Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / PML / CUPE 561 announced Friday morning (Mar. 17) that its unionized bus operators are walking off the job starting Monday, Mar. 20, meaning there will not be regular bus service in Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission, Agassiz-Harrison, and Hope; the Fraser Valley Express will not operate either. HandyDART will only operate for essential service.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Bus strike in Chilliwack

Bus strike starts Monday in Chilliwack, Abbotsford; HandyDART to operate at essential levels only

Mar 17, 2023 | 9:32 AM

CHILLIWACK — After three days of failed negotiations, CUPE 561 released a statement Friday morning (Mar. 17) saying that it will launch a full walkout starting on Monday.

The walkout means there will be no regular bus service in Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission, Hope, Agassiz-Harrison, and no Fraser Valley Express bus service either.

HandyDART will operate at essential service levels for passengers requiring treatment for cancer, multiple sclerosis, and renal dialysis, CUPE said in a statement posted on its website. All other transit services in the Fraser Valley will cease indefinitely until a fair deal is reached, the union said.

B.C. Transit acknowledged the walkout in a statement released mid-morning Friday and apologized for the impact to its customers.

“B.C. Transit is closely monitoring the situation and sincerely apologizes to customers for the inconvenience caused by this matter,” it said in a news release. “We understand the frustration felt by customers, and that the job action is difficult for everyone involved in the region.”

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All other pre-booked handyDART trips will be notified of cancellation, B.C. Transit said.

CUPE 561 President Jane Gibbons characterized the full shutdown as a result of the company’s intransigence at the table.

“This employer has completely refused to meaningfully discuss the regional wage disparity and lack of a pension,” said Gibbons. “It’s gotten so bad that we’re left with no alternative but to shut down services.”

CUPE says First Transit, a U.S.-based, for-profit company subcontracted by B.C. Transit, was recently purchased by Transdev, a global corporation owned by a French sovereign wealth fund that has $1.3 trillion in assets—an amount equal to last year’s GDP for Australia and greater than the GDP of Spain or Indonesia.

“We find it hard to believe that a company with this much wealth refuses to pay our members what other transit operators in this region make. Without fair wages, public transit in the Fraser Valley will continue to suffer,” added Gibbons.

On March 16, B.C. Transit issued a statement to Fraser Valley Today expressing confidence in Transdev and its subsidiary’s operations in the region.

“Given First Transit’s steadfast refusal to address the concerns of our members, it’s clear that BC Transit’s confidence in Transdev is grossly misplaced,” said Gibbons. “In our mind, B.C. Transit—a provincial Crown corporation responsible for public transit services—is abandoning the communities it is entrusted to serve. It is leaving our community and transit users at the mercy of a profit-driven foreign conglomerate with no connection to the Fraser Valley.”