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by Laura MacInnis

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Speak Up

Those looking to get travel by bus this long weekend may be out of luck. Acadian Lines bus drivers are threatening to go on strike.

The drivers, mechanics and other members of the Amalgamated Transit Union, employees of Acadian Coach/Bus Lines have vote 97 per cent in favour of strike action in order to bring a resolution to more than year long contract dispute.

Members of ATU local 1229 operate the bus services in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

The union is saying wages, health benefits and hours of work are the main issues in dispute.

"The bus drivers and other members of ATU local 1229 regret to inform the traveling public that there will be a disruption of services for those planning to travel on Acadian Coach/Bus Lines," said the press release from the union. "We will issue an advance notice of disruptions in services so that the public can make alternate arrangements. We thank our riders for their support and encouragement."

Several passengers at the Acadian Lines bus station on Station Street Friday said they are concerned about what this will mean for their travelling schedule, particularly during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Laura Vautour is a student in Saint John who uses the bus twice a month to visit her boyfriend in Miramichi.

"This is the only way we can see each other. Neither of us has a vehicle," she said.

During her trip, several union members handed out bright orange leaflets warning travellers of the possible strike.

Vautour is concerned for the workers and wants to see them get a fair deal particularly because she has come to know some of them personally using the bus so frequently.

"The drivers haven't said anything about it but Lee usually drives me to Miramichi and there was another driver today," Vautour said. "I'd be pissed off if I wasn't making enough to live. It's a hard job driving a bus all day."

Erica Chamberlain and Vanessa Cormier were changing buses in Miramichi on their way from Bathurst to Fredericton on a trip to visit friends for the weekend. Cormier is even more concerned the strike will kick in while she's away from home.

"I could be stranded," she said. "I have my return ticket, but if something happens I guess we have to try to take the train."

According to the union's press release, "The owners of Acadian Coach/Bus Lines in France and Quebec refuse to make a wage offer that keeps up with the high cost of living we are all facing. The six per cent wage offer over four years is completely out of step with the average settlements of four per cent a year in our region. To add insult to injury, the company refuses to give any wage increase for the 14-month period since the Collective Agreement expired."