(The following story by Katie Chalmers appeared on the Winnipeg Sun website on April 16.)
WINNIPEG — Canadian National Railway is going ahead with legal action against a handful of Winnipeg union workers for behaviour on the picket line during a month-long strike. The company will pursue the alleged violations in court today even though the strike is over, said CN spokesman Mark Hallman.
“This is going to be pursued. These injunctions are legal instruments granted by the courts,” Hallman said. “We think it’s important that the law be obeyed.”
Clear terms
CN spokesman Jim Feeny said the company is alleging the Canadian Auto Workers’ union and some of its local members “disregarded the clear terms and conditions that were set out by the court in Winnipeg in its injunction orders, which were granted during the strike.”
He added two incidents took place on two occasions and were related to the number of people who were allowed to picket at one time at one specific site, and the length of time picketers were allowed to delay others entering CN sites.
Feeny declined to elaborate because of ongoing court proceedings.
The labour dispute between CN and members of The Canadian Auto Workers Union was resolved March 20 after a four-week strike. Shippers said they suffered once 5,000 CAW members walked off the job on Feb. 20.
The new contract, effective Jan. 1, provided a 3% wage increase in each of three years, a $1,000 signing bonus and a return to discipline procedures in place before 2001.
Shopcraft members voted 69% in favour of the new agreement, while clerical, customer service and intermodal yard workers were 81% in favour.