(Reuters circulated the following article by Allan Dowd on March 29.)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian National Railway Co. is optimistic that train crews that walked out last month will approve a proposed contract, but is prepared if they reject it, an executive said on Wednesday.
Leaders of the United Transportation Union have warned that the 2,800 Canadian workers covered by the contract may reject the one-year pact because of a bitter split within the union and a bid to have to workers switch representation to the rival Teamsters union.
“We’re optimistic that the vote will come back favorable, (but) if it does not we are prepared to go back to the negotiating table with the UTU to reach an agreement that is beneficial for CN as well as the employees,” Canadian National vice president Keith Creel told an investment conference in Toronto.
Canadian National used management personnel to replace the striking conductors, brakemen and switch crews, during last month’s walkout but service deteriorated as Canada’s largest railway struggled with both the lack of workers and severe winter weather.
Creel said it should be easier to operate the trains with replacement crews this time because they will not have to deal with the same weather conditions. Results of the UTU vote are scheduled to be released April 10.
“Hopefully it is going to be positive, but if not we’ll be prepared either way,” Creel, who is vice president for CN’s eastern Canadian operations, told the National Bank Financial conference on transportation.
The UTU and the railway reached a tentative contract agreement as the Canadian government was preparing to legislate an end to the walkout because it was beginning to force layoffs in forestry and auto industry.
Officially the union remains on strike, but union leaders urged the workers to return to their jobs while the contract balloting was under way so the federal government would not intervene.
Union officials have warned that rejecting the proposal would prompt Ottawa to revive the back-to-work legislation that would allow the government to impose an arbitrated settlement that may be more favorable to Canadian National’s contract demands.
Critics of the contract proposal have accused the deal’s supporters of using scare tactics, and say they would be able to negotiate a better settlement with Canadian National, which has enjoyed record profits in recent years.
The one-year deal includes a 3 percent wage hike and a C$1,000 signing bonus. The wage hike was the same one proposed by Canadian National, but the railroad did not get concessions in work rules it had demanded when talks began.
UTU negotiators said they agreed to a relatively short contract to stave off government intervention, and so the union could resolve its internal fight before resuming negotiations on a longer-term deal.
The dispute does not involve Canadian National’s train crews in the United States.