Agreement reached for 1 group in Ontario transit strike

Viva bus workers to vote on tentative agreement on Jan. 26

A tentative agreement has been reached with one group of striking workers in the York Region transit strike.

Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113, announced it reached an agreement on Jan. 24 with Veolia Transportation, the company that manages the region’s Viva bus service.

UPDATE: Union ratifies agreement with Veolia Transportation in York Region transit strike

ATU Local 113 said in a statement it will be recommending its 220 members accept the offer when a ratification vote is held Jan. 26.
Details on the agreement will not be released until it is ratified.

The three-month long strike can be blamed on York Region chairman Bill Fisch, said Local 113 president Bob Kinnear in a press release.

"With the early termination of the First Student contract, we now know he had the contractual authority to direct the private contractors to arbitrate our differences,” Kinnear said. “York Region residents and taxpayers should be demanding an explanation of what Fisch thinks was gained by his refusal to exercise this authority three months ago."

York Region terminated its agreement with First Student on Jan. 16.

Veolia Transportation has not commented on the agreement.

This tentative settlement is not tied to negotiations between ATU Local 1587 and Miller Transit and First Student, the union said in the release.

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