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Halifax Metro Transit workers strike

(Global News) 96,000 commuters in Halifax Regional Municipality will have to do without public ferry and bus services for a while after transit workers began striking early this morning. Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508 met with HRM's bargaining team twice yesterday in an effort to reach an agreement in the final hours before the strike, but talks fell through. One of the transit worker's demands is for rostering - means that bus drivers would be allowed to pick their shifts, with experienced drivers getting first choice. Metro Transit presented the union with two offers yesterday - one with rostering and a 3.5 per cent raise over three years and another for a six per cent wage increase over three years without rostering - but both were rejected. The last Metro Transit strike was 14 years ago.

1.

Metro Transit tried to avoid strike

Metro Transit
In a bulletin released on the Halifax Regional Municipality Metro Transit website, it states that negotiations have been taking place with the union since September, 2011. The transit workers' contract expired on Aug. 31, 2011. Metro Transit says a conciliator was appointed in August, but an agreement between the two sides could not be reached before last night's strike deadline. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508 rejected multiple offers presented by HRM in the hopes of avoiding a strike. One of the union's sticking points was HRM's ability to contract out work and hire part-time employees. At one of the final negotiations, HRM agreed to remove both of those items from the proposed contract. Despite this, an agreement still could not be reached before 1:35 a.m. today.

2.

Dalhousie's strike contingency plan

Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University released a strike contingency plan for its students, staff and faculty that normally use public transit to get to campus. The university is encouraging people to carpool and has establish the Twitter hashtag #DalRides to connect stranded commuters with drivers. The Hancock parking lot has also been designated as a carpool only lot, restricted to vehicles with a minimum of three passengers. While classes continue as usual, faculty is being asked to accommodate students that cannot make it to campus and post class material online. Dalhousie is also considering renting cots in the event of a winter storm that forces people to remain on campus overnight.

3.

Labour council in solidarity with workers

Halifax - Dartmouth and District Labour Council
Although the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508 website has not been updated since Jan. 24, the Halifax - Dartmouth and District Labour Council's (HDDLC) website is flooded with support for the transit workers. A sidebar provides lyrics to a chant about the wheels on the bus not going around anymore, while comments about solidarity with the transit workers are overtaking their Twitter feed. The HDDLC says it represents over 25,000 workers in HRM. The home page has a list of ways in which people can support the union, including calling Mayor Peter Kelly's cell phone, contacting individual councilors and putting a "We support our transit workers" poster in your window.

4.

Kijiji car-share pages flooded

Kijiji
Kijiji is a free classified website that allows users to post items and services that they want to buy, sell or swap. This week, the Halifax carpool and ride-share pages have exploded in light of the transit strike. There are currently 315 advertisements offering rides, and 375 users looking for rides. Most people are looking for rides to and from areas outside of peninsular Halifax, including Dartmouth, Hammonds Plains, Sackville and Bedford. In exchange for a ride, stranded commuters are offering to pay their share of gas.

5.

Halifax isn't alone

York Region Transit
While today is the first day of a transit strike in Halifax, commuters in York, Ontario have been without public transit since Oct. 24, 2011. However, according to the York Region Transit (YRT) website, service is set to resume on Feb. 4 as the municipality recently struck a deal with Miller Transit employees. The new contract was approved by 80 per cent of the transit workers and will last for the next five years. Because the strike lasted for over 14 weeks, YRT is implementing a driver re-training program to ensure that commuters are safe when on the buses. As an apology to commuters, York is offering free transit service for the next two months.