Workers were on picket lines in Cloverdale Sept. 5.

Metro Vancouver HandyDART workers walked off the job two days before and began picketing. Along with the Cloverdale depot, picket lines were set up for both the Norland and Vancouver depots.

HandyDART, a transit service that picks up passengers with permanent or temporary disabilities, is a door-to-door service.

James Formosa and Brent Beelby were picketing outside the Cloverdale depot. Formosa, a Maple Ridge resident, said there are a few issues he and his fellow workers are striking over, but mostly it鈥檚 wages.

鈥淲e want parody with (transit workers) in the Fraser Valley,鈥� explained Formosa. 鈥淭hey signed a contract with the same company.鈥�

That company Transdev, based in France, had been negotiating with the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1724, since November 2023 and the collective agreement subsequently expired in January, 2024. Transdev is a private contractor that Translink hires out to run HandyDART.

鈥淢y big concern is that we鈥檙e run by Translink, but yet we鈥檙e contracted out to Transdev and then they take whatever money they can out of the system,鈥� explained Formosa. 鈥漌e鈥攁s divers鈥攖hink the money should be reinvested back into Translink. So we should be run in house. I, personally, don't understand why we are contracted out to a company in another country.鈥�

Formosa said another reason they are striking is the use of taxis.

鈥淭hey use a lot of taxis and our drivers want to get that back in house too,鈥� Formosa added. 鈥淲e need to hire more people to drive the HandyDART instead of contracting it out to taxis.鈥�

An ATU Local 1724 representative said earlier in the week HandyDART services would run at about 20 per cent during the strike. Essential services would still operate for those with very serious medical appointments, such as cancer treatment and kidney dialysis.

Adriana McManus was also on the picket line outside the Cloverdale depot. She said her and fellow workers are disappointed contract negotiations have dragged on for nearly a year.

鈥淲e want better quality of work and support for the people that we drive for,鈥� she explained. 鈥淲e want to make the same amount of money as everybody else that is doing the same job we are.鈥�

McManus said it鈥檚 very emotional for her and her co-workers to be on the picket lines.

鈥淲e care about the passengers we work with,鈥� she added. 鈥淭he fact that we鈥檙e here right now is painful because we don鈥檛 want to hurt the people we support. It just sucks that we have to be out here fighting big corporations for a pittance.鈥�

Vineet Nirmal, also on the picket line in Cloverdale, said he thinks it's vital to the future of HandyDART to go under the umbrella of Translink and cut out the 鈥渕iddle-man鈥� Transdev. He said there is no need to parcel out the contract to a for-profit company to run what is an 鈥渆ssential service鈥� for those in need in the Lower Mainland.

鈥淲e want some transparency,鈥� he noted. "Translink pays Transdev a lot of money to run HandyDART each year. What sort of benefit does Translink get for getting another company to run this?"

Nirmal added the infrastructure is already there to bring HandyDART in-house.

鈥淲e already have all the managers and supervisors,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want Transdev out and we want Translink to take us in. And stop begging for money from the Federal Government. If Transdev can make money, why can鈥檛 Translink?鈥�

ATU Local 1724 represents about 600 HandyDART workers in the Lower Mainland.

Transdev did not respond to an interview request by publication time.