Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Votes To Reauthorize A Strike

Canadian rail workers affiliated with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference recently voted to reauthorize a strike if the country’s two largest railroads, Canadian National Railway Company and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, do not agree to their contract demands. The vote would impact 98.6 percent of the 10,000 rail workers at these companies.

Back in May, Teamsters Canada members voted overwhelmingly to strike if a deal with the railroads could not be reached. That strike was set to begin May 22, but Canada’s federal labor minister suspended it while the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) determined which services or deliveries, if any, are essential and must continue if a strike occurs.

If the CIRB decides rail service is not essential, a strike can take place with just 72 hours warning.

In the event of a rail strike, shippers could turn to Canada’s truckers, analysts have said. “Should a strike ultimately occur, the industry as a whole should expect that there would be a capacity shift primarily to truckload,” Kevin Clonch, group director of customer logistics at Canadian transportation provider Ryder System, told Reuters. Still, a Canadian rail strike would, of course, have an adverse effect on North American commerce and the manufacturing and industrial metals supply chain.