Canadian rail workers back on job but union vows to challenge ruling

Workers on both the Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) networks have gone back to work today following an order by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) imposing binding arbitration between the railroads and the Teamsters Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which has vowed to challenge the ruling by the CIRB in court.
In addition, the CIRB ordered that no rail network stoppage — whether a lockout or strike — can occur during the arbitration process, Mike Steenhoek, the executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition noted in an email.
“Of course, it’s preferable for the two parties to have the latitude to arrive at an agreement themselves,” Steenhoek said in the email. “Even though they were provided more than sufficient time to do so, an agreement remained elusive.”
“Therefore, it is entirely appropriate for the Canadian federal government to intervene on behalf of the country and all those, like U.S. agriculture, who depend upon a predictable, reliable cross border supply chain.”