MORE than 40 days into a bitter lockout, the Rocky Mountaineer onboard attendants walking the picket line in North Vancouver are facing growing stress and dwindling finances, according to their union.
Armstrong Group, which operates both the Rocky Mountaineer and Whistler Mountaineer tourist trains out of stations in Vancouver and North Vancouver, locked out 108 onboard attendants on June 22, six months after the last contract expired.
With negotiations derailed and no talks in two weeks, the striking attendants took to cleaning Ambleside Beach Thursday - a spot they've used repeatedly to wave their signs at the passing trains - a move they said was aimed at supporting the community and finding a reprieve from the picket line.
"This will be really good for our spirits," said Angelina Robinson, an attendant from North Vancouver who helped organize the cleanup. "We're people too, we care about the community as well."
The onboard attendants have been without contract since January of this
year, and recently switched unions from the Canadian Auto Workers to the Teamsters Local 31.
Following a strike vote June 15, where workers overwhelmingly supported a strike action, the company locked out the employees and since then has been using replacement workers to fill in.
While that practice is illegal in British Columbia, the company is federally regulated and says it is well within its rights.
Ian Robertson, executive director of corporate communications for the company, described the lockout as an "unfortunate situation" they had hoped to avoid, but said the company didn't want to negotiate through the media.
"Every offer, including the last one that we put in front of the union, has reflected the economic reality of our business and of the tourist industry," he said, adding that 2008 was a "very tough year" for the industry.
He said they were forced into action following the strike vote to hire replacement workers, and that they were well within federal regulations to take the action.
"We welcome guests from all around the world; many have booked months in advance, and quite frankly we felt we couldn't jeopardize their kind of experience," he said, when asked why they hired replacement workers.
"We are a privately held company and we have every right to take whatever legal action we can to ensure that our business remains sustainable."
Robinson said the move to hire fill-ins was particularly galling.
"That's the most upsetting thing about the entire thing, it's the fact that they've done this," said Robinson. "But the problem is that that (means) there's no pressure on them to negotiate."
Both sides agree that the sticking points are overtime and scheduling concerns.
While the company declined to comment on the specifics, Robinson said she sometimes works more than 13 hours straight, especially if there are delays.
The union is asking for overtime after 11 hours, whereas currently overtime is calculated over a period of several weeks, allowing the company to schedule shifts in a way that avoids paying it, she said.
The longer the lockout drags on without a paycheque in the mail, workers like Robinson face increasingly difficult choices, she said. As well, MSP coverage has lapsed, and though the union had offered to pick up the costs from the company, that was declined, said Robinson.
"I am fortunate that I have a partner who I live with, he's advised me that he'll be there to back me up if the bills get out of hand," she said. "But I'm not the person to do that so I've just been doing without."
