Wait period pay practices

It is a fact that while buses are in revenue service they may encounter mechanical difficulties thus rendering them disabled on the road - some minor while others requiring significant work. The issue is the ‘wait period’ for the TWU Local 100 member till the arrival of the road truck maintainers.

We here in why did you join the union demand that this ‘wait period’ issue be addressed in the contract of 2012 specifically for the benefit of the TWU Local 100 member. Due to the fact that TWU Local 100 members are stranded in unimaginable places, being exposed to the inclement of the weather without nutrition or access to a restroom. In addition employer restrictions such as not allowing the TWU Local 100 member from leaving the bus unattended as well as the requirement to stay in constant communication with the bus command center.

We here in why did you join the union say the ‘wait period’ issue should be addressed in this manner in the contract of 2012. First if the wait period is 60 minutes then the standard pay run should be applied. That means that if you are stranded for up to 60 minutes and the road truck maintainer shows up to address the mechanical difficulties within those 60 minutes and gets you back on the road then you get your regular pay. Second if the wait period is more than 90 minutes then the TWU Local 100 member should be paid one hour extra to the spread - if the run has a boost then that boost should not be subtracted from that extra hour. Third if the wait period is 120 minutes then the pay should be at time and one-half added to the spread. Fourth if the wait period is over 180 minutes then the pay should be 3 1/2 hours added to the spread. Fifth if the wait period is over 240 minutes then the pay should be 4 hours and receive spread penalty added to the spread.

We here in why did you join the union believe this pay practice for the wait period will impel our employer to hire more maintainers which will be good for TWU Local 100 strategy. It will address our employer cutting on the maintenance side on a tactical side thus benefiting the membership remuneration. However we are not going to hold our breath with John Samuelsen president of TWU Local 100 with his Take Backward Our Union.