The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) is challenging the binding arbitration decisions imposed on workers at CN and CPKC, filing four separate appeals with the Federal Court of Appeal.

The appeals target both the minister of labor’s referrals and the Canadian Industrial Relations Board’s rulings, which the union argues have stripped nearly 10,000 workers of their right to collectively bargain. The TCRC has requested the court expedite the proceedings.

“These decisions, if left unchallenged, set a dangerous precedent where a single politician can bust a union at will. The right to collectively bargain is a constitutional guarantee,” said Paul Boucher, president of TCRC, in a news release. “Without it, unions lose leverage to negotiate better wages and safer working conditions for all Canadians. We are confident that the law is on our side, and that workers will have their voices heard.”

This legal action comes after a series of significant recent developments in the railway sector.

On Aug. 22, workers at CN and CPKC initiated a work stoppage following almost a year of unsuccessful negotiations. The strike brought rail services to a halt, prompting swift intervention from the federal government, which referred the dispute to binding arbitration just days later. The decision forced workers back to their posts while the arbitration process began, a move the union has criticized as undermining their bargaining power.

Rail services resumed on Aug. 26, but the underlying tensions between the railway companies and the union remain unresolved.