MONTREAL — The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference is refusing to take no for an answer.
The union, which represents 9,300 locomotive engineers and conductors on Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, has filed appeals challenging the decisions that led to binding arbitration being imposed on their failed contract talks with the railways.
The union argues that the decisions — made on Aug. 22 by the labor minister just hours after an unprecedented work stoppage shut down freight rail traffic in Canada, and then affirmed by the Canada Industrial Relations Board on Aug. 24 — stripped the workers of their right to strike.
Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon’s decision ordered the railways to resume operations by 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 26. The labor contract that expired on Dec. 31, 2023, was extended until a new agreement is completed.
“These decisions, if left unchallenged, set a dangerous precedent where a single politician can bust a union at will. The right to collectively bargain is a constitutional guarantee. Without it, unions lose leverage to negotiate better wages and safer working conditions for all Canadians. We are confident that the law is on our side, and that workers will have their voices heard,” TCRC President Paul Boucher said in a statement this morning.
The union yesterday filed four separate appeals with the Federal Court of Appeal, challenging the minister’s referrals and the CIRB’s decisions at both CN and CPKC. The appeals argue, among other things, that workers’ rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated.
The railways had locked the workers out at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 22. The TCRC had filed a strike notice against CPKC before the lockout, and subsequently filed one against CN on Aug. 23.
The union also represents rail traffic controllers on CPKC.
