The union representing more than 9,000 CN and CPKC workers has called a second strike vote amid stalled contract negotiations with the railways.
“It is clear that we cannot rely on a timely resolution of these unfortunate circumstances and that we must protect our rights regardless of the outcome,” the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) said in a news release. On May 1, CN and CPKC railway workers voted to authorize a strike that could have started on May 22.
Canadian Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan referred the rail worker dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) on May 13, indefinitely suspending any potential work stoppage until the CIRB makes a decision on the potential impact a strike could have for the security of the country.
TCRC’s second strike vote began Friday and will end on June 29, as the current strike mandate expires on June 30. Canadian labor law prohibits unions from calling a strike unless its members have agreed to lay off within the past 60 days.
If the CIRB determines that a strike would not pose a serious threat to public safety, a strike could not take place until mid-July at the earliest, CPKC said.
“It is unlikely that the parties will be able to initiate a legal strike or lockout before mid-July or later. In any case, a legal strike or lockout cannot take place until 72 hours after the CIRB has made a decision,” CPKC said in a statement.
TCRC said it has sent written submissions to the CIRB and attended a few in-person meetings with railway officials, but has received “no indication” of how long the negotiation process could take.
“We have no indication of how long this process will take, or what an outcome could potentially look like,” TCRC said. “The result is a frustrating process. Both carriers have completely withdrawn any commitment to negotiate since the referral was issued, which has been almost non-existent since the sessions began last fall.
CPKC and CN railway workers – including conductors, engineers, yard workers and traffic controllers – are seeking higher wages, as well as concessions on crew scheduling, working hours and fatigue management.
“CPKC aims to undermine the collective agreement of all safety-critical fatigue provisions,” TCRC said. “CN has offered to the union to keep some of its language around fatigue conditional on the acceptance of a plan that would force workers to relocate across the country for several months to address labor shortages in remote areas of the country. land to fill.”
CN and CPKC have asked Canadian authorities to appoint an independent arbitrator to assist in the negotiations.
“CN has been negotiating with the TCRC since November 2023 to reach an agreement that is good for both parties. Unfortunately, we are no closer to a deal. The uncertainty surrounding the timing of a resolution and the prospect of labor disruption is harming CN, our employees, our customers and the Canadian economy,” CN said in a statement.
Following the Union vote on whether to extend CN’s strike threat, CPKC railroad workers made their first appearance on FreightWaves.
