Union leaders are floating the idea that a strike vote by Pacific Coach Lines bus drivers could disrupt service on B.C. Ferries.
If the unionized bus drivers picket at ferry terminals, they say, it could set up a situation where unionized B.C. Ferries workers refuse to cross picket lines.
B.C. Ferries said if that happens, it would immediately go to the Labour Relations Board seeking an order to remove picket lines. “We’re definitely aware of the situation and we’re ready to take immediate action if anything were to occur,” said B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall. “Our concern is ensuring that employees have access to their work site — as well as our customers, obviously, have access to our service. So we would immediately seek an injunction if there was any job action,” she said.
“Quite frankly, I don’t think the travelling public would be too happy about any service interruption over the holidays. Obviously, we would do everything we could, but I don’t know that a union would be winning any favour.”
Last week, unionized employees of bus company Pacific Coach Lines voted 79 per cent in favour of taking job action, if necessary, in a dispute over severance packages.
Unifor, the union representing the bus employees, said B.C. Ferries’ recent decision to not renew PCL’s contract for cross-water bus service will lead to layoffs of about 70 per cent of PCL’s workforce.
Unionized employees voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of job action, putting them in a legal position to serve 72-hour strike notice to PCL and move toward job action any time over the next 90 days — including over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, a Unifor statement said.
How B.C. Ferries workers respond will depend on the scope of the picketing, said Graeme Johnston, provincial president of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union. “But if they were picketing at Swartz Bay or Tsawwassen, and they picketed the entire work site, then in theory that would mean a full-scale stoppage. If our members see a picket line, we encourage our members not to cross it.
“While I’m concerned that some people may be inconvenienced by any potential job action — and that’s not just at the ferries but anywhere — I believe that it’s important to support our fellow workers, and I believe what’s going on at Pacific Coach Lines is wrong.”
The B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union represents B.C. Ferries ticket agents, ramp operators, food-service staff, terminal attendants, deck hands and engineers.
Mario Santos, a national representative for Unifor, said PCL is “refusing to pay the severance that is in the current collective agreement to employees that are affected by the loss of this contract.
“We’re talking about employees that have been with this company for 30 years,” Santos said. “It’s a kick to the curb. ‘Thanks for the help, see ya later, good luck.’ Feeding you to the wolves, so to speak.”
“We’re in a legal position right now, and there’s a possibility we could serve notice over the holidays,” Santos said. If Unifor moves toward job action and pickets, Santos said, “it could mean a complete stoppage” on B.C. Ferries. “It will be a huge travel headache.”
Pacific Coach Lines has provided cross-water bus service on B.C. Ferries between Vancouver and Victoria for the last 55 years. But in October, after a bidding process, the company lost the contract, PCL spokeswoman Darian Tooley said. Tooley would not comment on the union’s strike vote.
Starting Feb. 1, 2016, the bus service on B.C. Ferries will be provided by Victoria-based Wilson’s Transportation. Wilson’s general manager Joe Jansen refused to comment on the situation. Wilson’s bus drivers are also represented by Unifor, he said.
