Montreal has one of the cleanest (yes, yes) and most architecturally interesting metro systems in North America. And, as much as we love to complain about the metro and the STM, we’re still very lucky to be able to get around the city quickly – and with central heating in winter.
That said, and for several years now, the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) has been periodically announcing slowdowns, strikes and dramatic works that halt service for hours, days and weeks at a time.
We love it, we hate it – and an overtime strike has been announced starting September 22, 2025, for 14 days.
Strike announcement; what we know
This isn’t the first time this year that the maintenance workers’ union has issued a strike notice in response to the slow pace of negotiations with the STM for better working conditions.
In June, during Formula 1, service was partially suspended for 9 days. It was a bit chaotic, but we managed – after all, we’re used to cycling, walking, carpooling…
This time, the strike notice filed by the STM maintenance workers’ union concerns overtime only. The slowdowns caused by the 14-day strike will not affect peak hours (morning and evening) on metro and bus services.
Practical info
All we know about the strike so far is that the maintenance workers’ union will stop work during overtime, between September 22 and October 5 at 10pm .
There’s still a chance that negotiations between the maintenance workers’ union and STM management will be concluded before September 22… but we recommend that you study bike paths, carpooling plans and work-from-home possibilities for the possible strike period.
Good luck to STM maintenance employees and Montrealers!