safety to drivers. Currently, all buses in the fleet have partial shields, which the city installed in response to rising concerns about violence, including the stabbing death of driver Jubal Fraser in 2017. The union representing drivers says safety remains a problem for both operators and passengers, after it recorded 37 safety incidents on Winnipeg Transit buses in April — the highest monthly total since it began tracking in 2020, it said. Now, the city has put out an expression of interest as it considers whether to install extensions to the existing shields, or move to a fully enclosed safety barrier. Chris Scott, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, says he strongly supports the latter option. "We want the city to spend the taxpayers' money wisely," and shield extensions wouldn't do that, he said. "To spend money on an extension at the risk of the assaults or security incidents escalating only means that in the future, they'll have to invest in full compartment enclosures anyway." The partial barriers were installed to prevent people running up and "sucker-punching" drivers, but people have now figured out ways to get around them, Scott said. "If we go with just the extension, that will be effective in the short term. But in the long term … [attackers] will adapt to further escalate their levels of violence." The City of Winnipeg budgeted $2.7 million for the new shields in 2024. Public works committee chair Coun. Janice Lukes doesn't believe that will be enough on its own to outfit every bus in the fleet, but she hopes other funding, like the Canada public transit fund announced by the federal government earlier this year, could be used to cover the full cost. Scott says he has heard conflicting reports about the relative costs of shield extensions versus full enclosures. Extensions can cost between $10,000 and $12,000. Some reports have indicated full enclosures would run about the same price, but others have listed prices for full enclosures as high as $25,000. Although she hasn't made up her mind regarding which option she prefers, Lukes says she's open to purchasing the full shields if the drivers want them. "I want what works best to keep the staff safe," the Waverley West councillor said. "If the staff feel a full shield will do the job, if we can get a full shield at a reasonable price, why wouldn't we do that?"
