On January 01, 2009, MV Transportation, a California based company, began operation of their first ever Canadian para-transit contract. This Vancouver Translink service is known as HandyDART.

Previous to MV Transportation officially taking over the HandyDART service, employees were told “nothing would change”, “we are union friendly”, “we are here to improve the service”, “a smooth transition” which many employees wanted to believe.

Soon after Jan 01,2009, MVT refused employment to all injured employees that were on Workers Compensation. MVT refused employment to all employees on long term disability (LTD). They also tried to create a substandard (lower then a snakes belly) benefit plan for all existing employees. MV Transportations transition was aggressive and unsettling to all the employees whom have spent many decades believing in this service and working to improve it. HandyDART was successfully operated for 30 years without any labour action.

These are just a few issues these employees had to face with their new employer MV Transportation.

...Continued

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* Injured workers maintaining employment
* LTD employees maintaining employment!
* Challenge to their guaranteed hours
* Seniority being challenged
* Inaccurate paycheques
* Pension deduction problems
* Pension enrolment problems
* Vacation problems
* Forced overtime
* Forced to miss breaks

MVT took any opportunity to challenge these existing employee contracts. Within weeks, employees were becoming stressed and the service that they had worked hard to build, for 30 years, was being affected. Within the first year of MV Transportations Canadian entrance, the union filed thirty grievances against this hostile company. The union won all thirty. Office workers were not allowed anything personal on their desks, not even a cup of coffee. This created a homogenous work environment, unlike there was before. Drivers were being forced into overtime and scheduled to miss their breaks. Accidents were on the increase. American managers were creating stress and division between office workers and drivers. The stress was thick enough to taste. Remember, it was suppose to be a smooth transition!

 ARBITRATION / MEDIATION

HEARING BETWEEN: MVT AND ATU

REGARDING: BENEFIT PLANS

HEARING SET FOR OCT 20, 2010
Time 9:30 a.m

 Cascadia Hotel 1234 Hornby St.  Van.