Two Canadian railroads shut down this week amid a contract despite with employees, potentially impacting supply chains throughout the United States.
On Thursday, the Canadian National railway and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railway both announced that they were locking out employees, halting all major freight railway services in Canada to the U.S., due to contract disputes.
“CN [Canadian National] has formally locked out employees represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) as of Aug. 22 at 00:01 ET, after the union did not respond to another offer by CN in a final attempt to avoid a labour disruption,” the railway said in a press release on Thursday. “Over the last nine months, CN has negotiated in good faith. The Company consistently proposed serious offers, with better pay, improved rest, and more predictable schedules. The Teamsters have not shown any urgency or desire to reach a deal that is good for employees, the company and the economy.”
CPKC also made a similar announcement on Thursday saying that they had locked out all employees that are members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) – Train and Engine (T&E) division.
“Throughout nearly a year of negotiations, CPKC has remained committed to doing its part to avoid this work stoppage. CPKC has bargained in good faith, but despite our best efforts, it is clear that a negotiated outcome with the TCRC is not within reach. The TCRC leadership continues to make unrealistic demands that would fundamentally impair the railway’s ability to serve our customers with a reliable and cost-competitive transportation service,” CPKC said.
Both of the railways’ trains are expected to continue operations in the U.S., but services across the U.S.-Canada border will not be in operation. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor shows that billions of dollars of goods are actively transported between Canada and the U.S. each year.
John Corey, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada, spoke to the Associated Press about the halting of services and said it could impact supply chains.
“When you completely shut down the coast-to-coast supply chain, nothing good can come from that,” Corey said. “This is infuriating. People are going to lose their jobs. There is going to be a real hardship to the economy.”
Union Pacific, a major railway in the U.S. that transports Canadian shipments, said in a statement that the halting of services by CPKC and CN “means thousands of cars per day will not move across the border.”
“Everything from grain and fertilizer during the critical summer season, and lumber for building homes could be impacted,” Union Pacific said.
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