(The following article by Nicolas Van Praet was posted on the Montreal Gazette website on February 26.)
MONTREAL — Federal mediators called on Canadian National Railway Co. and the Canadian Auto Workers union to resume talks yesterday after the union’s strike disrupted shipments of car parts, wheat and groceries.
Officials from the the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service summoned negotiators from the two sides to Montreal yesterday for further discussions. Talks were to get under way last night.
“We felt it was time for them to start talking again,” said lead mediator Elizabeth MacPherson. She said recent events related to the strike like work stoppages at Ford Motor Co. did not affect the decision to request new talks.
The strike is now entering its seventh day.
“The longer it goes on, the more the system starts to slow down,” said Robert Fay, an analyst who researches CN for Canaccord Capital.
“You don’t want a railroad starting to get plugged up in different places. (A strike) does dislocate the system.”
CN officials maintain the railway’s operations are near normal, with few delays. “It is running smoothly,” said spokesperson Mark Hallman.
But some of the railway’s customers report that the strike by 5,000 mechanics, cargo loaders and clerical workers has already had effects.
The Canadian Wheat Board said the walkout has slowed shipments because of railcar shortages. Other industry associations are also reporting that their members are having trouble ordering new cars to ship goods. Food retailer Loblaws said it experienced delays in CN-carried shipments this week.
Paper producer Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. said it switched to a system of trucks and warehouses to transport part of its products. Mining company Noranda Inc. said it pressed extra trucks into service where it can but has not yet experienced rail delays.
“Where we can, we use alternate shipping methods,”said Noranda spokesperson Dale Coffin.
“The longer the strike goes on the greater the chances are that it will impact our operations.”
Ford was forced to cancel three of five daily shifts at its Ontario vehicle plants Tuesday because non-striking workers acting in solidarity with their CAW colleagues refused to unload railcars filled with car parts.
A spokesperson for Ford said operations were normal yesterday and both cars and parts were being moved.
General Motors Canada decided to switch to another transporter to move its finished vehicles out of its Oshawa factories.
CAW national president Buzz Hargrove is calling on all industries that employ his members to stop shipping with CN. The union represents some 260,000 employees working for small and large Canadian companies like Noranda-owned Falconbridge, electronics company Siemens Canada, Ontario grocer A&P Dominion, and retailer Zellers.
Workers walked off the job on Friday after rejecting new contract deals that offered them a three-per-cent wage hike. Workers are also upset over what they allege is a newly created climate of intimidation by CN managers.
CN transports over half of Canada’s rail freight. The striking workers represent about a quarter of the railway’s Canadian workforce.
Six other rail unions are also in talks with CN about new labour deals. Teamsters Canada, which represents locomotive engineers and rail traffic controllers, said it would break off discussions until the CAW strike is resolved.