The walkout of 2,800 conductors and rail yard workers that has affected rail shipments of fertilizer and other commodities on the Canadian National Railway continued last week, even as the Canadian government considered back-to-work legislation and a federally appointed labor mediator worked to end the strike.
The strike by the United Transportation Union-Canada, which began on Feb. 10, entered its second week after the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled on Feb. 19 that the strike was legal. The three-member board on Monday rejected CN’s argument that the UTU had given improper notice of the walkout and that union officials had acted without a proper mandate from the UTU-International, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The strike does not involve CN’s train crews in the U.S.
UTU-Canada is asking for a 4.5 percent wage increase in the first two years of a three-year contract with CN, with a 4 percent increase in the final year. Also at issue are concerns related to working conditions, including lunch breaks and disciplinary actions. The last contract between CN and UTU-Canada expired in December.
Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn told the House of Commons on Tuesday that he had back-to-work legislation ready, and news reports said the legislation could be offered for a vote on Friday. Montreal-based CN, one of only two major railways in Canada, has been using management crews to replace striking workers, and has demanded that the picket lines come down and workers agree to a 63-day strike-free “cooling off” period before formal negotiations resume. UTU-Canada rejected CN’s call for a voluntary return to work, however.
Impacted businesses continued to call for government intervention to end the strike, with a litany of statements coming last week from the chemical, forestry, automobile, grain, mining, and fertilizer industries. Some chemical companies have announced production cutbacks because the strike has delayed incoming shipments of raw materials and outgoing shipments of finished products to customers.
A Feb. 21 statement from The Canadian Fertilizer Institute said the CN strike “is making it difficult to get fertilizer delivered throughout rural Canada so that farmers will have adequate supplies for spring planting.” CFI said it supports government intervention to end the strike, saying service disruptions “could cause significant losses and layoffs throughout industry.”
“North America’s farmers depend on fertilizer to grow food,” said Roger Larson, CFI president. “Grain prices are strong. Farmers can’t afford to miss this opportunity. In addition, fertilizer exports to 70 countries around the world are threatened by this situation.” CFI said Canadian farmers spend $2.7 billion each year for fertilizer, and “getting that product to farm retail outlets each spring is a major challenge, even without a strike.”
The rail congestion caused by the strike has also hurt competing carriers, including Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. Claiming the strike has delayed shipments through the port of Vancouver, CPN declared a force majeure on Feb. 16 at its Vancouver operations, where it relies on CN employees and tracks to service terminals in North Vancouver as part of a co-production agreement.
As of midweek, the backlog of anchored grain vessels at Vancouver and Prince Rupert, B.C., had grown to 15, and several other ships were reportedly waiting for delayed shipments of bulk commodities. Local reports said grain shipments had dropped to half their normal volumes at both West Coast ports, citing the strike and inclement February weather as the cause. Local reports also quoted coal, potash, and canola oil terminal representatives as saying their rail traffic had dropped by 60 percent since the strike began.
“Farmers have had some tough times and now, when they see some light at the end of the tunnel, the transportation system breaks down,” said Richard Phillips, executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada. “It is critical to get rail service back up as soon as possible.”