The Teamsters delivered a strike notice over the weekend, while Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City said they would lock out employees.
A work stoppage at Canada’s major rail carriers could happen Thursday unless nearly 10,000 union workers get a new labor deal before then.
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference served a strike notice Sunday to Canadian Pacific Kansas City, stating its estimated 3,300 union-represented workers employed by the railroad will withdraw services effective 12:01 a.m. ET Thursday unless they receive a new contract. In response, CPKC said it would lock out all union employees beginning Thursday.
Canadian National Railway followed suit Sunday, informing the union of its intent to lock out the roughly 6,000 represented workers employed by railroad on Thursday unless the parties agreed on a new labor deal or the union agreed to binding arbitration.
While talks between the Teamsters and the two rail carriers have been ongoing since the last contract expired at the end of last year, a deal has yet to be reached.
The union previously rejected calls for binding arbitration, and Canadian Minister of Labour and Seniors Steven MacKinnon denied Canadian National’s request for such a solution last week. In his letter to Canadian National, MacKinnon stressed the need for the parties to reach an agreement and offered mediation assistance.
A work stoppage at Canada’s main rail carriers would have widespread implications to supply chains, according to logistics experts. Over 900,000 metric tons of goods move daily on Canada’s railways, according to the Railway Association of Canada.
The threat of service disruption due to a work stoppage led CPKC and Canadian National to begin shipping embargoes last week to avoid leaving critical freight unattended. Executives from both rail carriers have reported shippers diverting freight to other transportation modes, including trucking, in anticipation of a work stoppage.
CPKC in a statement said it recognizes disruption already is occurring “and will intensify until this dispute is resolved.”