Union issues strike notice to CP Rail

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This article was published 17/03/2022 (1461 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadian Pacific Railway has received strike notice from the union representing approximately 3,000 train employees, the company said Thursday.

A nationwide work stoppage could come as early as 12:01 a.m. Sunday if the two parties fail to agree on a settlement.

This comes after CP Rail served the union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), with a notice of lockout Wednesday night. The lockout would begin Sunday if the union and the company are unable to come to a negotiated settlement or agree to binding arbitration, The Canadian Press reported Thursday.

Locomotive engineers, conductors, trainpersons and yardpersons employed with CP Rail recently voted 96.7 per cent in favour to authorize strike action.

“It was well known that CP was going to force a work stoppage and lock out our members,” said Dave Fulton, a spokesperson for TCRC.

“They have done just that. At the bargaining table, CP continues to dismiss our members’ demands and are unwilling to negotiate the issues they have created. We remain committed to reaching an acceptable agreement that addresses our members’ issues. Our members are fully engaged and will be ready in the event CP carries out the notice.”

Teamsters said it is committed to working with federal mediators and reaching a negotiated settlement and the union is willing to remain at the bargaining table until the March 20 lockout deadline and beyond. Key issues said to be at the forefront of discussion are wages, benefits, pensions and work rules.

In a statement released by CP Rail, a spokesperson from the company said the company and Teamsters leadership have been meeting daily with federal mediators to reach a new negotiated collective agreement in hopes of avoiding a labour disruption. The company said despite those talks, positions remain far apart.

“For the sake of our employees, our customers, the supply chain we serve and the Canadian economy that is trying to recover from multiple disruptions, we simply cannot prolong for weeks or months the uncertainty associated with a potential labour disruption,” said Keith Creel, CP Rail’s president and CEO.

“The world has never needed Canada’s resources and an efficient transportation system to deliver them more than it does today. Delaying resolution would only make things worse. We take this action with a view to bringing this uncertainty to an end.”

As of Wednesday evening, the spokesperson from CP said the company tabled an offer that addressed a total of 26 outstanding issues between the parties, including an offer to resolve Teamsters’ key issues of wages, benefits and pensions through final and binding arbitration.

The company said after union leadership rejected the proposal, Teamsters has asked for an even more onerous pension demand.

“The TCRC’s latest position would, if accepted, be even more destabilizing to the pension plan for all of CP’s unionized employees, not just the 10 per cent who are TCRC members.”

Furthermore, the organization said CP has invited the union to enrol its members in a sustainable pension-sharing program, which they say has benefited thousands of members of the company’s other Canadian unions. CP said the TCRC continues to reject this opportunity.

“The union leadership has taken the successful pension-sharing program off the table seeking to negotiate all pension changes through collective bargaining — an unfair demand that jeopardizes the long-term health of a pension plan that 30,000 other employees and pensioners rely on.”

Creel said they are deeply disappointed to find themselves in this position.

“CP will continue to bargain in good faith with the TCRC leadership to achieve a negotiated settlement or enter binding arbitration,” Creel said.

“The Canadian economy could avoid all the pain and damage of a work stoppage if the TCRC would agree to binding arbitration, an outcome we continue to push for.”

CP Rail said it has commenced its work stoppage contingency plan and will work closely with customers to achieve a smooth and efficient wind-down of Canadian operations.

The Calgary-based company noted in 2021, a CP Teamsters locomotive engineer earned on average $135,442 and the top earner made $209,773. A Teamsters conductor, trainperson or yardperson earned on average $107,872 and the top earner made $182,888. CP said these annual earnings far exceed the 2021 Canadian average earnings of $65,138.

Additionally, CP said since 2007, their TCRC members have enjoyed a wage increase of 43 per cent, which exceeds the compounded inflation rate by nearly 20 per cent.

Meanwhile on Thursday, a Canadian Press report found roughly 45 industry groups are calling on the federal government to prevent the potential work stoppage. The groups said in a statement that any disruption would hamper Canada’s freight capacity and have a profound effect on the broader economy as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The groups behind the statement include the Retail Council of Canada, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and the Business Council of Canada.

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

» Twitter: @JosephBernacki