Mechanics, intermodal and clerical workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) who were on the brink of striking in March have voted to ratify the agreements that kept them off the picket line.
Unifor, which represents about 3,000 CN employees, said Friday its members voted to ratify four new two-year collective bargaining agreements taking them through to Dec. 31, 2024. The tentative agreements were announced March 20.
“When we opened contract talks with CN last fall, while the company was reporting massive profits, we were insistent that rail workers deserve to be compensated well and treated with respect,” Lana Payne, the union’s national president, said in a release.
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“This agreement represents a significant step forward for our CN Rail members, including important improvements in wages, benefits, and job security.”
“Despite the diverse crafts represented by this union, we have been successful in improving alignment on our path forward to deliver better and safer service,” CN CEO Tracy Robinson said in a separate statement Monday.
The four agreements cover members of CN’s Unifor Local 100, which represents skilled trades in mechanical shops, and Council 4000, which represents intermodal, clerical and mechanical workers and excavator operators.
Unifor said its national bargaining committees had been in negotiations with CN since last October, leading up to their previous contracts’ expiry at the end of December 2022.
The Unifor-led employees had voted in favour of strike action in early March and had been in a position to strike as early as March 21. However, the union said negotiators decided at that time to keep talks going rather than hand in the required 72 hours’ notice to trigger a work stoppage.
Despite the number of employees who would have potentially been off the job in the event of a Unifor-led strike or a lockout, CN had said in early March it would not expect any impact on operations, as it had “contingency plans in place and the safe operations of our railway will continue.”
“Coming out of a pandemic and with global economic uncertainty, the bargaining committee knew it had its work cut out for them but with the support of members from across the country, we stood firm and were able to negotiate a fair contract,” Local 100 president Cory Will said Friday in Unifor’s release.
Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan on Friday tweeted congratulations to the company and union on their new agreements, adding “The best deals are made at the table.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network
