Canadian Rail Strike Looms in July as Union Authorizes Second Vote
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents more than 9,000 workers at Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railroads, has authorized a second strike vote as labor contract negotiations with the railroads remain stalled.
An earlier strike vote in late April was overwhelmingly supported by union workers (GM May 3, p. 1), but the planned strike on May 22 was averted when the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) intervened and requested information from both parties on whether a strike would have potential safety implications (GM May 24, p. 1).
The submission deadline for those responses was June 14 and the CIRB’s ruling is expected imminently. According to a June 11 statement from the TCRC, a second strike vote commenced on June 14 and will run until June 29, with the union claiming that “CN and CPKC are only interested [in} frustrating the process and circumventing the membership’s right to withdraw services.”
“It is clear we cannot rely on a timely conclusion to these unfortunate circumstances and must protect our rights regardless of outcome,” the TCRC statement said. “We are very confident this can be a quick process with shorter turnaround because of the preparation and hard work already performed for the first ballot. This will ensure the TCRC is ready for any situation and are able to respond accordingly.”
The Loadstar reported on June 18 that the final submissions to the CIRB revealed that neither the railroads nor the TCRC believe “essential services” will be disrupted by a strike, likely paving the way for a labor action in July. According to documents provided to The Loadstar, CN told the CIRB that a work stoppage “would not cause an immediate and serious threat to the safety or health of the public” as “there are alternative modes of transportation for all of the commodities addressed by the affected parties.”
Canadian labor laws prohibit unions from declaring a strike unless its members have approved walking off the job in the previous 60 days, which TCRC members did in late April. The union is required to give a 72-hour strike notice in the wake of the CIRB ruling or member voting results. Both CN and CPKC have requested a 30-day cooling off period before any labor action could commence after the CIRB’s ruling, but the TCRC opposes this delay.
“This is another suspicious strategy employed by the companies,” the TCRC said in a statement. “The normal operation should prevail once the board has issued its decision.”
CN and CPKC said the 30-day period was “critical to mitigate risks to health and safety” by allowing the railroads to properly halt the transportation of potentially dangerous products. “It will also reduce economic harm by providing customers with sufficient time to arrange for alternate transportation for their commodities,” CN said.
As the likelihood of a summer strike grows, the TCRC in early June proposed that negotiations with the two railroads should be staggered by two weeks to avoid simultaneous stoppages at CN and CPKC, which the union said would reduce “the economic impacts from any disruption to the supply chain from a strike or lockout.” However, TCRC said both railroads rejected the proposal.
Also in early June, CN reported that it had formally offered the TCRC to enter into binding arbitration to reach a new collective labor agreement and avoid a strike, but CN said the TCRC rejected the voluntary arbitration process and all offers put to them (GM June 7, p. 1).
CPKC and CN rail workers are seeking higher wages, as well as concessions in crew scheduling, hours of work, and fatigue management. The workers represented by the TCRC include conductors, engineers, yard workers, and traffic controllers.