The union, which represents more than 9,000 CN and CPKC rail workers, is organizing a second strike ballot as the current strike order expires on June 30th.
Because the Canada Labour Code stipulates that a union cannot declare a strike unless its members have authorized a walkout from their workplace within the last 60 days, the Teamsters Canadian Railway Congress (TCRC) has notified its members that it will hold another vote from June 14 to June 29.
Conductors, engineers, yard workers and traffic controllers had planned to strike in late May, but Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan referred the dispute to the Canada Labour Relations Board (CIRB) and suspended all labour action by unions or the railways until the CIRB made a decision on the safety implications of a strike.
There is no clear timeline or deadline for when the CIRB will announce its decision, but the railroad does not expect work stoppages to begin until mid-July at the earliest. In a June 11 update to all TCRC members, the union said it “has no idea how long this process will take or what the outcome will be,” calling it a “frustrating process.”
According to the union, the two railroads asked the CIRB to implement a 30-day extension after the announcement of the decision to allow either side to give the necessary 72 hours notice for a strike or lockout. “While the railroads maintain that this deadline is necessary to adequately prepare for a closure, the TCRC does not consider this to be a statement of truth,” the union said.
Both CPKC and CN have offered to enter into binding arbitration with a mutually agreed arbitrator to determine new contract terms, but say the unions have rejected the offer. Meanwhile, TCRC said last week it had offered to stagger negotiations with the two companies by two weeks to avoid a simultaneous strike, but the railroad has rejected the offer.
The possibility of an unprecedented double rail strike, especially during peak grain shipping periods, is an immediate concern for many farmers, agricultural association leaders, exporters and export customers. Several agricultural associations submitted comments to the CIRB highlighting the impact that the rail shutdown would have on the transportation of grain and other necessary products, such as propane gas used to heat barns and greenhouses.
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