Rail disruptions threaten ag supply chain

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This article was published 24/08/2024 (378 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Keystone Agricultural Producers says the ongoing labour dispute plaguing Canada’s railway system — including a potential strike by Canadian National Railway workers on Monday — is causing major disruptions to Manitoba’s agricultural supply chain.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference served Canadian National Railway Co. with a 72-hour strike notice on Friday. The move follows ongoing disruptions from a Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. stoppage, intensifying fears among producers and other stakeholders about the impact on shipping and logistics.

The Teamsters’ decision to issue the strike notice stems from a dispute over the federal government’s intervention in the collective bargaining process on Thursday.

The union, which represents thousands of rail workers, The union has challenged a directive for binding arbitration issued by Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to the country’s labour board. It argues that the government’s use of binding arbitration undermines workers’ rights to negotiate better wages and working conditions and hampers their ability to advocate for rail safety.

Fourteen members of the Teamsters union returned to the picket line outside the CPKC Brandon General Yard Office at 355 Pacific Ave. on Friday. CPKC workers went on strike at the same time a lockout came into effect early Thursday morning. CN employees are not yet in a legal strike position.

KAP general manager Brenna Mahoney told the Sun the strike notice comes at a particularly challenging time for agricultural producers in Manitoba, adding the Thursday lockdown has impacted the nation’s reputation for supplying the world with quality agricultural products.

“Our reputation, while hard-earned, is greatly threatened by these unnecessary disruptions in the supply chain,” Mahoney said in an email.

“As the Teamsters union served CN Rail with a 72-hour strike notice and CPKC stoppage continues, our reputation continues to be at further risk due to the uncertainty it creates.”

She added strikes and further work stoppages would have “a trickle-down impact on the ports and could cause panic buying for food stock with consumers in some grocery stores.”

Mahoney said agricultural producers, who rely heavily on rail transportation to ship product, are particularly vulnerable.

“Farmers have limited storage on farm, and the terminals also do not have so much capacity,” she said. “Our system is designed to get product to port and off to market.

“There are very limited options at this point for contingency plans for producers as they rely on reliable export of goods as much as our global customers.”

As the strike deadline approaches, KAP is urging the federal government to take swift action.

Mahoney called for all parties involved to return to the negotiating table, stressing the importance of continued rail operations.

“KAP is pleased to see the use of section 107 of the Canada Labour Code by Minister MacKinnon, but we are not out of the woods yet,” she said. “The rail lines still need to keep moving as discussions are happening. Canada cannot afford any disruptions.”

Partners across agricultural sectors are working through a joint coalition, led by Pulse Canada, called “Stop the Strike,” engaging on the issue by sending letters to Ottawa. The federal government’s role now is to keep negotiations going and prevent any stoppages, Mahoney said.

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

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

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.

“We will use our constitutional right to fight the company here,” Laporte said.

The union said it is prepared to plead its case in a federal courthouse if necessary.

Although CN lifted its own lockout Thursday night, the company is wary of ramping up service only to have to shut it back down — potentially stranding cargo on the tracks — should the tribunal rule that staff can still strike during arbitration.

An acrimonious tone was reflected in the rhetoric deployed by both sides.

O’Brien called the lockouts by the rail companies “a disgrace” and said that “corporate greed is running rampant.”

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

The minister’s directive to the industrial relations board said the parties had reached 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 referral to the tribunal from then-labour minister Seamus O’Regan failed to end a strike by WestJet mechanics because the document did not clearly bar job action while arbitration played out.

In that case, striking workers remained off the job until they reached a deal at the bargaining table, resulting in hundreds of cancelled flights.

» aodutola@brandonsun.com, with files from The Canadian Press

» X: @AbiolaOdutola