The
NCBFAA Transportation Committee wants to remind our members that the Canadian
rail strike threat remains in place until the contracts between Canada’s two Class
1 railroads and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) are reached.
TCRC
union leaders on Friday afternoon challenged the Canadian government’s Aug. 22
labor contract arbitration order, which canceled the work stoppage at CN and
CPKC, by specifically notifying CN that if
a new contract is not reached before 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 26, then its
6,500 workers at the railroad will resume their strike.
The
freight rail networks of CN and CPKC ceased operating at 00:01 a.m. ET on
Thursday, Aug. 22, with the railroads and TCRC still gridlocked in their
negotiations to reach a new labor contract. The TCRC represents about 10,000
workers at CN and CPKC.
Canada’s
Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon that afternoon directed the Canada Industrial
Relations Board (CIRB) to assist the railroads and Teamsters Canada Rail
Conference (TCRC) union parties in settling outstanding terms of their
collective agreement by imposing final binding arbitration. This action
effectively ended the nearly daylong lockout and restarted the rail services of
CN and CPKC.
The
NCBFAA Transportation Committee, as well as our counterparts at the Canadian
International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA), will continue to monitor
the possible resumption of work stoppages at the Canadian railroads if new
contracts are not reached.
