CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have locked out employees who are Teamsters Canada Rail Conference members after the railroads and the union could not come to a labor agreement.
CN said its offer improved wages and would have seen employees work less days in a month by aligning hours of service in the collective agreement with federally mandated rest provisions. It also proposed a pilot project for hourly rates and scheduled shifts on a portion of the network as CN argues this is a better and more predictable framework for its employees.
“Throughout nearly a year of negotiations, CPKC has remained committed to doing its part to avoid this work stoppage,” the railroad said in a news release. “CPKC has bargained in good faith, but despite our best efforts, it is clear that a negotiated outcome with the TCRC is not within reach. The TCRC leadership continues to make unrealistic demands that would fundamentally impair the railway’s ability to serve our customers with a reliable and cost-competitive transportation service.
“At this time, the responsible path forward for the union, the company, our customers, the Canadian economy and North American supply chains and the public interest is for TCRC and CPKC to engage in binding arbitration to resolve all outstanding disputes,” the railroad added. “Binding arbitration is an effective, reasonable and fair process that ultimately has been used many times in the past to resolve disputes with this union. CPKC reiterates its standing offer to resolve this matter through binding arbitration. Acceptance of that offer by the TCRC would immediately end this work stoppage and mitigate further harm and disruption to supply chains and our economy.”
