Canadian RR Engineers Strike Could Impact Paper, Forest Industry Deliveries
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Canadian National Railway locomotive engineers walked off the job after talks with management broke down this past weekend. According to a Reuters news report, the strikers are angry about CNR unilaterally imposing a 1.5% wage increase and raising the monthly mileage cap to 4,300 miles from 3,800 miles after 14 months of negotiation failed to produce a new contract. The strike (CNR engineers in the U.S. are not affected) could disrupt the delivery of goods worth millions of dollars, Reuters notes. The rail company is the largest shipper of forest products in Canada and the U.S. It transports pulp, newsprint, wood chips, and lumber as well as a variety of other forest products. Forest products accounted for almost 17%, or C$1.47 billion, of CNR's revenue last year.
On Tuesday, CNR said it would agree to binding arbitration on wage and benefit issues and roll back its demand for a higher cap on the number of miles the engineers must drive each month. The offer is conditional on the union withdrawing unspecified work demands from the bargaining tables. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents the striking train engineers, said despite the company's statement it has not actually received the offer, so it could not comment on the proposals, Reuters reports.
CNR and the locomotive engineers were given until last night to reach a deal or Canada's House of Commons would likely begin debate and pass a bill to end the walkout, Reuters adds. If motions to fast-track the bill pass, as expected, debate on the back-to-work bill would start at 8 p.m. tonight, and continue until passage. CNR is said to have some 225 managers capable of filling in for the 1,700 locomotive engineers that are on strike.
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