{"id":2330635,"date":"2024-08-25T13:34:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-25T17:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/back-to-work-order-issued-for-two-major-canada-railroads-union-will-comply-but-lawsuit-planned-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-25T13:42:47","modified_gmt":"2024-08-25T17:42:47","slug":"back-to-work-order-issued-for-two-major-canada-railroads-union-will-comply-but-lawsuit-planned-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/back-to-work-order-issued-for-two-major-canada-railroads-union-will-comply-but-lawsuit-planned-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Back-to-work order issued for two major Canada railroads. Union will comply, but lawsuit planned &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fback-to-work-order-issued-for-two-major-canada-railroads-union-will-comply-but-lawsuit-planned-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2330635&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A \u2064Canadian arbitrator \u2062has mandated the\u2063 reopening of two \u2063major railroads, Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas \u2064City (CPKC),\u200c following a labor dispute that saw workers\u2064 locked\u2064 out. This decision aims to \u200cmitigate the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/huge-economic-impact-heres-how-much-lockdowns-could-cost-students-in-lifetime-earnings\/\" title=\"\u2018Huge Economic Impact\u2019: Here\u2019s How Much Lockdowns Could Cost Students In Lifetime Earnings\">economic disruptions caused<\/a> \u200bby the lockouts, which affected valuable trade\u200b between Canada and the United States. Although employees at \u2064CN resumed work shortly after \u200dthe ruling, operations at CPKC are \u2062expected to resume\u200d on Monday, following a suspension \u2064of work actions by\u2063 the Teamsters \u200bunion, which has expressed intentions to challenge the \u2064arbitration order legally.<\/p>\n<p>Union representatives believe \u200bthe government&#8217;s intervention threatens workers&#8217; rights, as it\u2062 may set a precedent for corporations to leverage \u200bshort disruptions to prompt\u200c federal action against unions.\u2064 The labor standoff stemmed from disagreements over worker scheduling\u2062 and compensation. Despite previous negotiations, the\u2062 deadlock persisted, with the negotiations being\u200c contentious over fatigue prevention measures and \u200bchanges to compensation structures.<\/p>\n<p>Both railroads \u2063play a significant role in the economy, with substantial daily \u2062shipments. The labor \u2064disruption posed a \u2064potential crisis \u200bfor businesses reliant on efficient freight services \u200cto \u200breceive raw materials and \u2062distribute products. The\u200c government intervened after witnessing the\u200b unfolding economic\u200c repercussions\u200b of the rail lockouts. Moving forward, while \u200cthe arbitration process will continue, the previous\u2064 contracts will remain in place \u200cto ensure operations are not further \u2064disrupted.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Back-to-work order issued for two major Canada railroads. Union will comply, but lawsuit planned<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1721983\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>TORONTO (AP) &mdash;<\/strong> The Canadian arbitrator appointed to resolve a messy railroad&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/canada-railroad-labor-dispute-lockout-supply-chain-2f5f2d7a997a9f119f8312db97df328a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>labor dispute<\/a>&nbsp;to protect the North American&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/economy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>economy<\/a>&nbsp;has ordered employees at the country&rsquo;s two major railroads back to work so both can resume operating.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Saturday&rsquo;s order means Canadian National will be able to continue operating the trains it restarted Friday morning just over a day after it locked out workers. But Canadian Pacific Kansas City likely won&rsquo;t be able to restart its operations before 12:01 a.m. Monday, when workers were ordered to return.<\/p>\n<p>Railroads play a crucial role in the economy with CPKC and CN delivering more than CA$1 billion (US$730 million) worth of shipments a day and carrying billions of dollars of goods between the U.S. and Canada every month. Even though both companies&rsquo; trains in the United States and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Mexico\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Mexico<\/a> continued operating, the lockouts caused a significant disruption. A number of smaller short-line freight railroads that handle local deliveries continued operating across Canada but were unable to hand off shipments to either of the major railroads while they were idle.<\/p>\n<p>The Teamsters union representing workers said that it will comply with the Canada Industrial Relations Board order and send its members back on the job, but it will also move forward with a legal challenge of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/canada-railroads-cpkc-csx-5b9290b47ad6cdb439735c10560602d3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>the arbitration order<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This decision by the CIRB sets a dangerous precedent. It signals to corporate Canada that large companies need only stop their operations for a few hours, inflict short-term economic pain, and the federal government will step in to break a union,&rdquo; said Paul Boucher, President of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents more than 9,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers at both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/railroads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>railroads<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The rights of Canadian workers have been significantly diminished today,&rdquo; Boucher added.<\/p>\n<p>Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon order the lockouts to end just over 16 hours after they began because government officials couldn&rsquo;t bear to watch the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/canadian-national-cpkc-railroad-strike-lockout-tcrc-b8b60eb57646ab6300a3742fe977cab0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>economic disaster<\/a>&nbsp;unfold if the railroads remained shut down.<\/p>\n<p>MacKinnon noted the board&rsquo;s decision in a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/stevenmackinnon\/status\/1827482764947382546?s=12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">post on the social platform X<\/a>&nbsp;and said he expects the railroads and employees to resume operations as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Businesses all across Canada and the United States said they would quickly face a crisis without rail service because they rely on freight railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products. Without regular deliveries, many businesses would possibly have to cut production or even shut down.<\/p>\n<p>Canadian National trains started running again Friday morning but the union threatened to go on strike there starting Monday morning. Saturday&rsquo;s order nullifies that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/strike\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>strike<\/a> threat. CPKC workers have been on strike since the lockout began early Thursday, and the railroad&rsquo;s trains have remained idle.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;While CN is disappointed an agreement could not be reached at the bargaining table, the company is satisfied that this order effectively ends the unpredictability that has been negatively impacting supply chains for months,&rdquo; the railroad said in a statement. &ldquo;CN remains focused on safely getting goods moving again, as efficiently as possible.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>CPKC officially ended its lockout after Saturday&rsquo;s decision and asked workers to return for the day shift Sunday. But union spokesman Christopher Monette said workers who have been on strike won&rsquo;t be going back to CPKC before the Monday deadline in the order.<\/p>\n<p>CPKC said it wants to &ldquo;get the Canadian economy moving again as quickly as possible and avoid further disruption to supply chains.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The railroads said it could take several weeks to fully recover because they began gradually shutting down their networks more than a week ago, leaving shipments stranded on customer loading docks and at ports across the country.<\/p>\n<p>The previous contract, which expired at the end of last year, will remain in force while the arbitration process proceeds, and the board ordered the unions not to disrupt operations further while that unfolds.<\/p>\n<p>The negotiations at CPKC and CN broke down over issues related to how workers are scheduled and rules in the contract that are designed to prevent fatigue. Both railroads had proposed changing the compensation system from paying workers according to miles traveled to one based on hours worked.<\/p>\n<p>The railroads said doing that would make it easier to provide predictable time off, but the union resisted over worries that the changes could erode important fatigue protections and jeopardize job safety.<\/p>\n<p>Canadian National and CPKC have said they offered raises in line with other recent rail industry deals. CN said its engineers make about CA$150,000 a year, while its conductors earn CA$121,000. CPKC said its pay is comparable.<\/p>\n<p>At CN there was also a dispute over its effort to expand its system of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amazon-to-relocate-1800-employees-out-of-downtown-seattle-due-to-crime-surge\/\" title=\"Amazon to Relocate 1,800 Employees Out of Downtown Seattle Due to Crime Surge\">temporarily relocating workers<\/a> to other regions when there are staff shortages. The union didn&rsquo;t want CN to have the power to disrupt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/family\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>families<\/a>, but the railroad said the system is voluntary and is already in place in some places.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time that the Canadian railroads have been struggling to reach agreements with their union, major U.S. railroads have made a flurry of deals in recent days.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CSX announced the first deals on Wednesday &mdash; months before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ford-invests-3-7-billion-in-midwest\/\" title=\"Ford Invests .7 Billion in Midwest\">current contract expires<\/a> and before the start of the traditional national bargaining process that typically drags on for years &mdash; then announced seven more contracts Friday. All together, the new contracts cover more than half the railroad&rsquo;s workforce. Norfolk Southern and BNSF followed suit, announcing four deals each with some of their 13 unions on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>The deals will help the U.S. rail industry avoid the kind of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-economy-strikes-congress-d2ae4d3aecb27f176418518d977e69e1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>difficult labor dispute<\/a>&nbsp;that drove it to the brink of a strike two years ago before Congress and President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-politics-pete-buttigieg-strikes-congress-c95510555dcd4cdc2d839e61d1195b06\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>stepped in<\/a>&nbsp;to impose a contract.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1721983\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1721983\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To continue operating the trains it restarted Friday morning, just over a day after locking out workers. However, Canadian Pacific Kansas City is unlikely to resume operations until 12:01 a.m. Monday when employees are required to return. Railroads are vital to the economy, with CPKC and CN transporting over CA$1 billion (US$730 million) worth of shipments daily and moving billions in goods between the U.S. and Canada each month. Although trains in the U.S. and Mexico continued running, the lockouts caused significant disruptions, particularly affecting smaller short-line freight railroads that could not transfer shipments to the major railroads during their downtime.<\/p>\n<p>The Teamsters union representing workers stated it will adhere to the Canada Industrial Relations Board&#8217;s order and send its members back to work but plans to challenge the arbitration ruling legally. Paul Boucher, President of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference\u2014which represents over 9,000 engineers, conductors, and dispatchers\u2014expressed concern that this decision sets a troubling precedent by suggesting that large corporations can halt operations briefly for economic leverage while expecting government intervention against unions.<\/p>\n<p>Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon ordered an end to the lockouts just over 16 hours after they began due to concerns about potential economic fallout if rail services remained suspended. He highlighted this decision on social media and anticipated that both railroads would quickly resume operations.<\/p>\n<p>Businesses across Canada and the U.S. warned of impending crises without rail service since they depend on freight transportation for raw materials and finished products; interruptions could lead many companies to reduce production or shut down entirely.<\/p>\n<p>Canadian National resumed train services Friday morning but faced strike threats from its union starting Monday; however, Saturday\u2019s order effectively nullified those threats. CPKC workers had been striking since early Thursday when their lockout commenced.<\/p>\n<p>While CN expressed disappointment at not reaching an agreement through negotiations, it welcomed this order as a means of restoring stability in supply chains affected for months by unpredictability.<\/p>\n<p>CPKC officially ended its lockout following Saturday\u2019s ruling and requested employees return for Sunday\u2019s day shift; however, union representatives indicated that striking workers would not return before Monday&#8217;s deadline set by authorities.<\/p>\n<p>Both railroads acknowledged it may take weeks for full recovery due to prior shutdowns leaving shipments stranded nationwide while maintaining existing contracts during arbitration proceedings regarding scheduling issues aimed at preventing worker fatigue.<\/p>\n<p>Negotiations faltered primarily over proposed changes from mileage-based pay systems towards hourly compensation models which raised concerns among unions about potential risks related job safety standards being compromised amid efforts toward predictable time off arrangements.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast with Canadian negotiations stalling amidst labor disputes with unions seeking better terms regarding working conditions\u2014U.S.-based railroad companies have recently secured multiple agreements ahead of contract expirations avoiding similar conflicts seen previously two years ago when federal intervention was necessary following looming strikes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2634,"featured_media":2330636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/canadian-rail-strike--scaled-1024x750.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[39221,3957,15564,39222,32076],"class_list":["post-2330635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-back-to-work-order","tag-canada","tag-railroads","tag-union-lawsuit","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/canadian-rail-strike--scaled-1024x750.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2330635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2330635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2330635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2330636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2330635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2330635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2330635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}