Talks with striking GO Transit workers moved up after union slams Metrolinx for delaying negotiations

The union representing over 2,000 GO Transit workers will meet with Metrolinx tomorrow after slamming the transit agency for delaying bargaining talks and prolonging a strike they say should never have happened.

GO bus service has been suspended since Monday following a decision by ATU Local 1587 members to walk off the job. The strike comes after seven months of contract negotiations.

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) says Metrolinx first reached out with an offer for the two sides to resume talks on Friday but ATU Local 1587 president Rob Cormier says after the union pushed for an earlier date, Metrolinx agreed to meet Thursday.

Metrolinx, for its part, has previously accused the union of “walking away from negotiations on Sunday afternoon.”

“We can’t understand why they are delaying to meet at the table,” John Di Nino, national ATU president, said at a press conference Wednesday morning.

Di Nino said Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney and Premier Doug Ford should also be at the table, helping to get a deal done. He says it’s inexplicable that they’ve been absent over the course of the negotiations which have been ongoing for months.

“One would assume that Caroline Mulroney, being the transportation minister, would have taken an active role in saying: ‘Hey Metrolinx, lets get to the bargaining table and let’s get this resolved.’ She has been absent through seven months of negotiations,” said Di Nino.

“This government is failing the province and the taxpayers.”

Mulroney told reporters Wednesday morning that the province wants to make sure the two sides can reach an agreement soon so that GO bus service can resume.

"Metrolinx has been negotiating with the ATU since April," Mulroney said. "When they do get back together, it will be the 21st bargaining session, so we're going to continue to support Metrolinx as they continue to work to get a good deal with the ATU."

ATU International Vice President and lead negotiator for the union Manny Sforza said that his team never walked away from the bargaining table, but had to call for a strike because Metrolinx wanted to keep negotiating for at least another four weeks. 

Sforza said he was optimistic over the weekend that a tentative deal could be reached because both sides had agreed in principle to the three main issues that union members wanted addressed in their new contract.

Sforza said the first issue members wanted resolved was to revise the language in their contract around the contracting-out of work, which he says both sides had agreed to verbally over the weekend.

The second issue involved half-time work, which Sforza said was addressed in a written proposal that Metronlinx had also agreed to.

The third issue, according to Sforza, involved converting a number of part-time station attendants to full-time workers. He said that Metrolinx verbally agreed to this as well as part of a larger business plan, but wouldn’t put it in writing.

“If it’s a business plan and you’re going to do it, put the three items on the table and we’ll settle a strike that should have never happened,” said Sforza.

Sforza said Metrolinx’s agreement in principle to these items was contingent on the union agreeing to four more weeks of negotiations “to go back to their members and consult.”

Sforza said there’s no reason why the two sides can’t already be back at the table and added that he wants an enquiry into the negotiations for bad-faith bargaining by Metrolinx.

“Why would a government agency do this? I think they want to punish members financially for going on strike. It’s the most outrageous thing I’ve ever seen at the bargaining table,” said Sforza.

ATU International President, John Costa, who flew in earlier this week from the U.S., said it’s unusual for two sides not to be at the bargaining table during a strike of essential workers such as transit employees.

“When you’re on strike, you’re usually still at the table. When you’re on strike, you’re usually trying to settle it for the public,” said Costa.

“I just want to say to the workers that are on the lines, my members, our members – hold the line, we support you.”

Metrolinx has previously said that there will be no GO bus service until further notice because of the strike, but GO trains and UP Express trains continue to operate.

The agency said new issues were raised over the weekend which couldn’t be addressed in time to avert the job action. 

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With files from the Canadian Press