CN, Rail Unions Say They Want to Avoid Strike or Lockout

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

anadian National Railway Co. said it was committed to reaching agreements with labor unions that run its system but that it will maintain freight operations in the event of strikes or a lockout.

The railroad said it signed an agreement with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference extending to May 12 the date either party can issue a 72-hour strike or lockout notice.

The TCRC represents 1,750 locomotive engineers at CN, Canada’s largest railroad. Unions struck the railroad for about a month last year, from late February to late March.

CN also said the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled that the railroad, the TCRC and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers could engage in a strike or lock-out, provided 72 hours’ notice was given.

CN Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison said the railroad “remains optimistic that further face-to-face negotiations over the coming weeks will allow CN and the TCRC to successfully resolve the issues still on the bargaining table.”

“The union and company are serious about resolving outstanding issues without labor disruption,” said Gilles Hallé, president of the TCRC, in a statement. “This additional period will give the parties time to schedule meaningful negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement.”