(The following story by Brent Jang appeared on the Globe and Mail website on May 14.)
TORONTO — Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is sending 1,300 managers across the country to position them for a looming strike by track maintenance workers, a walkout that threatens to disrupt deliveries of everything from domestic propane to imported consumer goods.
A strike notice issued on the weekend by the union representing 3,200 maintenance staff means that the work stoppage will start at 1:59 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday.
Calgary-based CPR said it is deferring expansion projects and other capital spending that employs 2,000 of the unionized workers. CPR started assigning the 1,300 managers yesterday to fill in for 1,200 employees on day-to-day maintenance duties, covering thousands of kilometres of track across Canada.
CPR spokesman Mark Seland insisted yesterday that a strike by track staff will have little impact. “The vast majority of our trains will continue to operate, using regular conductors and engineers. These maintenance employees do not operate trains,” he said.
But union officials say that as barbecuing season gets under way, retail propane supplies will be harmed by a CPR strike. They also expect a choke point at the Port of Vancouver, where CPR and CN share tracks. The long-time rail rivals teamed up in 2004 in the Vancouver region to reduce bottlenecks caused by booming Asian trade, notably consumer products imported from China.
Picketing at CPR terminals will slow trucks dropping off and loading goods, while managers inexperienced in the field will find it tough to repair tracks and keep trains running on time, union officials say.
Rail service has been erratic this year amid labour unrest, exacerbated by a harsh winter. There was a 15-day strike in February at Canadian National Railway Co. by the 2,800-member United Transportation Union, and an eight-day CN work stoppage in April.
Ottawa ordered an end to the April strike/lockout after major delays to shipments of commodities such as grain and petrochemicals, forcing UTU conductors and yard staff to return to their posts with back-to-work legislation.
CPR management and union leaders remain far apart on wages, working conditions and benefits. Maintenance workers were part of a 19-day CPR work stoppage in 1995 that crippled many freight deliveries, but CPR officials vow to keep trains rolling on schedule this time around.
Mr. Seland said the company has 150 track maintenance supervisors who are already fully qualified to conduct safety inspections, and will continue to fulfill their duties.
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference’s maintenance-of-way employees division is responsible for building and maintaining tracks, bridges and structures.
The Teamsters’ members have been working without a contract since Dec. 31, 2006. The federal government appointed mediator Bill Lewis on April 26 to help resolve the dispute, but talks broke off on April 28. No new talks are scheduled.
CPR said it has offered wage increases of 3 per cent in 2007, followed by raises of 4 per cent in 2008 and 3 per cent in 2009, compared with the union’s demand for hikes of 4 per cent in each of those three years.
Union president William Brehl said yesterday he’s skeptical about the company’s contingency plans, arguing that CPR managers – including hundreds of people who normally have office jobs – can’t monitor track safety as well as unionized workers do.
“I’m worried about the ability of managers to catch track defects to prevent tragedies,” Mr. Brehl said.
He added that cleaning up after any derailments will prove to be challenging.
CPR posted a record $796-million profit last year, and it’s only fair that the company share the prosperity, Mr. Brehl said. The average wage of Teamsters’ maintenance workers is $42,000 a year.
Employees are concerned about having to travel greater distances to do their jobs, Mr. Brehl said.
“That affects our families, our quality of life.”
Last week, CPR chief executive officer Fred Green said management is firm about its wage proposals because it doesn’t want to break a pattern established by past bargaining with other unions.