(The International Brotherhood of Teamsters issued the following news release on February 6.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa today hailed an election victory that adds 2,800 trainmen to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, while preserving 1,700 engineers who were the target of a raid by another union.
“The strong victory for the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference demonstrates that workers at Canadian Pacific (CP) want the best representation available, and that they trust the Teamsters to provide that,” Hoffa said. “We are creating one umbrella for workers so that they win the best contracts, best benefits and the respect and dignity that they deserve.”
At CP, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference — the result of a recent merger between the Teamsters and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) — represents 1,700 engineers. The United Transportation Union (UTU) represented 2,800 trainmen. The UTU petitioned the Canadian Labour Board for the entire group of 4,500 workers in an attempt to raid Teamsters/BLET. Ballots were counted this week, and the Teamsters won.
“We didn’t want this vote to occur in the first place, but the results show that the workers want to belong to the Teamsters,” Hoffa said.
“This victory shows that we are building unity among the rail unions in Canada, which will lead to stronger contracts and better working conditions,” said Francois Laporte, Assistant to Teamsters Canada President Bob Bouvier. “We look forward to other workers joining the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.”
“We thank all those who supported us and want to assure all of our new trainmen members that we will work for a smooth transition that respects current agreements and seniority rules,” said Gilles Halle, president of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States and Canada.