By Dave McKee
At the end of June, nearly 10,000 workers at Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railways gave their union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) a huge strike mandate. Nearly 90 percent of workers turned out to vote 98.6 percent to authorize strike action.
This was the second time during these negotiations that the workers have provided TCRC with a strike mandate. Strike authorization votes in federally regulated industries like rail are only good for 60 days. Workers previously voted to authorize strike action at CN and CPKC on May 1, and would have been in a legal strike position on May 22, but the federal government intervened in a way that has prolonged negotiations and generated uncertainty.
That intervention came on May 9, when then federal Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to determine whether any shipments handled by the railways would be considered “essential” and must continue in the event of a work stoppage. That move prevents the start of any strike or lockout until after the board makes a ruling, effectively suspending the workers’ right to strike.
The TCRC organized the second strike vote as a way to reauthorize strike action, presumably immediately following the CIRB ruling which is expected on August 9.
“CN and CPKC are trying to force changes to our collective agreements that would move the clock back on working conditions and rail safety. The Teamsters are trying to stop them. With this renewed strike mandate, we intend to go back to the bargaining table, work with federal mediators, and do everything in our power to reach a fair deal for our members,” said TCRC president Paul Boucher.
The union says that workers are on the defensive in these negotiations, with both CN and CPKC demanding a wide range of concessions on issues including crew scheduling, hours of work and fatigue management. These demands are an effort by the corporations, which have been hit by labour shortages, to squeeze longer work hours and more availability out of rail workers.
CPKC is trying to gut the collective agreement of all safety-critical fatigue provisions, which will force train crews to stay awake even longer and increase the risk of derailments and other accidents. The railway has also failed to address the understaffing of rail traffic controllers.
CN’s offer is contingent on the acceptance of a forced relocation scheme which would see workers ordered to move across the country for months at a time to fill labour shortages in remote areas. The company has also made its offer contingent on the union agreeing to extend workdays in all provinces west of Ontario.
“Compromising on safety, or threatening to tear families apart for months, are not solutions to staffing problems,” said TCRC in a negotiations update. “CN and CPKC should instead be looking to improve working conditions and adopt a more humane approach to railroading.”
Rather than negotiate in good faith, the companies seem emboldened by the government’s interference to demand more limits on the workers’ right to strike. Both, for example, are encouraging the CIRB to extend the mandatory 72-hour notice which the union must provide prior to a strike, with CPKC specifically requesting that the board extend the cooling-off period for 30 days after it issues its decision to “allow all stakeholders to plan” for a potential strike.
In June, TCRC took the curious step of proposing to stagger negotiations with both companies by two weeks. “The move would avoid simultaneous work stoppages at CN and CPKC, significantly reducing the economic impacts from any disruptions to the supply chain from a strike or lockout,” the union said in a press release. The corporations rejected the proposal.
While the offer of staggered negotiations might win some sympathy in the court of public opinion, it would surely reduce the union’s capacity to exert maximum pressure through the strike weapon. With strong penetration into an industry that is key to the overall economy, rail workers wield much more power than either the corporations or government would like. They need their union to use that power, not trade it away.
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