1) (Update) Teamsters challenge minister’s move to resume rail service as shutdown drags on

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Christopher Reynolds, Updated August 23, 2024

Rail workers pushed back hard Friday against the federal government’s move to put them back on the job, with a new strike notice and a regulatory challenge making it unclear when freight traffic will fully resume.

At Canadian National Railway Co., trains began to move again Friday morning as workers started to trickle back to work — even as the Teamsters union issued a 72-hour strike notice against CN shortly before 10 a.m. EDT.

And at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. — where operations remained shuttered — the union has challenged a directive for binding arbitration issued by Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to the country’s labour board.

A work stoppage at both national railways prompted MacKinnon to ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board on Thursday to use the mechanism, aimed at resolving an impasse that has halted freight shipments and snarled commuter lines across the country.

The labour board summoned the parties to a meeting Thursday night, followed by a hearing Friday morning.

The tribunal said in an email it is addressing the issue “with utmost urgency.” A decision is expected later in the day.

In Calgary, picketers rallied outside CPKC’s head office, where demonstrators received a visit Friday morning from François Laporte, president of Teamsters Canada.

Laporte and Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters — the union represents 1.4 million members across North America — arrived horns blaring in a black semi truck sporting “Teamsters” on the side.

O’Brien called the lockouts by both rail companies “a disgrace.”

“This is not over. I’m telling you this is not over. The struggle continues,” Laporte said to the 70-odd workers on hand.

CPKC workers went on strike at the same time the lockout came into effect early Thursday morning. CN employees are not yet in a legal strike position.

Before making the binding arbitration directive, the labour minister had faced pressure to intervene from business groups, which warned of the economic fallout caused by the work stoppage and urged Ottawa to break the deadlock and kick-start freight service.

At a Thursday news conference, MacKinnon said the government remains “committed totally to collective bargaining,” but that the cascading effects of the shutdown demanded action.

“Workers, farmers, ranchers, commuters, small businesses, miners, chemists, scientists … the impacts cannot be understated and they extend to every corner of this country,” he said.

The government gave the negotiations “every possible opportunity to succeed,” MacKinnon added.

Each side had accused the other of failing to negotiate seriously, with wages and scheduling as key sticking points. The union had rejected binding arbitration, framing Ottawa’s decision as a move to “sidestep” its choice.

“The best way to have a contract is at the bargaining table. We don’t believe in letting a third party decide what’s going to be our working conditions,” said Laporte.

The Teamsters say both companies are angling to weaken protections around rest periods and scheduling, jeopardizing safety. CN also has its sights on a scheme to move some employees to far-flung locations for several months at a time to fill labour gaps, the union says.

CN pushed back on Friday, saying the Teamsters are “holding Canada hostage to their demands.”

“CN is focused on recovery in order to resume powering the economy. The Teamsters are focused on returning to the pickets and shutting everything down again,” said spokesman Jonathan Abecassis in a phone interview.

Canadian Pacific said Thursday night it was “disappointed” by the union’s challenge before the labour tribunal. “CPKC remains prepared to resume service as soon as it is ordered to do so by the CIRB.”

The minister’s directive to the industrial relations board said the parties were at an “impasse,” necessitating intervention. Binding arbitration would produce a settlement to “secure industrial peace” and protect Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner as well as the affected sectors, from agriculture to energy, retail and manufacturing, MacKinnon wrote.

His directive, seen by The Canadian Press, instructs the tribunal “to order CPKC to resume operations” and workers “to resume their duties.”

The language around resumption of duties might suggest that strikes and lockouts are off the table following a ruling from the board.

Earlier this summer, a looser directive from then-labour minister Seamus O’Regan during a strike by WestJet mechanics resulted in a ruling for binding arbitration. However, the tribunal also said the government never technically barred a strike, allowing workers to continue their job action until a deal was reached at the bargaining table following hundreds of flight cancellations.

In Calgary, Laporte said that as far as he is concerned the standoff will continue.

“Our people are still on strike,” he said of CPKC workers. “We’re still on the streets so our operations will not resume. It is not going to be business as usual for both companies.”

O’Brien said the International Teamsters fully support their Canadian colleagues.

“Reward these workers with what they have earned. But also don’t try to diminish safety,” he said.

“What’s important here is not to lose sight of the fact of who caused this problem right now. They chose to lock these workers out,” O’Brien said.

“We got your backs 100 per cent.”

— With files from Bill Graveland in Calgary.

2) (Update) CN, CPKC prepare to restart railways after Ottawa steps in to end stoppage

Source Canadian Press

By Christopher Reynolds, Updated August 22, 2024

Canada’s two biggest railways say they’re preparing to get trains back on track after Ottawa intervened to end an unprecedented labour impasse that disrupted business across the country and cancelled commutes for thousands.

Canadian National Railway Co., in a statement Thursday, said it has ended the lockout of workers that began earlier in the day.

The move came shortly after Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said he has asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration to end the dispute and get the trains running.

CN said while it’s still waiting for the formal order from the board, “the company is making this decision (to do so now) to expedite the recovery of the economy.”

CN had earlier asked for binding arbitration but said Thursday it “is disappointed that a negotiated deal could not be achieved at the bargaining table despite its best efforts.”

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. had also asked for binding arbitration. 

In a statement, it said: “Our teams are already preparing for the safe and orderly resumption of our rail network and further details about timing will be provided once we receive the CIRB’s order.”

CPKC president Keith Creel added that while they respect collective bargaining, “given the stakes for all involved, this situation required action.”

MacKinnon, exercising powers under the Labour Code, announced he has asked the board to impose final, binding arbitration in the dispute involving the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union and the two railways.

MacKinnon said he has also asked the board to order the railways to resume operations under the terms of the current collective agreements until new deals are in place.

He said the collective bargaining process is the best way to resolve such disputes, but said the effects of the lockout are too widespread and punishing to ignore.

“Millions of Canadians rely on our railways every day,” MacKinnon said.

“The impacts cannot be understated, and they extend to every corner of this country.”

MacKinnon said the Liberal government will also examine the underlying reasons for the work stoppage. “It is the government’s responsibility to ensure industrial peace in this critically vital sector. Thus we will be examining why we experience repeated conflicts in the railway sector and the conditions that led to the parallel work stoppages we are seeing.” 

This was the first time the two carriers had seen operations shut down at the same time.

MacKinnon’s decision did not sit well with the NDP, which is helping prop up Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal minority in Parliament.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in a post on the social media site X, said the decision “sends a message to big corporations like CN & CPKC: Being a bad boss pays off.”

Singh added: “Justin Trudeau’s actions are cowardly, anti-worker, and proof that he will always cave to corporate greed.”

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, whose province depends on rail for its grain shipments, said on social media the government “took the appropriate action.”

Just after midnight Thursday, the two rail carriers locked out close to 10,000 employees, including engineers, conductors, dispatchers and yard workers after the two sides failed to agree to a new contract. CPKC workers began a strike at the same time, said MacKinnon.

Each side has accused the other of failing to negotiate seriously. The union had said it did not want binding arbitration because the issues were too critical to be left to a third party.

Rail workers from Halifax to Vancouver set up picket lines Thursday morning, while sign-toting employees demonstrated outside CN’s headquarters in downtown Montreal and CPKC’s head office in Calgary.

Railways ship about $1 billion in goods each day, according to the Railway Association of Canada. Most of the 180,000-plus railcars that CN and CPKC haul weekly — moving everything from cars to clothes, computers, wheat and fertilizer — were already sidelined by Wednesday under a phased wind-down that began last week.

Credit rating agency Moody’s warned the work stoppage would cost the Canadian economy $341 million per day, with agriculture, forestry and manufacturing among the hardest-hit sectors.

The impasse also affected about 32,000 commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver whose lines run on CPKC-owned tracks. Passenger trains cannot roll along those rails without the 80 locked-out traffic controllers to dispatch them.

Pressure from industry and government to resolve the impasse has been mounting for weeks.

The Teamsters represent 6,000 CN workers and 3,300 CPKC workers. The two companies typically hammer out new deals with employees a year apart. But in 2022, CN asked for a yearlong extension to the current collective agreement, moving the bargaining periods into lockstep. 

— With files from Morgan Lowrie in Montreal and Bill Graveland in Calgary

3) Work stoppage at CN, CPKC would be ‘devastating’ for small businesses: CFIB

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Christopher Reynolds, August 19, 2024

A potential work stoppage at Canada’s two major railways this week would harm small companies — from mom-and-pop shops to outfits with scores of workers — the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says.

“Any disruptions to railway operations could be devastating for small businesses, their employees and communities,” Jasmin Guenette, the group’s head of national affairs, said in a release.

“Many small businesses rely on rail services to send and receive goods, products and essential materials. The longer the work stoppage goes on, the costlier it becomes for small firms who may lose sales and contracts if goods are not delivered or received on time.”

A phased shutdown of the networks at Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is already underway as the clock ticks down on negotiations with the union representing 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers. Both companies have issued lockout notices while the union has also threatened to strike.

A full-fledged halt to rail traffic is set to begin one-minute past midnight on Thursday morning unless the parties can agree to a deal on new contracts or to binding arbitration following months of near-deadlock around wages and scheduling.

CN, after barring container imports from U.S. partner railroads on Friday, plans to stop loading any of the 40,000 containers it hauls each week — regardless of origin — starting Wednesday, according to company schedules.

A ban on all new cargo pickups at Canadian Pacific is coming Tuesday morning, it said last week.

The moves follow a halt on dangerous materials as well as shipments that need cooler temperatures, such as meat and medicine, to avoid seeing stranded loads go bad should a work stoppage occur.

For now, the 6,500 railcars that haul bulk grain across the country each week are still rolling.

“There is no ‘plan B’ because there aren’t competitive alternatives, and people around the world would suffer,” Wade Sobkowich, who heads the Western Grain Elevator Association, said in a release.

Bruce Burrows, CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce, said about 27 per cent of water-borne freight carried through Quebec and Ontario relies on CN and CPKC.

“It is often said a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and a work stoppage at Canada’s Class 1 railways effectively breaks the supply chain for Canadians, and for many people around the world,” Burrows said.

Ports are poised to see containers pile up on their docks.

About 60 per cent of container shipments through the Port of Halifax travels by rail, spokeswoman Lori MacLean said.

“Canadian gateways have already seen a reduction of volumes due to the uncertainty around rail operations,” she said in an email.

4) ‘No plan B’: Railways halt more cargo ahead of potential lockout as tensions rise

Courtesy Barrie360.com  Canadian Press

By Christopher Reynolds

The country’s two main railways are starting to block shipments of hazardous goods ahead of a potential strike or lockout next week.

As tensions build at the bargaining table, the country’s two main freight railways are turning away a growing number of goods ahead of a potential work stoppage next week that could disrupt supply chains and industry.

Canadian National Railway Co. schedules show that, starting Friday, it barred container imports from U.S. partner railways. After this Wednesday, no more of the 40,000 containers CN hauls each week will enter its network — regardless of origin — according to one timetable.

An embargo on all new cargo pickups at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. is coming even sooner — Tuesday morning, it said in a statement Friday night.

“We must take responsible and prudent steps to prepare for a potential rail service interruption next week,” said spokesman Patrick Waldron.

CN and CPKC have already halted shipments that need cooler temperatures, such as meat and medicine, to avoid seeing stranded loads go bad should a work stoppage occur.

Rail lines carry more than $1 billion worth of goods each day, according to the Railway Association of Canada. More than half of the country’s exports travel by rail.

The two railroad operators have warned that 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers will be locked out at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday unless they can reach new collective agreements, while the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference has also said it is poised for a strike.

CN claimed the union’s bargaining team “failed to show up” for talks at a hotel in downtown Montreal on Friday.

“CN can’t negotiate with an empty chair,” said spokesman Jonathan Abecassis.

The union did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Thursday, federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon rejected a request from CN to impose binding arbitration as the negotiating clock ticks down.

Both sides returned to the bargaining table last week amid an ongoing deadlock over scheduling and wages, with shipments of chlorine for drinking water already halted as part of a phased shutdown poised to progress even further next week.

Industry players, including chemical producers, are growing more alarmed by the day.

“We’re already in a strike for chlorine,” said Alan Robinson, commercial vice-president at Chemtrade Logistics Inc. The Toronto company says it provides chlorine for 40 per cent of Western Canada’s drinking water, as well as much of the western United States.

Its product cannot move by truck or ship, he pointed out, and safety regulations cap the amount that can be stockpiled.

However, several cities said they were prepared. Metro Vancouver said it had topped up its tanks “to maximum levels,” with plenty of bleach on hand at plants in the region.

“Metro Vancouver does not foresee any disruptions to the drinking water treatment process as a result of potential supply chain issues,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Saltman.

Likewise, Calgary is “monitoring our supply, but not concerned,” said spokesman Josh Etherington.

The White House and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency both reached out to Chemtrade this week with concerns about municipal water treatment, Robinson said.

“You’re looking at seven to 10 days once they don’t have shipments before they’re in trouble,” added Bob Masterson, CEO at the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada. Most municipalities also have a few more days’ worth of treated water in storage tanks, he noted.

A COMPLICATED WIND DOWN

Both railways began a complex process of putting the brakes on freight flows this week.

After Friday, no refrigerated containers will be allowed into CPKC terminals — from Vancouver to Saint John, N.B., to Laredo, Texas — according to a “wind-down schedule” obtained by The Canadian Press.

This week, CN partner Norfolk Southern Railway told clients it would close its gates to all Canadian-bound containers effective Friday morning.

CPKC has also broadened its ban on shipments of hazardous materials.

It stopped accepting boxes loaded with dangerous goods on Thursday, a customer notice states.

As of Saturday, the company is rejecting a range of “security-sensitive” materials, such as fertilizer chemicals and styrene, which is used to manufacture everything from insulation to auto parts. The embargo expands on a ban on poisonous and toxic inhalation substances from earlier in the week.

“There really aren’t very many industries that are immune to this. Commodities, mining, forestry, agriculture, chemicals, automotive, electronics,” said Fraser Johnson, a professor at Western University’s Ivey Business School specializing in supply chains.

“Farmers, consumers … then you’ve got all the workers in the plant that are affected by the strike or the lockout,” he said. “There’s just no Plan B.”

Contracting semi trucks to replace the roughly 41,000 car loads that CN and CPKC move daily is far from feasible, he added.

HARVEST SEASON

The possible work stoppage looms just as harvest season dawns, worrying farmers and wholesalers.

Pulse crops — beans, peas, lentils — are some of the first to be gathered, followed by canola and wheat. A shipping halt could have ripple effects well into the fall.

“You just have this buildup of the various crops not being able to go anywhere,” said Greg Northey, an executive at Pulse Canada, who said every day of delay requires several to recover.

Karen Proud, CEO of Fertilizer Canada, framed the threat of a stoppage as a question of national reputation.

The 13-day strike by 7,400 B.C. dockworkers last summer prompted some potash customers to opt for other suppliers, such as Russia.

“And we have not necessarily gotten all of that back. For every dollar that we lose in potash sales, those dollars go to Russia or Belarus,” she said. 

Proud cautioned that after rail, seaway and port strikes in 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, Canada could “lose our reputation” among customers.

“If they can’t count on getting these products in time when they need it, they’re going to look elsewhere,” she said.

5) Air Canada pilots vote overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. It could start next month

Wages and scheduling remain sticking points, union leader says

Courtesy of The Canadian Press and CBC · Posted: Aug 22, 2024

Air Canada pilots have voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike mandate, putting them in a position to walk off the job as early as Sept. 17.

The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents more than 5,400 aviators at the country’s largest carrier, said the vote passed with 98 per cent support on Thursday.

The employees have been negotiating with Air Canada since June 2023, with ongoing talks in Toronto hotels overseen by a federal conciliator.

That process is slated to wrap up this Monday, followed by a 21-day cooling-off period — leaving Sept. 17 as the soonest possible strike date.

• Air Canada pilots prepare for strike amid ongoing labour dispute

Charlene Hudy, head of the union’s Air Canada contingent, said the vote sends “a clear message to management” that pilots are willing to take job action to secure a better deal.

“It’s a stale, outdated contract,” she said in a phone interview. “There are elements of our collective agreement right now that stem back to just post-bankruptcy.”

The airline filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003.

Union points to U.S. pilots’ compensation

Hudy said the two sides have found consensus in some areas, but that wages and some aspects of scheduling remain sticking points.

Following new contracts between the four biggest U.S. airlines and their pilots over the past 18 months, some flight crews earn roughly double what their counterparts at Air Canada make, she said, pointing to United Airlines in particular.

“We all fly passengers under the Star Alliance. So we’re flying the same passengers in the same airspace on some of the very same routes, and those pilots are being compensated dramatically more than us,” Hudy said.

Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Air Canada’s chief human resources officer, said the parties had reached agreement on “many, many articles” of the collective agreement.

She noted the labour stability that marked the decade covered by the now-expired contract.

“But of course, with a 10-year-deal, it creates a bit of pent-up demand. So it’s time to refresh that agreement,” she said in a video posted to Air Canada’s website Thursday.

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau told analysts earlier this month that both sides were in agreement on several points and that he hopes to reach a deal in the coming weeks.

6) Tentative agreement reached between county and municipal, social service workers 

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Will Konken

Officials say a tentative agreement has been reached between the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the County of Simcoe.

According to both sides, the tentative deal was achieved on Friday, August 16 – before a Sunday, August 18, work stoppage deadline – meaning services will continue next week without interruption.

CUPE 5820 members, around 290, work for the county as office, technical and clerical workers, and social and children’s services workers.

According to the county’s website, ratification is still needed by CUPE members and the County of Simcoe. Union members will vote on Thursday, August 22.

“Both parties have agreed that there will be NO strike or lockout prior to the ratification vote,” county officials wrote.

A previous tentative agreement was reached on Friday, August 2, with union members voting against that deal on Tuesday, August 6.

“We said from the beginning that this is about fairness for our members, and we believe this tentative agreement takes into account the valuable work and important services we provide to residents of Simcoe County,” said CUPE Local 5820 President Wendy Monsinger in a release on Friday.

“I’d like to thank the members of the public for their support in helping us reach this agreement.” 

The county says they have not had a labour stoppage in more than 20 years.