BRS signalmen on CP 's Soo Line ratify six-year pact

Signalmen represented by the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and employed at Canadian Pacific's Soo Line Railroad have ratified a new six-year contract, the union announced yesterday.

The agreement, which takes effect July 1, provides six general wage increases, BRS officials said in a statement posted on the union's website.

The first increase is 2 percent retroactive to Jan. 1, 2016; the second is 2 percent and retroactive to Aug. 1, 2017; the third is 2 percent and becomes effective Aug. 1; and the fourth is 2 percent and becomes effective Aug. 1, 2019.

The fifth general wage increase is 2 percent and becomes effective Aug. 1, 2020; and the sixth is 2 percent and takes effect Aug. 1, 2021.

Also, the agreement calls for possible additional general wage increases of up to 1 percent for 2020 and 2021. Those increases would be triggered by the company's year-over-year revenue ton mileage metric performance.

Moreover, the agreement — which covers 104 signalmen — amends several work rules.

The BRS members on the CP/Soo Line were the only employees working for a Class I that were not a party to national contract negotiations between the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC) and the BRS.

However, the CP/SOO Line elected to "stand-by" for the Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan. Subsequently, all Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan changes that were hammered out between the NCCC and the BRS were adopted by the parties to this agreement, BRS officials said.