Larry O’Brien

We are now moving towards day nine of this strike.

Yesterday we settled with CUPE 5500 proving we can reach a settlement. Both sides worked hard and came to an agreement that was satisfactory to the employees, the taxpayers and to management. We will be approving the agreement at a special meeting of Council on Friday morning.

One down: One to go

This morning I met with ATU Vice President Randy Graham and we agreed to resume talks as soon as possible with no preconditions. Our meeting resulted in a joint request made by ATU 279 to the federal mediator to arrange the meeting. This is a first step to resolving this strike.

These talks will start as soon as possible and all issues will be on the table.

Hats off to City staff and CUPE 5500 for working hard to reach an agreement today. Well done to both sides in getting this done without strike action.

This demonstrates that the unions and the City are more than capable of reaching an agreement through negotiations. It is much better to be sitting down at the table finding solutions rather than simply going to an outside party to work out important issues.

I ask again that the leadership of ATU 279 come back to the bargaining table and deal with the important issue of scheduling. We want you to be there and I hope you will come back and work with our team to make Ottawa a better city.

Last night I saw empty restaurants in the market and fewer shoppers at the Rideau Centre than I would normally see two weeks before Christmas. I want to assure the citizens of Ottawa that we are working hard to end this strike as quickly as possible.

It is unfortunate that after months of negotiations the union leaders chose this time to strike. The City is suffering and nobody is happy.

The City made a generous 7% wage increase offer over three years, increased sick days and a $2,000 productivity bonus. This is a fair offer in these uncertain and rocky economic times. I ask again for the ATU executive to either vote on our last offer or come back to the negotiating table and work through the issues.

Some have suggested that we should simply hand over the scheduling issue to an arbitrator and all will be well. But the City’s offer is an integrated package and to remove one part without renegotiating the balance is unrealistic. By going to arbitration we will be back at the beginning of the process.

Without scheduling, everything starts over—this includes wage increases, additional sick days, banking of sick days and the $2,000 bonus. Removing scheduling simply cannot happen because aside from economic efficiencies for the taxpayers, improved services for the customers and the simple right of an employer to manage staff, there is another very important issue—improving safety!

Currently a driver can book two 11-hour shifts in a single 24-hour period. Management does not agree with this and believes it is unsafe, but today there is nothing we can do to stop this practice. Scheduling is part of our offer to ensure a minimum of eight hours rest between shifts and recovery time after every run.

As we grow our public transit system we must ensure the safety of our citizens and our drivers. I believe that is our obligation.

If the union leadership have proposals, we remain willing to sit down at the bargaining table to negotiate. They walked away a week ago, it’s up to them to return and let’s end this strike as soon as possible.

For immediate release:
December 16, 2008
Details revealed on exciting downtown tunnel project

Today details were released on one of the most exciting projects in Ottawa’s history – the downtown transit tunnel.

The tunnel is a key component of the Transportation Master Plan, which was overwhelmingly approved by Council on a vote of 22-2 on Nov. 28, 2008. City staff updated Councillors on the Downtown Ottawa Transit Tunnel (DOTT) Planning and Environment study’s progress. During the briefing, Councillors were provided with further details on preliminary tunnel alignments and station locations.

“Council overwhelmingly supported this new transit vision and we are now taking some concrete steps to turn it into a reality,” said Mayor Larry O’Brien. “The downtown tunnel is truly an exciting project for our city and I encourage residents to get involved.”

The City of Ottawa also launched a website that includes background information on the project, highlights of the study’s scope and provides opportunities for the public to get involved in this exciting, once in a generation project. Given the importance of this project to the city, the site will provide the public and key stakeholders with the most up-to-date information on the tunnel study and ensure that they are engaged throughout the study process.

Please click here to view photos, maps and get involved in this exciting process.

The first open house for the tunnel study will take place in January 2009, where the public will have an opportunity to review the preliminary tunnel alignments and possible station locations.