Join ATU Canada!

ATU Canada is a union of transit professionals, building a workplace culture that supports working people, and advocating for better public transit in Canada.

As the leaders in transit in Canada, we pride ourselves in establishing new standards for workers across the entire nation; standards for health and safety, wages and working hours, accessibility and education, pensions and benefits, and job security.

We are the transit experts who advocate for issues of importance in the industry and in our communities. We believe that all workers deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and to come home safely from their day at work. We believe that residents of Canada deserve safe, affordable, and reliable public transit service.

From the shop floor to the bus depot, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, there is a place for you in ATU Canada.

We understand that you work hard, and we believe that you deserve to be fairly compensated for the work that you do to keep Canada moving.

We are stronger together than we are as individuals, and that’s why we invite you to find your voice in the ATU.

We want to hear from you: What are your aspirations for your job? What would have to change at your workplace for you to recommend your job to a loved one?

To find out more about how joining the ATU will further your career in the transit industry, contact Justin Panos ([email protected]). 

Confidentiality is guaranteed. 

Winnipeg transit

What is the Amalgamated Transit Union?

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) is a union of workers just like you, who have joined together to promote the wellbeing of themselves and their families – both on and off the job. ATU members stand together to negotiate binding contracts with their employer to improve their wages, hours of work, working conditions, health care benefits, vacations, sick leave and other benefits. Through political, legislative and social action, they work to improve their status as workers and defend all working people. Founded in 1892, the ATU is the oldest and largest union in the public transit industry in the U.S and Canada. The ATU is affiliated with the AFL-CIO and the Canadian Labour Congress.

What kinds of work do ATU members perform?

ATU represents more than 200,000 women and men in all phases of the public and private transit industry, including bus and rail operators, mechanics, maintenance crafts, school bus workers, paratransit workers, cleaners, baggage handlers, clerical and call center staff, terminal personnel, and other transit and municipal employees. ATU members operate the transit systems – bus, rail, and ferry – in virtually every major city in the U.S and Canada.

What gains have ATU members made?

ATU members enjoy a better standard of living with benefit packages that are the best in the industry. Due to our successes in securing job protection legislation, ATU members in public transit also enjoy relative job stability and security.

None of these things have been given to ATU members. Every gain made has been the result of hard work, struggle, and sometimes sacrifice.

Defending what we have is important too, especially today when employers and politicians too often look to balance budgets, increase profit margins, or make political points at the expense of transit workers.

Join the ATU

If your employer refuses to pay decent wages, provide affordable benefits, or acts unfairly, you should join our union and begin to make the on-the-job progress that you deserve. Management sets wages, the hours of work, and determines job assignments and work schedules. They don’t have to treat workers fairly if they don’t want to.

By joining the ATU, all workers have a say and are not subject to arbitrary decisions without any recourse. Through collective bargaining ATU workers make gains in wages, hours of work, working conditions, benefits, promotion and layoff policies, and negotiate fair disciplinary systems. Your union contract will spell these things out, and provide a means to resolve problems and grievances that come up in the workplace.

The power of the ATU

When you and your fellow workers join the ATU, you will belong to a local union. You will elect your officers from your own ranks; you will establish your own by-laws. In other words, you and your fellow workers will determine how your local functions.

What about dues?

Dues for union members are set by the members themselves through procedures in a local union’s Constitution and By-Laws. Dues money pays for collective bargaining, grievance and representation costs, contract arbitrations, training costs, publications, and many other services. Always remember that belonging to the union means that you are part of an organization which is independent of your employer.

It takes funds to run any organization, including a union. Employers have far more money than workers do – some have practically unlimited amounts of money. Your local union, and the resources it provides, helps you as a member in that unfair contest.

Beyond your local union the ATU assists you in these matters with an International staff of knowledgeable professionals, all of whom came up through the ranks. We understand your needs, your concerns, your problems, because we’ve been there, we’ve performed the same work under the same conditions. Our years of experience are an invaluable tool when you are dealing with increasingly sophisticated and aggressive management behaviours.

Joining the Amalgamated Transit Union

ATU members want what workers everywhere want: prosperity, security, dignity, and respect on the job.

You can’t put a price tag on human dignity. When you have no say in your conditions of work, when you are subject to the prejudices of the employer without any recourse, when you are a pawn to be manipulated at will by your employer, you have no dignity. The ATU offers you the opportunity to advance your interests with dignity both on and off the job.

The ATU welcomes you to our union family. We are eager to lend you a hand to improve your standard-of-living so that you and your family can have a better life.