Teamsters Issue Strike Notice To CN Rail
After nearly a full day of labor lockouts at Canada’s two largest railways, Canada’s Labor Minister stepped in to help find a resolution. Late Thursday Minister Steve McKinnon announced he would be ordering the imposition of final binding arbitration between the sides.
His decision came roughly 17 hours after Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked out 9,000 Teamster Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) workers following failed negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.
CN and CPKC had both been urging McKinnon to send the parties to binding arbitration in the weeks leading up to the lockout, but McKinnon had refused prior to Thursday.
Both railroads released statements late Thursday claiming their intention to begin their recovery processes and restart operations as soon as possible.
“As CN awaits the formal order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), the Company is making this decision to expedite the recovery of the economy,” CN said. “While CN is satisfied that this labour conflict has ended and that it can get back to its role of powering the economy, the Company is disappointed that a negotiated deal could not be achieved at the bargaining table despite its best efforts.”
CPKC initially offered a similar sentiment, then followed that up with another statement pointing a finger at TCRC.
“Unfortunately, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) representing the Train and Engine division and Rail Canada Traffic Controller division refused to discuss any resumption of service, and instead indicated that they wish to make submissions to challenge the constitutionality of the Minister’s direction, as well as the CIRB’s discretion to proceed with any order,” CPKC said.
TCRC released a statement of their own announcing they were taking down the picket lines at CN, but would do no such thing at CPKC.
“The work stoppage at CPKC remains ongoing pending an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). Despite the Labour Minister’s referral, there is no clear indication that the CIRB will actually order an end to the labour dispute at CPKC,” TCRC’s statement said. “The union and railroad officials met with the CIRB on Thursday, and will meet again with the CIRB at 10:00 a.m. eastern on Friday.”
However, on Friday morning TCRC reversed course and officially issued a 72-hour strike notice to CN. The notice says they don’t believe any of the issues are insurmountable and they remain willing to continue negotiations to avoid another work stoppage. But if they can’t reach an agreement, TCRC intends to withdraw the services of their members at 9:00 AM Eastern on Monday, August 26.
As always, Scarbrough will continue to monitor the situation and update accordingly. If delays continue, Scarbrough can help you explore alternative options such as transloading to keep your cargo flowing.
