Canadian National (CN) Railway train conductors and railyard coordinators have declared their intention to strike Nov. 19 beginning at 12:01 a.m.
Teamsters Canadian Rail Conference - Conductors, Trainpersons and Yardpersons union issued the 72-hour notice Saturday, on behalf of the 3,200 CN train conductors and railyard coordinators that they represent in Canada.
The union has been in negotiations with the Montreal-based CN rail for the past six months, resulting in a vote last month in which members voted 99.2 per cent in favour of strike action.
The workers in question have been without a contract since July 23.
“We continue to negotiate in good faith to reach a fair agreement before the strike deadline," Rob Reilly, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of CN, is quoted in a press release.
"In the spirit of protecting the Canadian economy, we have offered the union binding arbitration and they have declined. If a settlement cannot be reached this weekend, we will once again encourage the union leadership to accept binding arbitration as an alternative to disrupting the Canadian economy.
"We remain committed to constructive talks to reach an agreement without a work stoppage.”
CN transports more than $250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors said the release, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network spanning Canada and mid-America.
CN and its operating railway subsidiaries serve the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.
More information on CN can be found here.
