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YRT 2011-2012 strike

I wonder what the ramifications of canceling the contract early will be on a larger scale. Assuming any legal fallout lands in York Region's favour, does this set a precedent that corporations can now legally fire striking unionized employees as long as there is a contractor middle man?

Effectively, many of the striking workers will now get laid off (which is legally different than firing). I'm not an expert in employment law, but I suspect that either the union will basically be forced to take the next deal so their members can get access to whatever severance package the company is going to offer. If the union is working in the best interest of their members, they will want to get them back to work with another employer as soon as possible. You cannot fire someone who is on strike, but there was always the option to lay them off - the only reason this doesn't happen more often is because
the courts would see through a trumpted-up layoff.
 
What about the buses themselves? Does the Region own them?
The Region owns all the buses, so whoever gets the new contract will operate them. This is also why they were able to get away with transfering the articulated Viva buses to the division that operates the route 99.
 
So has anyone else been back on YRT now that the strike seems to be ending? There were notices at major bus stops saying that service is free until the end of March. I rode from Sutton to Finch and back today without paying a dime. :)
 

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