Another Canadian rail strike looms

Toronto, Ont.-A strike is once again looming at Canada’s two largest railways as workers represented by the Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW) have overwhelmingly voted to take strike action at both CN Rail and Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway if contract issues are not resolved by specified deadlines. CAW represents about 6,100 employees at CN and CP, consisting of approximately 3,400 shopcraft, clerical, and intermodal employees and 575 owner-operator truck drivers at CN and a subsidiary, and 2,100 mechanical workers at CP. According to press reports, a series of voting meetings held in early January throughout the country resulted in 82-100 percent of the CN workers favoring a strike, while 89 percent of the CP votes came out in favor of a strike. CAW set a strike deadline of Jan. 25 at 12:01 a.m. for CN, and Feb. 8 at 12:01 a.m. for CP. CAW representatives stated that the CP labor dispute centers on both monetary and non-monetary issues, including CP’s plans to close its Ogden shops in Calgary. The details of the union’s disagreement with CN were not disclosed. “Our members have spoken loudly and clearly about their issues and concerns, and this high strike vote is a strong indication that our members are absolutely serious in addressing these concerns at the bargaining table,'” said CAW President Ken Lewenza. “Workers at CN and CP will enjoy the full support of the union as they fight concessionary demands and secure a decent contract.” A spokesman for CN said he was confident that new collective agreements could be reached without a disruption to service. Negotiations between CAW and the railways started last fall with collective agreements set to expire at the end of 2010, and are slated to resume on Jan. 17 in Montreal. In October 2010, CN reached a tentative, three-year contract with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents 2,700 conductors, year-persons, and traffic coordinators, after TCRC threatened a strike over modifications proposed by CN to alter mandatory rest periods for workers (GM Oct. 12, Sept. 27, 2010). Fertilizer industry sources view labor disputes at the two major railways with concern since past strikes and lockouts have caused significant disruptions to chemical and fertilizer shipments, as was the case in early 2007 when some 2,800 unionized workers at CN went on strike over a disputed pay raise (GM Feb. 12, 2007).