Canadian rail workers vote to strike

Tens of thousands of workers employed with CN Rail have been negotiating for new contracts with their employer, including over 3,000 in Alberta.

Back in March, the 9-member bargaining committee for United Steelworkers, representing workers who inspect, maintain and repair the railway’s track, bridges and infrastructure, announced that they had reached a tentative deal with CN Rail.

Ratification meetings then took place during the rest of that month via regional in-person and online townhall meetings.

Last week, the bargaining committee published an update on the contract, reporting that a majority of the workers who voted on the agreement chose to ratify it.

The new 3-year contract provides wage increases of 3% each year, with the first increase being retroactive to 1 January 2024. As well, workers in certain job classifications will see wage adjustments, which represent increases as high as 7.5% in the contract’s first year.

Other gains include significant increases to travel expense coverage, various allowances and shift premiums, as well as improvements to health and welfare benefits, with a transition to the CN Unionized Flex Benefit Plan next year

The new contract also includes measures to increase productivity and reduce the need to outsource work to contractors by creating new positions within the company and allowing more workers to move outside their region when needed.

However, the Teamsters, which represent conductors, locomotive engineers, and yard workers, haven’t been able to reach a tentative agreement with the owners.

In a statement published on their website last week, the Teamsters announced that the workers they represent recently voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, if necessary.

These workers are negotiating with not only CN Rail but also Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

According to the union, “both companies are trying to strip our collective agreements of safety-critical rest provisions”, and the negotiating team refuses to “compromise on safety or bargain with Canadian lives”.

In a statement published on their website back in February, the Teamsters warned that the two companies wanted “to eliminate all safety-critical rest provisions from our collective agreements”.

Railroaders are on-call workers with highly irregular schedules, making it difficult to rest appropriately between shifts. The current collective agreements provide rest provisions that work in conjunction with the existing regulatory framework, allowing workers to better manage their fatigue.

That same statement claimed that the employers whose actions ultimately led to the strike vote. Apparently, CN and CPKC both filed a notice of dispute with the federal government, effectively pausing negotiations until government mediators can be appointed. The notice of dispute also starts the legal process towards a possible strike or lockout.

Of the 93.3% conductors, locomotive engineers, and yard workers employed by CN who participated in the strike vote, 97.6% to authorize a strike.

As far as CPKC conductors, locomotive engineers, and yard workers go, 91.7% showed up to vote, and 99% of those authorized a strike. CPKC rail traffic controllers voted 95.3% to authorize a strike, with a 96.6% turnout.

A strike vote doesn’t necessarily mean they are going on strike. It’s a tool workers use to leverage their own bargaining power. In fact, the Teamsters’ bargaining team intends to return to the table to negotiate a new contract.

With these results, we intend to go back to the bargaining table, work with federal mediators, and do everything in our power to reach a fair deal for our members.

Speaking of which, Unifor had also been in negotiations with CN—well, technically CN Transportation Ltd., which handles container pickups and deliveries between CN intermodal terminals and customer locations.

Unifor represents owner-operator truck drivers who haul cargo for CNTL, including those working local pick-up and delivery, as well as regional and long-haul.

This past January, the two parties had reached a tentative agreement, after bargaining since October 2023; however, 52% of the workers who participated in the ratification vote rejected that contract, and a few weeks later voted to strike (97% for one local and 91% for the other local).

Unifor used that strong strike mandate as leverage to win a better contract for the workers they represent. Workers will be voting this weekend on whether to ratify this second contract.