WINNIPEG — Employees of Canadian Pacific Railway who are part of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference could be going on strike as soon as Feb. 15.
On Saturday, 93 percent of members, who are locomotive engineers, conductors, trainmen, and yardmen, voted in favour of taking strike action if a negotiated settlement is not reached with CP, a news release from the union said.
Teamsters and CP are within the 21 day cooling off period as provided for within the Canada Labour Code, though a strike or lockout is possible as early as Sunday.
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Union president Douglas Finnson was pleased with the membership and their “tremendous” show of solidarity and support for the bargaining committee.
“The bargaining committee is strengthened by the determination of the membership to fight for their rights to maintain a safe working environment, and to obtain acceptable improvements in their working lives,” he said in a statement.
“CP has adopted a style of labour relations based on confrontation and establishing a culture of fear among the employees, including management.”
The news release said the Canada Industrial Relations Board found CP guilty of violating the Canada Labour Code in 2013, stating the following: “By its actions, the employer has made it virtually impossible for the labour relations system to work as it should.”
In subsequent months, CP has been found guilty by the CIRB of multiple charges of unfair labour practices against unionized workers at CP. The most recent finding of guilt against CP was Jan. 9.
“CP has provoked confrontation with their unionized employees as often as they can, and their style of labour relations has resulted in the most massive contract rejection in the history of the railway industry,” Finnson said.
Teamsters is scheduled to bargain with CP in Montreal from today to Saturday with the assistance of mediators from Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services.
CP officials said the company continues to negotiate but had no further comments on the possible strike action.
The Teamsters union represents 125,000 members in Canada in all trades. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.
