Talks between the Amalgamated Transit Union and the city of Halifax have broken off and union vice-president Shane O'Leary doesn't think the parties will reach an agreement before the strike deadline.
"Talks have broken off," O'Leary confirmed to CTV News. "The city is not willing to bargain any further and we've come to a standstill in negotiations."
Roughly 750 Metro Transit workers will be a position to walk off the job early Thursday if they are unable to reach an agreement with the city by the end of Wednesday.
"The city is not willing to work with our team and I don't think there's a possibility of going back to the table at this time, but anything can change," said O'Leary.
Metro Transit workers could legally strike at 12 a.m. Thursday, but they have agreed to finish any late-night runs that continue past midnight so riders aren't stranded.
O'Leary said Tuesday that not much progress has been made and it's time for concerned citizens to start contacting the city.
"I would love to see the 96,000 people that need transportation everyday to call the mayor, call their councillor," he said. "What will avert this strike is public pressure."
Metro Transit workers have been without a contract since September 1. A conciliator was brought to the table in November to help broker a deal, but talks between the city and the union broke off earlier this month.
They city presented a new contract to the workers but 98 per cent voted in favour of rejecting it on Jan. 22.
Ken Wilson, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, told CTV News that was the highest voting turnout in the history of the union.
The parties went back to the bargaining table and have been negotiating nearly non-stop since Sunday but talks broke off again around 11 a.m. Tuesday.
"The vibe in the meeting this morning was that HRM was not bargaining collectively," said O'Leary. "They were not willing to come to any kind of agreement. They wanted it their way or the highway."
Metro Transit created a list of 250 concessions to discuss with the union and while some agreements have been reached, work scheduling continues to be a sticking point.
"The ATU was crystal clear about their issues to the public: They wanted no changes to contracting out language and no part-time transit operators. Those issues are no longer part of the HRM proposal," said Metro Transit director Eddie Robar. "Our team is still here to get an agreement for the benefit of the employees, transit users and taxpayers."
According to a statement from the mayor's office, the city put forward a new proposal Monday morning that would see Metro Transit operators be the highest paid in Atlantic Canada, while removing previous proposals around contracting out language and part-time bus operators.
"There is no need for a strike," said Mayor Peter Kelly. "Let's continue to negotiate and get a deal done."
But Wilson said there are still about 70 concessions on the table and workers are concerned about their quality of life. He says it's not about making more money, but about worker protection.
"This is not about gaining. This is not about monetary," said Wilson. "This is about protecting what we do have."
Roughly 96,000 riders use Metro Transit bus and ferry services daily throughout the HRM and many are scrambling to find alternative transportation in anticipation of a strike.
Kijiji is flooded with posts from people who are hoping to hitch a ride with someone already travelling in their direction, while others have taken to Facebook and Twitter in the hopes of getting in on a carpool.
Allison Sparling uses public transportation to get back-and-forth from school and she has set up a Twitter account to connect with other transit users.
"I thought I could walk," says Sparling. "But there are actually parts of the Bedford Highway that don't have sidewalks, or if there is, they don't plow it."
The city's last transit strike took place almost 14 years ago, in 1998, and it lasted five weeks. The main issue at that time was also contracting out services to private companies.
