(The Canadian Press circulated the following on May 15.)
OTTAWA — Workers who maintain track and bridges for Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. have walked off the job, the second strike at one of Canada’s national railways this year.
A 2 a.m. ET strike deadline passed today without the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference reaching an agreement with CP Rail. About 1,200 employees are affected.
Union leader William Brehl says picket lines are going up across Canada right away.
He says he doesn’t expect his union to reach a deal with Canadian Pacific in the next few days.
CP Rail officials say it will deploy 1,300 trained management employees to do the tasks normally performed by striking workers.
The Teamsters union has been demanding a 13 per cent wage increase over three years – a request Canadian Pacific has repeatedly turned down.