Month-long strike by outside workers in Waterloo region ends after pickets snarl morning commute

A month-long strike by outside workers in Waterloo region has officially ended after a tentative agreement was ratified at a council meeting Friday afternoon.

Workers with Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 1656 voted in favour of the new agreement Thursday night, CUPE spokesperson Eric Bell confirmed to CBC News.

But on Friday morning, workers continued to picket outside Grand River Transit facilities in Waterloo and Cambridge, leading to bus delays for the morning commute.

Bell said the pickets took place "because the strike was not officially over until council had also ratified the agreement."

It was a move regional Chair Karen Redman criticized and said caused "unnecessary chaos."

Grand River Transit posted on X, formerly Twitter, that workers were picketing at the Cambridge operations centre as well as the maintenance facility on Northfield Drive.

"There are ongoing delays to bus service. We are working on resuming scheduled service as soon as possible," Grand River Transit said in the posts.

"We understand that this situation is frustrating, but please be patient with our operators, who are doing their best to get service back on schedule."

In a statement Friday morning, Redman said she was "deeply disappointed" to hear about the pickets.

"Despite a tentative agreement, their picketing caused unnecessary chaos — cancelling and delaying bus trips that residents rely on. Workers were left stranded, students struggled to get to class, and some may have even missed critical medical appointments," Redman wrote.

"This deliberate disruption undermines respectful negotiations. More than that, it shows a clear disregard for the residents who depend on these services and the dedicated regional staff working to provide them."

Local 1656 president Phil Dominas said in a release on Friday that the new contract "makes gains for our members and will help to address the pressures our members have been facing due to inflation and the increasing cost of living."

"Our members are focused on moving forward and getting back to work," Dominas added.

CUPE local 1656 represents people who work in departments including the airport, bus maintenance, landfill, roads and water. Workers walked off the job on March 3. 

Landfill sites in Cambridge and Waterloo that have been closed because of the strike will reopen to the public on Saturday, the region said in a release on Friday.

In a release on Thursday, the region outlined the offer to workers, which included:

• A salary increase of almost 12 per cent to all positions over a three-year period.
• A $1 per hour wage adjustment and 3.5 per cent increase in the first year.
• A commitment to do a market review for skilled trades classifications.
• A promise to look at other "enhancements" banked overtime, meal allowance and stand-by rates.

"From the beginning, this strike was about fairness and sending a message to council Chair Karen Redman and Waterloo regional council that they needed to honour their word and the commitments that they made to us in negotiations," said Dominas.

"I am proud of our members for standing up for what is right, and holding our employer to account for their broken promises and commitments. As a result of this strike, our local is stronger and more united."

Redman said she wanted union leadership to "reflect on the real impact of their actions and consider the harm they have caused to the community" by holding pickets Friday morning.