Kelowna Regional Transit drivers represented by ATU Local 1722 will refuse to collect fares from transit riders starting Thursday, September 8, in an escalation of their campaign to demand First Transit negotiate a fair contract and provide a better transit system for their riders. This fare collection refusal marks the union’s second official job action in as many weeks, escalating from a refusal to wear company uniforms that the union began last Friday.
“Our members care deeply for our riders and the community, and we are exercising restraint and doing everything we can before shutting down bus service,” said Al Peressini, President of ATU Local 1722. “Management refuses to fix our system, fund it, and make it fair, so we are asking the riding public to refuse to pay fares until those priorities improve.”
The Union says its members will not enforce fare collection and asks riders not to purchase new passes until the dispute is resolved.
“The buck stops with BC Transit,” said Peressini. “The province contracted this out to First Transit, sets the terms and funding of that agreement, and in doing so incentivizes First to treat workers and riders this way.”
Kelowna’s transit workers are currently earning $5-$10 less than comparable transit systems in the province. Union members say the transit system cannot continue to run without offering workers a living wage in one of the most expensive, and fastest-growing cities in Canada.
“Our members at Kelowna Regional Transit have been putting their lives on the line every day at work since the pandemic began. Unfortunately, First Transit refuses to treat them as the heroes they are,” said ATU International President John Costa. “Our members have been left with no other option but to escalate our campaign to demand a fair contract and a robust transit system that our riders and community deserve.”
After these sentiments were reflected by local government officials over the weekend, the union says it is now asking the public to contact their provincial representatives to demand that they take responsibility for the consequences of contracting out a public, tax-funded service to a for-profit corporation.