Transit strike blocks plows during snowfall
Posted Mar 5, 2012 09:50:41 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Striking Metro Transit workers spent a snowy morning commute blocking public works vehicles including snow plows and salt trucks on Monday.
It’s just the latest job action in the nearly five-week-long labour dispute between the Amalgamated Transit Union and Metro Transit management.
“We’ve just established a new picket line and we’re holding our picket line for five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes,” union president Ken Wilson told News 95.7.
The picket lines were set up at Burnside, Cowie Hill and MacIntosh public works locations where all vehicles coming and going were delayed. The demonstration is similar to one the union held during its five-week-long strike in 1998.
Some drivers on Monday were only held up between two and five minutes. Some were held up longer, and some called it a safety concern.
“I went in at 7 o’clock to reload my truck to make the city streets safe and was held up by the transit worker both in and out,” plow operator Randy told Maritime Morning. “I don’t think it’s right that they should be holding us up. City snow removal has nothing to do with transit workers. The fact that I’m being held up, the streets are unsafe in Sackville where I plow.”
Callers to the talk show were not voicing support for the union’s action.
“I think it was a very poor judgment on the part of the union to block all the salt trucks,” Judy told Maritime Morning. “I think that tactic is both terrible from a PR perspective and it would be very interesting should a liability result.”
“They don’t care about the public,” Don told the station. “All they’re concerned with is how deep they can get their pockets and people are starting to get P.O.ed.”
“At one point there were nine plows waiting to move,” said a different Randy.
Wilson said the union’s demonstration was not affecting safety and that if there was a major snow storm picketers would not be holding up public works vehicles.
At least two of the three picket lines remained until 9 a.m.
