There will be no transit strike in Peterborough on Monday after workers ratified a new three-year agreement with the City of Peterborough on the weekend.
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1320 held a general membership meeting on Saturday (November 18) where members voted 87 per cent in favour of the agreement, which had already been unanimously endorsed by the union local’s executive board.
“The membership stuck together and were clear about what they were willing to accept, and ultimately accepted this latest offer for a three-year deal,” said ATU Local 1320 president Cory MacLeod in a media release.
ATU Local 1320, which represents 103 full-time and about 20 part-time transit workers, and the city had been negotiating a new contract since May.
Contract talks broke down mid-September, with union members voting 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate. With the union and city in a legal strike and lockout position as of Saturday, the two sides held further negotiations earlier in the week and, after the union issued a 72-hour advance strike notice, reached a tentative deal on Friday.
Saturday’s ratification of the contract means transit service will continue to operate normally on Monday. Peterborough city council will hold a ratification vote as soon as possible to seal the new deal.
“My sincere appreciation and congratulations to the ATU Local 1320 executive committee and members, as well as the city’s bargaining team, for their hard work, commitment, and true sense of belonging for our community to make it possible,” said Jasbir Raina, the City of Peterborough’s chief administrative officer, in a media release. “Our frontline service delivery workers are the true value-creating leaders and brand ambassadors for the city.”
Neither the city nor the union local have yet publicly released details of the three-year agreement.
