OTTAWA ? Members of OC Transpo?s largest union are voting Friday on whether to accept a contract offer from the city.
Polls are open until 10 p.m. and results may not be available until after midnight.
About 2,500 members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 have been working without a contract since March.
The proposal would extend the collective agreement of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 only to next March, giving its 2,500 or so bus drivers, mechanics and dispatchers a two-per-cent raise and promising to require that bidders on the city?s light-rail project (which includes a long-term contract to maintain the system) use ATU 279 workers for maintenance work.
The surprise offer came without any formal negotiations between union and management bargaining teams: the union had wanted to sit down at the table in September while the city preferred to wait until December. Since the union went on a two-month strike in winter 2008 and 2009 that was only resolved by arbitration under the threat of being legislated back to work by the federal government ? and the city won on its key demand that management gain more control over union members? work schedules ? both sides have been anticipating rocky talks that ended in another strike or possibly a lockout.
A later start to bargaining would likely have led to a later breakdown, which would have given the city a little more leverage, since a work stoppage wouldn?t hurt as much in warmer weather. Having a new contract expire in the spring seems to achieve the same effect, since negotiations on the next contract would start in December under this proposal.
dreevely@ottawacitizen.com
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Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F291/~3/gyfNq-vZ8ZA/story.html
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