A union filed a strike notice against Canadian National Railway Co. just hours after trains began rolling again on Friday, creating a new obstacle in a labor dispute that has upended North American supply chains.
The Teamsters union told the Montreal-based railway that it plans to withdraw the services of its roughly 6,500 members at 10 a.m. Toronto time on Monday if there’s no agreement on a new contract.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is trying to force an end to the work stoppage, which began Thursday morning at 12:01 a.m. Ottawa time. Hours later, the labor minister asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board, an independent tribunal, to order arbitration on a new contract and to extend the existing agreements until then.
The minister’s actions don’t guarantee that railway employees will go back to work soon, however.
The CIRB must first rule on the government’s request, and will hear arguments from the Teamsters. It’s possible the board will issue its decision over the weekend — but the union says it’s prepared to appeal to federal court, if necessary.
If the matter isn’t resolved over the weekend, a new strike would short-circuit Canadian National’s reopening, which began early Friday morning.
“This furthers the point we were trying to make that we did not have a partner that was looking for a resolution,” Canadian National spokesperson Jonathan Abecassis said in an interview. “This confirms that the only thing the Teamsters were interested in was holding the economy hostage.”
Port Congestion
Cracks are already starting to appear in supply chains.
Canada’s busiest port, Vancouver, indicated Thursday that are 64 vessels en route and that anchorages will likely fill up within the 72 hours, according to Bonnie Gee, president of the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia. Without railways, ships will eventually have no way to offload their cargo, or won’t be able to receive the goods they’re meant to collect.
The port has asked incoming vessels to slow down to reduce port congestion, but “the runway is only so long,” Gee said.
Even if the labor board orders arbitration, it’s unclear whether that decision will force the employees back to work. Last month, the board ruled that WestJet Airlines employees had a right to strike despite a government request for arbitration.
In a statement, Canadian Pacific said it was disappointed that the union refused to discuss resumption of rail service on Thursday night after Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon sent the dispute to CIRB and said he wanted both railways to get back to the job.
Business groups in Canada and the US had been calling on the government to intervene, as the lockout disrupted the countries’ interconnected supply chains. Commodities like coal, wheat, fertilizer and lumber depend on the railways, and there are few shipping alternatives.
Teamsters, which represents nearly 10,000 workers at the two railways, said its members were negotiating provisions to address scheduling and crew fatigue. The previous collective agreements expired at the end of 2023.
