(The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference issued the following on January 11.)
The 130 or so workers of the Rocky Mountaineer Rail Tours company decided to join the Teamsters Union following a vote to determine their union allegiance on January 6.
Based in British Columbia, this company sells train vacations and tourism packages in the province.
“We are very happy with the decision made by the workers of Rocky Mountaineer,” explains Jure Kelava, of the Organizing department for Teamsters Local Union 31. “The workers explained to us that they had had enough of their union and therefore staked on our team’s professionalism and commitment.”
Indeed, up to very recently, these workers were represented by the Canadian Auto Workers.
Negotiations to renew the collective agreement will begin shortly.
The Teamsters Union represents 125,000 members in Canada in all trades. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America