CN issues lockout notice; TCRC serves strike notice to CPKC

CN yesterday formally advised the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) of the railroad’s intention to lock out TCRC-represented employees starting at 12:01 Eastern time tomorrow unless a labor agreement or binding arbitration is achieved before that time.

No meaningful progress occurred during negotiations over the weekend, CN officials said in a press release. As a result, it issued the lockout notice and will continue a phased and progressive shutdown of its network.

“This planned shut down helps to ensure the safety of the communities in which we operate and the safety of our customers’ goods, and to optimize the network’s recovery following a labor disruption," CN officials said.

Additional CN embargoes will be issued today. TCRC represents 6,000 conductors, conductor trainers, yard coordinators and locomotive engineers across the CN network.

Meanwhile, TCRC has served a 72-hour strike notice to Canadian Pacific Kansas City, union officials said yesterday in a press release. TCRC represents 3,200 locomotive engineers, conductors and train-yard workers at CPKC. CPKC announced Aug. 9 that it had served a lockout notice to the union for 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

Both Canadian Class Is have been halting shipments in preparation for potential work stoppages. Last week, Canada’s Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon turned down CN’s request to impose binding arbitration, saying he wanted the railroad to bargain with the union in good faith.