Canada's two biggest railroads lock out workers; Ottawa orders arbitration
CN and CPKC locked out Teamsters rail workers in August 2024, and within hours Canada's labor minister directed the dispute to binding arbitration.
In August 2024, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City locked out about 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference. The lockouts began just after midnight on Aug. 22, halting freight traffic on Canada's two largest rail networks, CBC News reported.
Less than 17 hours later, Canadian Labor Minister Steve MacKinnon said he was using his powers under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to send the disputes to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
Ottawa steps in
According to Canadian government notes on the dispute, the minister directed the board to order both railways and their unionized employees to resume operations, to impose final binding interest arbitration, and to extend the existing collective agreements until new ones were set.
The agreements had expired Dec. 31, 2023. The parties had been bargaining since September 2023 and working with federal mediators since March 2024. At CPKC, union members also began strike action as the lockout took effect.
MacKinnon told reporters he expected trains to start moving "within days." The union criticized the move and said picket lines would remain in place while it consulted legal counsel.
Restart
The board ordered both railways to resume operations on Aug. 24. Operations began resuming at CN and CPKC on Aug. 26, and both companies said during the week of Sept. 9 that their networks had returned to normal service, the government notes said. The union filed applications for judicial review on Aug. 29.
What it meant for carriers
The Railway Association of Canada said the two railways together haul about $1 billion in goods each day, CBC reported, without specifying the currency. Many shipments had been stopped ahead of the lockouts to avoid stranding cargo.
Dennis Darby, president of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said the wind-down of rail service and the full stoppage had caused supply chain and operational problems that "will take days if not weeks to resolve."