Shipping and Logistics

Labor woes threaten Canadian rail network

August 19, 2024

A work stoppage could hit Canada’s rail network as two rail companies have said they will lock out union workers on Thursday if no labor agreement is reached.

CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) have said they will lock out Teamsters Canada Rail Conference workers on Aug. 22 at 12:01 a.m. ET in the event a negotiated settlement cannot be agreed upon.

Little progress

“Despite negotiations over the weekend, no meaningful progress has occurred, and the parties remain very far apart,” CN said in a statement on Sunday.

Separately, CPKC said the decision to issue a lockout notice came after the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) issued a decision. The board determined that “no services need to be maintained during a railway strike or lockout in order to protect Canadian public health and safety,” the company said in a statement on Aug. 9.

Teamsters respond

Acknowledging the CN notice, the Teamsters issued a statement on Sunday saying, “As this situation at the bargaining table develops, we will keep you all as informed as possible in the coming days.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Teamsters had said they would go out on strike at CPKC on Aug. 22.

A Reuters article on Sunday lists the companies as the country’s two largest rail operators.

The union has so far refused to commit to binding arbitration to resolve the labor disputes, according to the CN and CPKC statements.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.