Sunday, February 15, 2015

US Scabs Being Imported As Canadian Pacific Railway IBT Engineers Go on Strike as Negotiations Break Down

Canadian National’s main line shuts after crude cars derail

Canadian National Railway Co. shut its main line linking western and eastern Canada after an eastbound train carrying crude oil derailed in Ontario.
The train of 100 cars, all carrying crude from Canada’s oil-producing region of Alberta to eastern Canada, derailed just before midnight Saturday in a remote and wooded area about 30 miles north of Gogama, Ontario, spokesman Patrick Waldron said in an e-mail. About 18 freight trains a day use the line, he said. A total of 29 cars were involved in the incident and seven caught fire. The remaining 71 cars were moved from the site, Waldron said. Some oil was spilled.
Shipments scheduled along the affected corridor will be delayed by at least 24 hours, the company said.


A Canadian Pacific rail yard in British Columbia. Managers were to run limited service as workers went on strike Sunday. Credit Ben Nelms/Reuters

Rail Strike May Disrupt Industries Across North America

via New York Times

OTTAWA — About 3,000 locomotive engineers and conductors at the Canadian Pacific Railway walked off the job Sunday morning in a dispute over wages and benefits.

Although the company said it would try to maintain some service by using managers, the strike is likely to disrupt major industries throughout North America, including automakers, oil companies, paper businesses, lumber suppliers and agriculture and mining companies.....

.... The union’s leadership, the company said in a statement, “claims that lack of time off is at the heart of its reluctance to negotiate, yet 72 percent of all engineers and conductors do not take the time off they are entitled to.”....

Teamsters on strike at Canadian Pacific
2/15/15   Source: Teamsters Canada

We are on strike to overcome the culture of fear initiated by CP management Montreal February 15,

– Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) has announced the negotiations process at Canadian Pacific (CP) has failed and there is no agreement reached with the employer's management team. Effective 0001, February 15 the TCRC membership is officially on legal strike across Canada. Despite the efforts of Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS) to assist the parties to achieve a negotiated agreement, negotiations ended tonight.

“Late tonight it was revealed how severe the concessionary demands of the employer really are”, indicated TCRC President Douglas Finnson. "Less than two hours before the expiration of the cooling off period, the final package of concessions amounted to much the same thing as the hourly agreement this same management team tried to impose on our Brothers and Sisters at Canadian National (CN) in 2007. Those tactics resulted in a National Rail Strike at CN then, and unfortunately have done so again today at CP.”

"Picket lines are now being set up across Canada and the rail shut down is happening," said President Finnson.

A particularly sensitive situation is the announcement by CP to use other workers to run trains. "During our final discussions tonight we explained to CP Chief Operating Officer, Keith Creel, that we had received reports of American citizens being transported into Winnipeg to perform the work of our Canadian members. Mr. Creel committed to making certain that did not happen and would correct anything like that which has already happened," explained Finnson.

Despite the complete breakdown of bargaining tonight, the TCRC negotiating committee advised FMCS and the CP chief negotiator they remain available to negotiate an acceptable agreement.

"We are on strike to overcome the culture of fear initiated by CP management, to achieve a healthy and safe work environment for the working people, and to introduce effective and progressive fatigue countermeasures within our workplace without diminishing the collective agreement." concluded the union leader.

The Teamsters represents 115,000 members in Canada in all trades. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.

For more information:
Stéphane Lacroix, Director of Communications
Cell: 514-609-5101
Email: slacroix@teamsters.ca

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