I wrote a couple of entries about the OC Transpo strike after it started, but I refrained from writing about it when the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 decided to return to the table.

But it appears that they were not serious about negotiating since they walked away from the table after only a couple of days while at the same time saying they were going to get so many picketers to show up at Lansdowne Park on the 26th that the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship games would be disrupted. Shameful behaviour, at best.

Fortunately, the City was able to get an injunction that only allowed a handful of picketers at each entrance and they weren’t allowed to actually interfere with anyone.

The City has challenged the Union executive to let their members vote on the offer, which the Union has refused to do. According to a CTV story, the president of ATU 279, Andre Cornellier, has stated “he won’t hold a vote that would potentially divide the membership since scheduling and booking concerns only affect a few hundred OC Transpo workers.”

Sounds like Cornellier is admitting that he thinks he doesn’t have the support for the on-going strike from the majority of his members, which I speculated about over two weeks ago.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the vote is held. If the offer currently on the table is accepted by a majority of the members I wonder if their next vote will be to find a new union president. Time will tell.