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MINNEAPOLIS (DTN) -- As the clock struck 12:01 ET on Aug. 22, the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN) railways locked out union workers.

A last-minute meeting of Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) and CPKCon Aug. 21 and one with the TCRC and the Canadian National Railway on Aug. 20, proved to be unsuccessful in finding a resolution to contract negations, which had turned contentious.

Global News in Calgary reported MacKinnon told them, "I think it's fair to say there are significant issues that remain to be resolved. But the parties are there and they're doing the work, and we are obviously investing all of our efforts into making sure that they have everything they need to make the compromises required to get a deal."

Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and Train & Engine (T&E) division represents CPKC's roughly 3,200 locomotive engineers, conductors and train and yard workers, and the TCRC and Rail Canada Traffic Controllers (RCTC) division represents approximately 80 rail traffic controllers, all in Canada. TCRC union represents approximately 6,000 conductors, conductor trainees, yard coordinators and locomotive engineers across CN's network in Canada. These workers have been negotiating for a new contract for over 10 months. On Dec. 31, 2023, the collective bargaining agreement expired and was extended under Canadian law until the parties reach an agreement.

The CN released this statement after 12:01 ET Aug. 22: "The CN 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. This offer improved wages and would have seen employees work less days in a month by aligning hours of service in the collective agreement with federally mandated rest provisions. The offer also proposes a pilot project for hourly rates and scheduled shifts on a portion of the network as CN continues to believe this is a better and more predictable framework for our employees. Without an agreement or binding arbitration, CN had no choice but to finalize a safe and orderly shutdown and proceed with a lockout." https://www.cn.ca/…

The CPKC also released the following statement after 12:01 ET Aug. 21: "CPKC said today it has locked out employees who are members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) -- Train and Engine (T&E) division effective 00:01 Eastern Time on Aug. 22. That will be followed by the lockout of employees who are members of the TCRC -- Rail Traffic Controller (RCTC) division effective 00:01 Mountain Time on Aug. 22. 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.

"At this time, the responsible path forward for the union, the company, our customers, the Canadian economy and North American supply chains and the public interest is for TCRC and CPKC to engage in binding arbitration to resolve all outstanding disputes. Binding arbitration is an effective, reasonable and fair process that ultimately has been used many times in the past to resolve disputes with this union." https://www.cpkcr.com/…

TCRC noted on their website earlier this week, "On Aug. 18 the Union provided CPKC with a strike notice, consistent with the Canada Labour Code and your Charter rights, in order to protect us from the unfavourable terms of the Company's lock out notice. Our legal strike can take place effective 0001 ET Thursday Aug. 22, 2024, concurrent with the effective time of the lockout."

TCRC explained it was done to protect the union workers in the event the CPKC canceled the lockout at the last minute. "By suspending the grievance procedure as of Thursday, CPKC is effectively rendering the entire agreement unenforceable and inoperable. This creates a dangerous situation where the company could cancel the lockout at the last minute, forcing us to return without the protections provided under the collective agreements," noted the TCRC. https://teamstersrail.ca/…

The two railroads reportedly handle 40,000 carloads of freight per day. This includes grain, oil, meal and other commodities. A prolonged strike will be detrimental to Canadian commerce. It will also stall any cross-border traffic normally engaged by U.S. Class 1 railroads.

There are cries throughout the industry asking the Federal Government to get involved and as of this writing that has not happened.

This is a developing story so stay tuned to DTN for updates.

Mary Kennedy can be reached at Mary.Kennedy@dtn.com

Follow her on Twitter @MaryCKenn

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