MONTREAL — Unifor, Canada’s largest union, has opened bargaining with Canadian National for a new contract, the union said Wednesday.
The union says it represents about 3,600 workers at CN terminals and headquarters across Canada, including mechanics, crane operators, machinists, electricians, and clericial, administrative, and customer-support workers. The current agreement expires on Dec. 31.
“The fact is that during a time of record inflation, CN is reporting record quarterly earnings,” Lana Payne, Unifor national president, said in a press release.“Without our members at the helm, this company wouldn’t have been able to get even close to that, and they deserve to be compensated fairly and treated with respect.”
The two sides exchanged proposals and agreed to continue negotations in November and December. Unifor said it seeks improved wages and benefits, and to address “the on-going issue of contracting out unionized work.”
A CN representative told Reuters, “We look forward to further constructive discussions with Unifor.”
Unifor represents 315,000 workers in a broad range of industries.
Why does everyone have a problem with contracting out union work…especially if the unionized workforce is unable to handle it?