Union wants arbitration to end HandyDart strike
The longer HandyDart vehicles remain off the road, the more money TransLink saves.
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Updated: November 10, 2009 5:50 PM
It's time to get HandyDart back on the road to serve seniors and the disabled.
That's the position the union representing striking drivers is taking.
The Amalgamated Transit Union local 1724 is asking U.S.-based MVT Canadian Bus, which manages the custom transit service, to agree to binding arbitration to end the strike that's now in its third week.
"There's no doubt it's hurting the riders," said union local president Dave Watt.
While the union agreed last month not to try to force arbitration in the dispute, Watt said the ATU is now asking MVT to voluntarily agree to appoint an arbitrator.
HandyDart service could resume quickly while mediated negotiations continue, with an arbitrated decision being handed down if necessary.
But MVT officials rejected the idea late Tuesday.
"Our position has been and still is we want to sit down with the union and negotiate," said Zdenka Buric, a public relations consultant hired to speak for MVT.
"If the union comes to the table, we think we can work through all of the outstanding issues."
Talks collapsed last week and have not yet resumed.
TransLink's door-to-door custom transit service has been shut down since picket lines went up Oct. 26, with roughly 12 per cent of medically essential trips for dialysis or cancer treatment continuing under an essential services designation.
Most regular users of the service have been stranded or forced to find alternate transportation.
Watt said it may take pressure from a combination of HandyDart users and TransLink to persuade MVT to consider arbitration.
"We've put out the olive branch," he said. "Now the ridership has to get involved and TransLink has to get involved."
TransLink last year awarded MVT a three-year $113-million contract to run HandyDart.
Watt says there appears to be little urgency for the company to settle.
TransLink owns the HandyDart vehicles and pays rent on the depots and properties, so MVT assets aren't sitting idle during the strike.
The only cash MVT is out is manager salaries, he said.
Meanwhile, he questions TransLink's interest in a quick resolution of the strike because the transportation authority is saving money.
TransLink only pays MVT for the trips that are provided, which means it saves hundreds of thousands of dollars every week the strike continues.
"They can't sit back and say 'This has nothing to do with us,'" Watt said. "They're the ones that issue the contracts, they pay all the bills and they're the ones that hired MVT."
Spokesperson Judy Rudin denied TransLink wishes to see the dispute prolonged, but said a resolution depends on the union and the company resolving their differences.
MVT replaced several other HandyDart providers at the beginning of this year.
The dispute centres on how generous a pension plan and benefits will be provided to the consolidated group of employees.
The company put a final offer to union members Oct. 30 but it was overwhelmingly rejected.
