87% of STM employees vote in favour of strike mandate

Union workers of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) voted in favour of a strike mandate Tuesday evening. 

The strike mandate was authorized by 87 per cent of members, but the participation rate was not specified. It would affect about 1,320 STM employees. 

This is the first such mandate in 40 years for the STM staff across administrative, technical and professional functions of the local union, said the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in a press release.  

“After a year of negotiations and 28 meetings, the employer still hasn’t tabled all its demands. We haven’t even been able to address a number of key issues, such as vacations, leaves, parental rights and phased retirement,” explained Stéphane Lamont, president of the local union. 

RELATED: STM maintenance workers going on one-day strike May 25

In its press release issued on Tuesday evening, the union takes offence at the fact that “the STM’s director general would have received a salary of $474,000 in 2024, a 6.5 per cent increase in her remuneration,” whereas it claims that the employer’s salary offer presents increases of two per cent to 2.5 per cent per year. 

On Monday, La Presse had reported that Marie-Claude Léonard, the director general, had received a hike in compensation for 2024. A spokesperson for the STM had said that the increase was due to performance-based lump sums approved by STM’s board. 

In response to the vote, the STM said it was taking note of the mandate voted by its unionized employees. 

“The STM is doing everything in its power to avoid such a situation and will continue discussions actively at the negotiating tables,” STM Public and Government Relations Section Head Justine Lord-Dufour told The Canadian Press.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews