The deal may only be tentative, but it appears that transit workers will not be walking off the job.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 966 president Charlie Brown on Wednesday said a last-minute deal from the city has been deemed acceptable and he will take it to his membership for a vote.
Workers had threatened to hit the picket lines if a deal hadn’t been reached by midnight last night.
City manager Tim Commisso said the marathon negotiating session lasted most of the night, ending around 6 a.m.
"I have to admit I was a little bit worried there a couple of times, but we had a good discussion with council earlier in the evening. They gave us good direction and we were able to achieve a tentative settlement which we'll be taking back to council next Monday," Commisso said.
"I give credit to both the bargaining teams ... I think both parties had it in mind to do what they could to avert a strike. That was really the key. There was really an understanding that we needed to do what we could to continue the service."
About 9,000 riders use Thunder Bay transit on average each day.
Commisso said the deal is now in the workers' hands. They're expected to vote on the proposal on Sunday.
Brown, whose union had told members to expect a strike, said there was a little confusion on Wednesday morning from a membership who all didn't get the message that a walk-off had been tentatively averted.
Brown wouldn’t reveal the terms of the city’s latest offer, saying he’d prefer to present it to the membership first.
If accepted it will bring to a close nearly 16 months of negotiations between the union and the city. Brown said he’s relieved and ready to move to the next step in the process.
“We haven’t slept all night. We have to find out if we can find an available hall and set up a date. I’m hoping in the next couple of days we can get a hall … and inform our members and we can then let them in and present the package to them and have a vote, see if it’s acceptable to them,” Brown said.
A city source close to the negotiations told Dougall Media on Tuesday night that the new offer included a lesser wage increase than drivers had asked for, but did remove most, if not all of the benefit concessions the city had demanded from the table.
