HSR staff vote on latest contract offer

Hamilton Street Railway drivers, mechanics and support staff voted on their latest contract offer from city hall.

By Emma Reilly, Last Updated Wednesday, November 28, 2007

(Originally published in the Hamilton Spectator on November 27, 2007.)

Hamilton Street Railway drivers, mechanics and support staff voted on their latest contract offer from city hall yesterday, putting an end to the year-long negotiation process.

The voting took place over 24 hours starting at 3 a.m. yesterday to accommodate the 600 union members' shift schedules. The results were expected by about 3:30 a.m. this morning, well past presstime at The Spectator.

The details of the agreement, which won't be released to the public until the votes are tallied, have received positive reviews from many members.

"I'm impressed by what happened. We have a fair deal," said Claude Laframboise, an HSR employee for 27 years who has seen more than a dozen contract negotiations. "We got a decent raise and some of the benefits are improved."

"Financially, it's one of the better contracts we've had," said Bonnie Spencer, an HSR driver for the past 18 years. "I'm relieved. After the last strike, it took me a year to catch my rent back up."

Overtime pay, washroom breaks, and longer-term contracts were among the issues on the table. Agreement was reached at an all-day bargaining session after union members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate.

On Nov. 16, Mayor Fred Eisenberger and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107 president Budh Dhillon announced that a tentative contract had been reached. Both union and the city bargaining teams endorsed the deal.

Though many union members said that the contract is a step in the right direction, HSR driver Michelle Bradley thinks that there are still issues that need to be addressed. As a result of some benefit cuts during the last contract negotiation, Bradley had to pay for her braces out of her own pocket.

"A strike isn't good for anybody," said Bradley. "But sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in."