At a general membership meeting on Tuesday evening, 87% of the members of CUPE 2850, the union representing administrative, technical and professional personnel of Société de transport de Montréal, STM, voted in favour of a strike mandate. This marked a first in the 40-year plus history of the local. This turn of events reflected the employees’ exceptional exasperation over the deadlocked talks to renew their collective agreement.
“Following one year of negotiations and 28 meetings, the employer has still not yet submitted all of their demands. We were not even able to begin discussing major issues such as vacations, leave, parental rights and progressive retirement,” explained Stéphane Lamont, president of CUPE 2850.
The union made it a point to mention that the CEO of the STM reportedly earned $474,000 in 2024, a 6.5% increase in her compensation. During this time, the wage offer made to this group of employees called for 2.5% in 2025, 2.5% in 2026 and just 2% a year for 2027 to 2029 inclusive, or 11% over five years.
“The wage disparity is appalling when salaries paid to senior managers are compared with the wages of the employees who are keeping the service going. This also helps us understand the state of mind of the employees we represent,” said Lamont.
The collective agreement of the 1320 workers expired on January 4, 2025.