The NCBFAA Transportation Committee wants to remind our members that the Canadian rail strike threat remains in place until the contracts between Canada’s two Class 1 railroads and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) are reached.

TCRC union leaders on Friday afternoon challenged the Canadian government’s Aug. 22 labor contract arbitration order, which canceled the work stoppage at CN and CPKC, by specifically notifying CN that if a new contract is not reached before 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 26, then its 6,500 workers at the railroad will resume their strike.

The freight rail networks of CN and CPKC ceased operating at 00:01 a.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 22, with the railroads and TCRC still gridlocked in their negotiations to reach a new labor contract. The TCRC represents about 10,000 workers at CN and CPKC.

Canada’s Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon that afternoon directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to assist the railroads and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) union parties in settling outstanding terms of their collective agreement by imposing final binding arbitration. This action effectively ended the nearly daylong lockout and restarted the rail services of CN and CPKC.

The NCBFAA Transportation Committee, as well as our counterparts at the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA), will continue to monitor the possible resumption of work stoppages at the Canadian railroads if new contracts are not reached.

The NCBFAA Transportation Committee and CIFFA hope that the labor contracts between Canada’s Class 1 railroads and TCRC are reached without further work stoppages.

John S. Connor will continue to provide updates on our website. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns