The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 615 believes contract talks have dragged on long enough and it’s time to take the next step.
The ATU said Friday it intends to take ‘job action,’ which means the union will engage in work-to-rule and refuse to work overtime.
These measures were set to begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12.
Union local president Jim Yakubowski couldn’t say for sure whether passengers would notice any service disruptions.
“I can’t guarantee that they won’t, but I’m not stating definitively that they will either,” said Yakubowski.
The ATU issued a 48 hours-strike notice on Sept. 16.
The notice put the union in a legal position to walk off the job effective 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, however, employees have thus far remained on the job.
At that time, union leadership said that other forms of job action would come ahead of a full-on walkout.
In a letter to city management, Yakubowski wrote:
“ATU 615 will not be initiating a complete cessation of work immediately in the event this notice is enacted upon at or after 5 p.m. on Sunday Sept. 18.”
Those options include a work-to-rule campaign, an overtime ban, drivers not wearing uniforms and study sessions, as well as partial or complete withholding of service.
Back in May of this year, Saskatoon’s transit workers decided its members will go to work in regular clothes rather than their uniforms.
Yakubowski stated at the time the move would raise awareness to the fact that transit workers were still working without a collective agreement.
Saskatoon Transit workers have been without a contract since 2012.