Amalgamated Transit Union local president George Turple (left) stands with Marvin Claybourn & Suzanne Prior from the faculty association at St. Thomas University. Locked out ATU members on the picket line Oct. 20 in Moncton were joined by supporters from CAUT member locals in Atlantic Canada.
On Oct. 20 locked out Amalgamated Transit Union 1290 bus drivers, service workers and mechanics who work for the City of Moncton’s Codiac Transpo were joined on picket lines by CAUT staff and academic staff association chief negotiators from across Atlantic Canada attending their annual meeting in Moncton.
“It was a great solidarity visit”, said Neil Tudiver, assistant executive director at CAUT. “We wanted to send a message to management that the locked out transit workers are supported by their sisters and brothers from CAUT member locals in Atlantic Canada and beyond.”
The 80 transit workers have been without a contract since 2010 and locked out since June 27, 2012. Mediated talks between the union and the city ended July 10 with no movement towards a negotiated settlement. The workers who voted April 1 in favour of a strike rejected the city’s latest offer on a new contract last month, the union said. No new talks are scheduled.