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A majority of Canadian National Railway Co. maintenance-of-way workers have chosen to be represented by the United Steelworkers of America, according to mailed ballots counted by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) on Friday. The more than 3,000 workers previously were represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE), which recently merged into the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Earlier this year, the Steelworkers and BMWE applied for certification at CN. The unions later sought a CIRB-supervised vote, which was conducted between Oct. 6 and Nov. 17. The Steelworkers now represent about 255,000 Canadian workers, including other CN employees and about 1,700 Canadian Pacific Railway crew dispatchers, intermodal terminal operators, storespersons, accounting staff and freight claims adjusters.

"This was a complicated and difficult campaign," said Steelworkers National Director Ken Neumann in a prepared statement. "We … look forward to negotiating with CN."