Collective bargaining is the process whereby unions (a collection of workers) and employers negotiate wages, benefits, hours of work and other workplace conditions.

The result is a collective agreement, often referred to as a “CBA” – a legally binding contract between the union and employer that can only be changed if both sides agree.

Prior to its expiry, the union and employer return to the bargaining table to negotiate changes or improvements to the collective agreement. Any proposed change must be agreed to by both sides. When the union and employer reach a tentative agreement, it must be brought to the union members for review and vote at a ratification meeting.

A collective agreement, collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, is the contract between the union and the employer that results from collective bargaining. It lays out the “rules of engagement” per se between the union and the employer. It is based on the terms of the CBA that the union can file grievances when the processes which are laid out in the contract are violated or not followed.

A bargaining unit includes one or more occupational groups that share a collective agreement and are represented by the same union. Unifor Local 111 is in a joint bargaining unit with Unifor Local 2200.

A proposal, also called a demand, is an ask from one party to another during the bargaining process. The bargaining committee forms their proposals based on the responses to the bargaining survey. Both the union and the employer present proposals to each other throughout the bargaining process. Proposals can be accepted, rejected, countered, or negotiated. Negotiating a proposal might mean making changes to the wording that satisfy both parties, or it might mean making a trade or concession. A concession would generally happen when protective language that was in the contract before gets removed. Together, the agreed-upon proposals form the basis of the new agreement. Bargaining is a process of give and take. During negotiations, some proposals may be withdrawn in favour of others. Unfortunately, not all proposals can successfully be added to a new contract. Here are some hypothetical examples:

The union proposes adding language which would grant operators paid bereavement leave when their pet dies.

The company proposes removing language granting operators a Sunday premium.

A concession would occur if the union agreed to delete the Sunday premium language in exchange for adding the new language about pet bereavement leave.

Collective bargaining has helped transit workers in the Lower Mainland secure good wages, pensions, benefits, job security, and safer workplaces since 1899.

From our beginnings in the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America, to the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America, to the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), to the Independent Canadian Transit Union (ICTU), to the Canadian AutoWorkers (CAW), to Unifor, transit workers have stood in solidarity to make collective gains.

Even in times of economic downturn, such as the 2008 recession, our ability to stand together gave us better results than the population at large. By working together we have been able to secure seniority provisions, protecting against employer favouritism. Collective bargaining also gives us a grievance procedure, a framework to fight employer actions that does not exist in non-unionized workplaces.

As noted under “what is a collective agreement”, collective bargaining is how we build our collective bargaining agreement – the contract which lays out the “rules of engagement” between the union and the employer. Without these rules, every employee could be treated differently by the employer and there would be no framework to fight that.

Collective bargaining = strength in numbers.

Bargaining opened on February 2, 2026 at the Sheraton Guildford hotel, but this is very expensive for both parties as the cost is shared. Therefore, bargaining continued at both Unifor’s and TransLink’s offices, depending on availability of space.

Collective bargaining is a bit of a dance. Both parties will have their own meeting space, and then there will be a joint meeting space where they come together to present each other with their proposals. Often, only one or a handful of related proposals will be considered at a time before the parties return to their separate meeting rooms for further discussion. Once they’ve agreed on a set of proposals, they’ll move on to a new set. As you can imagine, this is not a quick process.

Members play a central role at every stage of bargaining:

Electing union representatives: Members elect local union officers and bargaining committee representatives who speak on their behalf at the bargaining table.

Submitting bargaining proposals: Members can propose amendments to their collective agreement

Staying informed: Members are expected to stay up to date through regular updates from the Union throughout the bargaining process.

Supporting the bargaining team:  Solidarity strengthens the committee’s position and helps pressure the employer for a fair agreement.

Voting on tentative agreement:  Any tentative agreement must be approved by a majority vote of members at ratification meetings.

Taking strike action, if necessary: If no deal is reached, and subject to requirements of the BC Labour Relations Code and Unifor Constitution, members may be called to take strike action in support of pursuing a fair settlement.

The full answer is murky, being both yes and no. TransLink is a statutory authority of the British Columbia provincial government. It’s official name is “South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority”. TransLink is not a private corporation; its main oversight body is the Council of Mayors. As such, when it suits the government, they are within their rights to treat us as public employees and refuse to exceed the Public Sector Employers’ Council‘s mandates (“the provincial mandate”) during bargaining.

That doesn’t mean we don’t go into negotiations demanding more. We do, and we did in this round of bargaining. The employer’s first offer was 2% and only rose to 2.2% after the strike vote. Eventually, with the help of the mediator, the offer was raised to 3%.

Collective bargaining is a very dynamic and fluid process. The duration of collective bargaining depends on a number of factors, including the number of proposals being tabled and the nature, complexity and implication of the changes sought. In this round of bargaining, which opened on February 2, 2026, the union tabled over 300 proposals. Even if a proposal is signed off on by both parties early in the bargaining process, that proposal can still be subject to changes later on, especially if a mediator becomes involved.

Just like any other type of legal proceeding, it is important that the parties on both sides of the table remain committed to bargaining in good faith. This means trying to prevent the spread of rumours regarding what is being discussed, because as mentioned, everything can still change right up to the end.

In terms of the most recent timeline (the July 20 meeting to the August 6 vote) the majority of this time was spent getting members set up for online voting, as per the members’ demands during the first ratification vote, and then testing the online voting system.

Because a new member list was created by Local 111’s support staff with the assistance of CMBC payroll staff, any members who did not already have an email address on file with the employer have been automatically assigned their [First.Lastname @ coastmountainbus.com] email address from CMBC’s records. This is the email address you use to login to Hastus and MyCMBC. Please visit www.outlook.com and use your MyCMBC / Hastus login details to check this email inbox to find out if this is where your ballot may have been sent.

Alternatively, make sure you’ve checked your spam or junk folder, added [vote @ simplyvoting.com] to your email whitelist, and check both of the Simply Voting FAQ documents linked below for more tips on resubscribing to Simply Voting.

And remember: contract ratification votes are not open to retirees.

At this stage, if the ratification vote on August 6, 2026 were to fail, the union would likely issue 72 hours notice of a strike to the employer and Labour Board. Strike action can take many forms, from an overtime ban to withdrawing labour.

The Unifor National Constitution was amended in 2025 to increase strike pay to $350 per week.

FACT: Locals 111 & 2200 support staff have worked with CMBC’s payroll staff to create a completely new member list for the upcoming ratification vote. This voting list only includes current employees, including those on STD and LTD and approved LOA. Two test ballots have now gone out and no one who was ineligible to vote received a ballot.

FACT: Article 17.5 of the Unifor National Constitution is in the section for Group Bargaining. Group bargaining applies to, for example, Auto Bargaining, where multiple locals bargain multiple contracts with an agreed-upon group pattern. Locals 111 & 2200 are legally a single bargaining unit and bargain a single collective bargaining agreement (CBA), so this section of the Constitution does not apply to us in any manner.

FACT: The “me too” clause is in effect for all 4 years of the CBA and applies to all public service employees.

Does it apply to road supervisors? Maybe. Neither road supervisors nor us are technically fully public service (we fall in a grey area), yet sometimes when it is convenient we are treated as such. Were they to get a raise above the provincial mandate, we would immediately take it to an arbitrator to try to get it applied to us as well.

Another example of how the “me too” clause may work:

BCGEU LCB employees’ contract expires in 2029. They fall under the provincial mandate. If they get more than 3% in 2029, then we would too for that year.