Windsor’s public transit department is unique in Canada – it is the only local transit agency that crosses the international border with the United States.
This makes it a federally regulated employer.
I’ve been watching in recent months for the federal government to post Transit Windsor’s new collection agreement. I want to see what gains workers secured and then watch to see if the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) seeks to gain federally granted rights into contracts in other municipalities.
(Transit Windsor is also regulated by the State of Michigan and the United States Department of Transportation. All Windsor Transit operators must maintain clean criminal records and meet U.S. drug testing requirements – they are expected to be able to operate the ‘Tunnel Bus’ route into Detroit.)
Transit Windsor workers, represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union, have traditionally waived federal labour rights in favour of accepting Ontario’s labour rights.
Generally speaking, the labour rights granted to federally-regulated and provincial-regulated employees were similar.
For example, November 11 (Remembrance Day) is a federal holiday, and Civic Holiday (the first Monday of August) is a provincial holiday. The Transit Windsor contract stated workers waived Remembrance Day as a holiday in exchange for receiving the Civic Holiday.
This arrangement worked for everyone involved, enabling the ATU and the City of Windsor to follow collective bargaining patterns adopted by other Ontario transit agencies.
However, in recent years, the federal Liberal government has granted more generous labour rights, including awarding an additional holiday (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation) and the eligibility to earn up to 10 days of paid medical leave per year.
Transit Windsor workers agreed to a new contract in February 2024. It is not yet on the federal Labour website.
The City of Windsor posted its 2025 budget today (Jan 3, 2025).
The budget includes increases to the Transit Windsor budget to cover the costs of the 10 days of paid medical leave. [Page 55 of this 340 page PDF]
This indicates that the new collective agreement is more complex than in the past—the workers are keeping their federal rights.
Aside Musings
[Windsor says the ‘tunnel bus’ to Detroit is facing a revenue deficit of over $566,000 annually to operate.
The bus operates once an hour during daytime hours and costs $20 for a round-trip. Windsor doubled the fare in 2021.
There is a discussion about ending the service. The revenue deficit does not include the increased costs of meeting U.S. regulations and more generous Canada Labour Code benefits.
In November 2023, five colleagues and I were staying in Windsor. We took a day trip to Detroit. We rented a vehicle for $80, saving $40 compared to the bus fare, with the added benefit of being in Detroit before the first bus and staying later than the last bus.]
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: January 3, 2025
Last updated: January 3, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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v. 1.0.0 original version