Representatives of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) and Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway Ltd. were reportedly meeting with a federally-appointed mediator/conciliator on March 11-16 to try to hammer out a new labor agreement and avoid a strike at the railroad.
TCRC represents more than 3,000 union members who work as engineers, conductors, and train and yard employees for CP. TCRC served a notice of dispute to the Federal Labor Minister in February, citing issues related to wages, benefits, and pensions (GM Feb. 25, p. 1). Some 96.7 percent of TCRC members then voted in favor of a strike action (GM March 4, p. 1).
The threat of a strike on the cusp of the spring planting season, and the impact it could have on the shipment of fertilizer and other agricultural products, has prompted an appeal from trade groups and fertilizer industry representatives for government officials to immediately take action.
Railroad trade publications are already noting a surge in volumes and delays on CP’s rail system as shippers resort to “frontloading” cargo on the railroad ahead of a potential work stoppage. Fertilizer Canada told Green Markets that TCRC could give a 72-hour strike notice as soon as midnight on March 13, with a work stoppage taking effect at midnight on March 16.
“To assist in the flow of fertilizer products to domestic and international markets, the Canadian government needs to ensure that domestic supply of fertilizer is moving freely and there is unimpeded trade and cross-border mobility between Canada and the U.S., which is essential, particularly for the fertilizer sector, due to the highly integrated nature of the supply chains.,” said Karen Proud, Fertilizer Canada President and CEO.
In a recent LinkedIn post, GreenPoint Ag LLC President and CEO Jeff Blair described the potential strike as “a food security and national security issue for both Canada and the U.S.” Without CP Rail functioning at full capacity, Blair said Canadian and American farmers face “the very real possibility” of going without some of their potash and other crop nutrients this spring.
“Without Russia and the Ukraine to potentially supply the world with grains critical to feeding their populations, the Canadian and American farmers are best positioned to supply the extra grains, but only if they can grow them,” Blair said. “Which is where the potash – and the Canadian Pacific railroad that delivers it – comes in.”
In a March 7 letter to President Joe Biden, The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA), and 19 other members of the Agricultural Transportation Working Group requested that the administration work with the Canadian government to avert a major railway strike and to rescind the cross-border vaccine mandate for workers moving essential commerce.
“A CP railway strike would severely curtail fertilizer supply and shipments into the U.S. and would happen at the worst possible time as farmers are planting their 2022 crops,” the letter said, describing the potential impact as “devastating” for the fertilizer industry and North American farmers. “Given the fragility of current supply chains, urgent attention and engagement with all parties is needed to avert a potential strike.”
The letter said a strike would significantly impact grain movement on both sides of the border for livestock feeding and processing operations, and would also halt the CP route that carries U.S grain to the Pacific Northwest export market. Grain is CP’s largest line of business, and approximately 10-15 percent of CP’s business is fertilizer, the working group noted.
“Fertilizer markets, which are largely influenced by global factors, are already experiencing severe disruptions, which are impacting fertilizer supply, demand, and costs,” the letter said. “Impeding farmers’ ability to access critical fertilizer inputs due to supply chain disruptions will have long-term consequences in terms of costs to farmers, and harm domestic and international food security. This will make inflation worse and drive up the cost and availability of food.”
The letter also urged the U.S. and Canadian governments to modify or rescind their mandates blocking unvaccinated foreign nationals, including truck drivers, from crossing the border. Canada’s vaccine mandate requires U.S. truckers to show proof of vaccination before entering the country, and the U.S. mandate requires foreign cross-border truckers to be vaccinated. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said its border policy will remain in effect through April 21.
“The border policy has raised prices because it has constrained trucking capacity and made truck movements more expensive and less timely,” the letter said, noting that more than one million short tons of fertilizer cross the U.S.-Canada border by truck each year, with March, April, and May serving as the peak months for fertilizer applications across the northern states.
“Given the urgency of several supply-chain challenges, we urge revision or rescission of the border policy prior to April 21,” the letter said.