The City of Hamilton and it’s transit operators, mechanics and support workers have reached an tentative agreement.

News arrived in a city news release issued at 00:49 this morning:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

City reaches tentative deal with transit union

HAMILTON, ON – January 28th, 2012 – The City of Hamilton and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 107 have reached a tentative agreement through collective bargaining. The two parties met all day Friday and into Saturday morning with a provincially-appointed mediator and were able to resolve the remaining outstanding issues.

“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement that allows us to continue to provide transit services that are essential to so many in our community,” said Gerry Davis, General Manager of Public Works. “Both parties have worked diligently to achieve a mutually satisfactory resolution that balances the interests of the City, employees and the citizens we serve.”

The ATU negotiating committee will be presenting the tentative agreement to their membership within the next week with a recommendation to accept the deal. An update will be provided to City Council at General Issues Committee on Monday, January 30th.

This means there will be no disruption to transit services in Hamilton. No details were released this morning.

Negotiations between the City of Hamilton and the union representing HSR bus drivers, mechanics, and support staff continues at this hours.

I must nap before working a night shift.

CHCH’s Brittany Gogo is at the hotel where negotiations are occurring and promises to update on Twitter if any deal is reached.

Her latest tweet at 1927hrs:

Just spoke to the union for HSR drivers... They are continuing to negotiate tonight and into weekend if they can't reach a deal

January 27, 2012 8:27 pm via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@BrittanyGogo

Brittany Gogo

You can find her on Twitter: @BrittanyGogo

I asked the City of Hamilton:

Does the City have a plan in place for purchasers of transit passes in the event of a labour disruption?

More directly, can people purchase their February pass now instead of waiting until the results of negotiations are clear.

The City responded:

The City remains hopeful that a negotiated settlement can be reached at the bargaining table today. It is too premature to speculate about what the exchange/refund policy would be in the event of a labour disruption as it would depend on the length of the disruption and other factors. We encourage HSR customers to watch local news reports and visit www.hamilton.ca for updates.

At this time, there is no reason why customers should not purchase their February pass now.

Hamilton public transit drivers are showing optimism as a strike deadline of Monday looms. Talking to senior bus operators the past two days, there is a belief that a strike will be averted.

I’m told, and the union will not confirm due to a media blackout, that 5 of 12 outstanding issues were settled on Tuesday and the remaining issues are “minor.”

To quote two senior drivers: ‘There’s no way we’ll strike over these [outstanding] issues.’

The negotiating teams for the city and union are meeting again today (Friday) and we should know if a strike will be averted when both parties issue statements tonight.

Negotiations continue between the City of Hamilton and it’s transit operators, mechanics, and support staff. The city tabled a revised offer to the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107 on Tuesday and both parties agreed to meet again on Friday.

The earliest a strike (and theoretically a lockout) can begin at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.
(Explanation why 12:01 a.m. doesn’t mean service ends at midnight)

Both sides issued statements yesterday and did not speak to the media.

I’m working night shift this weekend, backfilling for a friend, and will do my best to report developments.

The full statements follow:

Budh Dhillon, president of Local 107, wrote:

Negotiations with the City ended today. Some of the outstanding Articles were addressed however none of them were signed off. The negotiations will resume on Friday, January 27, 2012.

The Executive Board is asking all the members to continue to stay patient and continue to provide the best service to our passengers.

We will keep you informed while we remain committed to getting a fair deal.

In Solidarity on behalf of your Neg. Team:

Budh Dhillon

Kelly Anderson, public affairs coordinator for the public works department, issued the following statement on behalf of the city:

The City of Hamilton and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 107 met again today, with the assistance of a provincially appointed conciliator/mediator, and continued discussions towards reaching a collective agreement. The City tabled a revised offer to the union and both parties have agreed to meet again on Friday, January 27th.

“The City remains optimistic that we will reach an agreement on Friday,” said Gerry Davis, General Manager of Public Works for the City of Hamilton.

The two parties will be in a legal strike/lockout position at 12:01 a.m. on January 30th. ATU Local 107 represents HSR bus operators, mechanics and other transit workers.

In the event of a labour disruption, there would be no HSR transit service on any route throughout the city. HSR customers are encouraged to start considering alternative transportation options, such as:

Car pooling with neighbours or co-workers. Visit www.smartcommutehamilton.ca for more information about Hamilton’s Carpool Zone program – a free carpool matching system.
Walking, cycling
Working from home if possible

The Disabled and Aged Regional Transportation System (DARTS), the accessible transit service provider for the City, is not part of ATU. In the event of a labour disruption, DARTS’ delivery of the specialized transit service would not be affected. Existing subscription trips, as well as currently booked casual trips, will remain in place. However, there may be some changes required to the way that passengers book trips for DARTS. These changes will be communicated to passengers in advance of any requirements through the ATS phone service, the City of Hamilton Web site, and through other public announcements.

New developments throughout the negotiation process will be shared as they become available.

Hamilton’s public bus drivers, mechanics, and support workers are in a legal strike position at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, January 30th.

This doesn’t mean a strike will begin at 12:01 a.m.

Traditionally, HSR operators end their shift that begins the calendar day before a labour action.

There are many practical reasons, including calculation of pay and public goodwill, that service is not abruptly interrupted. Hamilton’s transit operations end just after 1 a.m. for Sunday service (25:00hrs on HSR logs) and 2 a.m. Monday-Saturday.

Last buses leave downtown at 12:00 a.m. Sunday night and 1:20 a.m. all other days with the last buses being Stoney Creek routes that wait for the last King bus at Eastgate Square.

Ending service at midnight would cause administrative headaches in calculating driver pay and shift premiums. It also risks confrontations between operators and passengers they be asking to leave the bus in mid-service.

In the event of a HSR strike, you don’t have to worry about being stranded mid-route. You’ll only need to worry about getting to work in the morning.

The City of Hamilton and the union representing transit operators, mechanics and administrative support staff will meet at the negotiating table later today.

The two sides are apart on few issues and talks could go into the evening.

There’s no way of reading into the status of talks by their length. A late evening could equally mean they are close to a deal or they are far apart.

I’m expecting statements from both the union and city tonight.

I’ll tweet and post as soon as I recieve anything.