Barrie Transit Workers Vote 96.5% for Strike as MVT Refuses to Bargain in Good Faith

"March 23 Strike Deadline Looms as ATU Canada and ATU International Back Barrie ATU Local 1775 Transit Workers in Full"

BARRIE, ON - Frustrated by continuing stalled negotiations, members of ATU Local 1775 have voted 96.5% in favour of strike action against MVT Canadian Bus Inc., the Dallas, Texas-based company holding a 20-year contract to operate Barrie Transit. With a potential strike date of March 23, 2026, the company faces a united workforce that has run out of patience.

Local 1775 President and Business Agent Cory Trew, who has served 15 years with the union, called it the first time in his tenure that workers have moved toward a strike. The dispute centres on chronic scheduling failures, a lack of respect from management, unfair labour practice allegations, and MVT's decision to send an American union-busting firm with no grounding in Canadian labour law to conduct negotiations.

"A 96.5% strike mandate is not a negotiating tactic; it is a verdict. That is fifteen years of workers who have never once asked for a fight, telling this company that enough is enough. MVT sent a firm that does not know Canadian labour law and does not care to learn it. They came to Barrie to break us, not to bargain with us. They miscalculated."

- Cory Trew, President/Business Agent, ATU Local 1775.

ATU Canada and ATU International are calling on MVT Canadian Bus Inc. to return to the table immediately with a qualified Canadian labour relations representative and negotiate a contract that reflects the value Barrie's transit workers deliver every day.

"When a company sends union-busters to undermine our members, it reveals everything we need to know about them. ATU International stands shoulder to shoulder with our Local 1775, and we will not rest until Barrie's transit professionals have a contract that honours what they do for this community every day and ensures a safe and reliable transit system our riders deserve."

- John Costa, International President, Amalgamated Transit Union.

"Transit workers move this city before it wakes up, through every shift and every season, and they deserve to be treated with the dignity that work demands. MVT Canadian Bus Inc. has a choice to make: come to the table and respect these professionals or face a workforce that knows exactly what it is worth."

- John Di Nino, ATU Canada.