TORONTO – Just as rail capacity was ramping back up to normal, a majority of CN conductors and switchyard employees voted to hit the bricks for the second time in as many months – overwhelmingly rejecting a tentative agreement struck between their union and the railway a few weeks ago.

The rail disruptions that hamstrung several Canadian sectors last month — from the auto industry in Ontario to businesses that rely on containerized goods from the Port of Vancouver — could resume overnight.

CN says it will use managers to keep freight trains moving.
Last time around, freight chaos followed within days

Rotating pickets at targeted CN locations are now underway, confirmed the United Transportation Union (UTU). Vancouver and Kamloops have been selected for renewed strike action immediately.

Nearly 80 percent of UTU members casting ballots rebuffed the labor pact, which included a 3 percent wage hike and a $1,000 bonus. The results were posted on the UTU website just after midnight early this morning.

“UTU members have spoken clearly and your union has heard you,” the union stated in a letter to members. “You want a better deal with the CN –one that deals with dignity and so-called ‘relationship’ issues … We will do our very best to get you that deal.”

UTU has formally requested that CN resume collective bargaining today.
CN said last week it would not budge from its last wage offer, which, it insists is more than the transportation industry average. Last year, CN notes, the average annual UTU employee made $75,000, with a quarter of members making more than $90,000.

The railway announced it will once again use managers to keep as much freight moving as possible. “CN is disappointed with the contract rejection announced today by the UTU,” said E. Hunter Harrison, CN president and CEO. “We believe the settlement was fair, equitable and consistent with collective agreements the company recently signed with another Canadian union.”

“…Our customers must appreciate the fact that CN service levels may be affected by the frequency, location, and severity of the UTU’s rotating work actions.”

Vancouver Port, as always during a rail disruption, is likely
to be one of the facilities hardest hit by another long strike.

CN, according to the UTU memo, still has the power to lock employees out, either across the system, or more locally.

Sensing last week the vote result was far from certain, Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn said the government was ready to intervene with back-to-work legislation. Ottawa was on the verge of tabling such a bill just before the UTU and CN came to a tentative agreement in March.

However, it’s not clear at this point how quickly such legislation could be passed since Parliament has been on pause since the Easter weekend and is not expected to resume until April 16.

There had been growing speculation that workers would shun the deal because of a inter-union rivalry, which was first sparked at the start of the first strike when Canadian labor leaders did not get strike approval from the union’s U.S. head office before ordering workers to leave their posts.

As TodaysTrucking.com has reported over the last month, workers have been split between backing current union management or following former Chairperson Rex Beatty, who was sacked by his American bosses in the middle of the strike.

According to UTU, Beatty spent the last few weeks trying to scuttle the tentative agreement with CN. With Beatty’s assistance, the Teamsters, which already represent CN locomotive engineers, was busy attempting a takeover of Canadian membership and had applied for certification to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Shippers and large retailers are once again bracing for major supply chain delays. Several key sectors were stung during the recent two-week strike, disrupting nearly $100 billion in exports. Forestry and containerization on the West Coast, grain in the Prairies, mining and Ford-related auto shipments in Ontario, and other bulk commodities across the nation were most severely affected.