Fraser Valley/Ottawa/Montreal (with files from CP/CBC/Globe NewsWire/City News ) – Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (CPKC) locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers after the parties failed to agree on a new contract before the midnight ET deadline (9PM PT).
The impasse also affects tens of thousands of commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, whose lines run on CPKC-owned tracks. Without traffic controllers to dispatch them, passenger trains cannot run on those rails.
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said in a statement that despite months of good faith negotiations, “parties remain far apart, and both CN and CPKC have begun their employer-driven work stoppage.”
Over the past several days, the Teamsters have put forward multiple offers, none of which were seriously considered by either company,” read their statement. “The main obstacles to reaching an agreement remain the companies’ demands, not union proposals.”
From the CPKC website:
Throughout nearly a year of negotiations, CPKC has remained committed to doing its part to avoid this work stoppage. 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. 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.
From the CN Website:
CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) has formally locked out employees represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) as of Aug. 22 at 00:01 ET, after the union did not respond to another offer by CN in a final attempt to avoid a labour disruption.
This 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. The offer also proposed a pilot project for hourly rates and scheduled shifts on a portion of the network as CN continues to believe this is a better and more predictable framework for our employees.
Without an agreement or binding arbitration, CN had no choice but to finalize a safe and orderly shutdown and proceed with a lockout.
Over the last nine months, CN has negotiated in good faith. The Company consistently proposed serious offers, with better pay, improved rest, and more predictable schedules. The Teamsters have not shown any urgency or desire to reach a deal that is good for employees, the company and the economy.
We urge the Teamsters to engage in these negotiations with the urgency and importance that this situation requires.
Current Rest and Wages
Rest:
- By combining Duty and Rest Period Rules (DRPR), paid sick days, personal leave days, and existing rest and vacation provisions in their collective agreements, conductors and locomotive engineers currently work approximately 160 days a year.
Wages:
- In 2023, the average conductor earned approximately $121,000, not including pension and medical benefits.
- In 2023, the average locomotive engineer earned approximately $150,000, not including pension and medical benefits.
