Transit Windsor bus near the St. Clair College Downtown Windsor campuses. (Image courtesy of St. Clair College)Transit Windsor bus near the St. Clair College Downtown Windsor campuses. (Image courtesy of St. Clair College)
Windsor

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 616 ratifies new deal at Transit Windsor

Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 616 have voted in favour of a tentative deal that was reached last weekend.

According to ATU International Vice President Manny Sforza the members voted 90 per cent in favour of the agreement which would expire in 2027.

The members voted for the deal Sunday morning.

Sforza said some of the things included in the deal include wage increases.

"We (also) got some benefit improvements and our skilled trades also received an increase. Overall it's a well balanced contract and I'm extremely proud of the work that the bargaining team did," he said.

Sforza said it was a big shift coming to vote Sunday than last Saturday.

"(The members) were extremely pleased with the offer. A lot of them felt that they were appreciated and that they haven't been appreciated in a long time," he said.

Sforza added that there is one more step and that is going to city council and having the city ratify the deal.

While there is a council meeting on Monday it is unclear if that is when the city will ratify the deal.

"After an extremely long battle with the city and Windsor Transit this is behind us and (I'm) extremely pleased that the membership endorsed this offer," he said.

The workers were without a contract from October 2023 and were in a strike position from December 2023.

At the end of January, the union representing almost 300 members issued its second strike notice after the union said talks were at a standstill.

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