Transit union votes 97 per cent to reject 'final offer' from city

Winnipeg's transit union has rejected a deal the city describes as a final contract offer.

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, which represents about 1,400 drivers, mechanics and other Winnipeg Transit workers, has been without a collective bargaining agreement since January.

Members voted this week to reject a four-year deal that called for three annual wage hikes of 1.75 per cent. Members voted against the deal by a margin of 97 to three per cent, president Aleem Chaudhary said.

"The results of the vote tell me that the members won't take the concessions that the city is pushing," Chaudhary said in a statement.

No fewer than 1,176 of the union's members took part in the vote, which translates into a membership turnout 84 per cent, he said.

In April, the union rejected a previous city contract offer by a margin of 98 to two per cent. That vote put the union in a strike position.

• Winnipeg Transit workers reject city contract offer by 98 per cent
• Prospect of Winnipeg Transit strike rises as union poised to reject 'final' contract offer

The union remains in a strike position but remains willing to continue talks with the city, Chaudhary said.

The city also has the option of locking out transit workers, chief corporate services officer Michael Jack said last week. 

The city, however, plans to ask the province to appoint a conciliator to help land a deal, communications manager David Driedger said.

Winnipeg Transit workers have not gone on strike since 1976.