'Please don't cancel service': Riders beg Transit Windsor and ATU to ink a deal and keep buses rolling

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 616 has given the City of Windsor a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. Monday Jan. 15.

“It's going to impact thousands and thousands of people and they need to resolve this,” rider Mike Rainone said Friday.

He said he uses five Transit Windsor buses per day; six days a week.

“Come to some conclusion. Make an agreement. Either that or don't cancel the service. Please don't cancel service while you're going through negotiations. This is an essential service to us,” Rainone said.

“I think it's terrible,” said rider Kelly Girard. “Everybody needs the bus to get around, to get to employment, to get to their kids, you know what I mean? There's places they need to be.”

ATU Local 616 represents nearly 300 employees including customer service, administration, mechanics and maintenance workers.

The biggest group of members is the drivers, at 220.

Across the bargaining unit, however, the same issues remain outstanding, according to International Vice-President Manny Sforza.

“In the last three days we’ve found some common ground (but) there's still a long way to go,” he said Friday.

Sforza says the typical issues of working conditions, health and safety, scheduling and of course wages are all still on the table.

“The industry standard right now is between three and four per cent. A lot of (transit authorities) have gotten 3.75 (per cent), 3.5 (per cent), three per cent,” said Sforza. “We all know that the rate of inflation is much higher than that. So, you know, I can stand here confidently and say we're not being unreasonable.”

Negotiation spokesperson and Commissioner of Infrastructure Services for the City of Windsor, Mark Winterton declined to comment on the specifics of the negotiations.

“What we’re doing is following the process and continuing to negotiate and both sides have been working in good faith to try and come to an agreement,” said Winterton.

The City and union remain at the bargaining table at Caesars Windsor, where both sides also say they will continue to work all weekend to hammer out a new deal.