CUPE Local 4500 will begin a 48-hour strike and shut down all bus services, including the SeaBus, at 3 a.m. this Monday if no new collective agreement is reached.
The anticipated strike would affect all bus service to UBC. In the case of a strike, UBC will remain open, but in-person learning activities may move online, according the university.
CUPE Local 4500 represents over 180 Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) transit supervisors, a TransLink subsidiary responsible for bus service.
Unifor Locals 111 and 2200, who represent 4,000 bus drivers and 1,100 skilled trades and support workers, will support the strike. According to TransLink, the SkyTrain, the West Coast Express and HandyDART will not be affected by the strike.
The union and CMBC have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement after the last one expired in December 2022. On December 12, 2023, with no deal reached, workers voted 100 per cent in favour of a strike. The CUPE Local 4500 press release names “wage discrepancies and workload issues” as main issues.
In a statement released by CMBC, President and General Manager Michael McDaniel wrote the CMBC “urge[s] the union to immediately end their job action and return to the bargaining table with realistic expectations,” calling an alleged demand for a 25 per cent wage increase “unreasonable.”
According to union spokesperson Liam O’Neill, the union has not asked for “a 25 percent across-the-board wage increase,” but for CMBC to address the fact that “some of our members are getting paid far less than other TransLink workers doing the same jobs."
Thandi Fletcher, senior media strategist at UBC media relations recommended staff members speak to their supervisors about working alternative arrangements and students look for communication from their instructions.