Aug. 22 (UPI) — Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Thursday locked out their union workers, shutting down freight rail across Canada.
Nearly 10,000 workers were locked out, bringing freight trains to a halt and potentially damaging both the Canadian and U.S. economies.
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union said in a statement that despite months of good-faith bargaining the workers remain far apart from management at the railroads.
The union statement said the main obstacles to an agreement are company demands, not union worker demands.
“Throughout this process, CN and CPKC have shown themselves willing to compromise rail safety and tear families apart to earn an extra buck,” TCRC President Paul Boucher’s said. “The railroads don’t care about farmers, small businesses, supply chains, or their own employees. Their sole focus is boosting their bottom line, even if it means jeopardizing the entire economy.”
The Teamsters said they have made multiple offers, but the companies didn’t seriously consider them.
CPKC said in a statement it locked union workers out rather than continuing bargaining on a new labor contract because the railroad thinks a negotiated settlement is “not within reach.”
The Teamsters said the main obstacles to reaching an agreement are the railroads pushing “to weaken protections around rest periods and scheduling, increasing the risk of fatigue-related safety issues. CN also continues to demand a forced relocation scheme, which could see workers ordered to move across the country, tearing families apart in the process.”
CPKC’s statement said it wants to change the work rest terms to roll back work rest rule changes implemented by Transport Canada. The railroad asserted that what it wants “does not in any way compromise safety.”
“At this time, the responsible path forward for the union, the company, our customers, the Canadian economy and North American supply chains and the public interest is for TCRC and CPKC to engage in binding arbitration to resolve all outstanding disputes,” CPKC said in a statement.
CPKC claimed TCRC leadership was making unrealistic demands.
Unions prefer allowing the bargaining process to continue until workers and management reach voluntary negotiated settlements rather than having a settlement imposed by arbitration.
Industry groups called for government intervention in the labor dispute but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the rail companies and the Teamsters must settle their differences at the bargaining table.
“My message is very straightforward. It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table to find a negotiated resolution. Millions of Canadians, of workers, of farmers, of businesses right across the country are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution,” Trudeau said in a statement.
CN railway said in a separate statement that they formally locked out their workers Thursday “after the union did not respond to another offer by CN in a final attempt to avoid a labor disruption.”
CN offered to submit to binding arbitration.
The Teamsters said despite the lockout the union remains “at the bargaining table with both companies.”
A lockout is done at the employer’s initiative and is different from union workers calling a strike authorized by their union.
The freight shutdown is expected to have cascading effects on Canada and the United States. Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods are transported by rail, including grain, coal, petroleum products, aviation fuel chemicals and vehicles.
Affected industries include mining, agriculture and retail.