Freight shutdown due to strike in Canada

[PaTrainFan]

Possible strike/lockout looming in Canada...

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/19/business/canada-rail-strike/index.html

 

[jiml]

This has been looming for some time now. Strike or lockout (depending on which railway) could happen as soon as end-of-day Wednesday. Opinions on impact are all over the place, so no point in reporting speculation. The only official notices affect Montreal and Vancouver commuter services and Toronto GO's Milton line which operate on CPKC tracks. All CPKC services will be affected - including dispatching, whereas CN's dispatchers have a valid contract. The only question is whether they will cross the picket line to go to work. If not expect the impact to spread. VIA will not be affected in the short term, with the exception of the White River train, however all bets are off if the strike/lockout lasts long enough to affect track maintenance. An unresolved question is the short segment of CPKC track that VIA traverses between Toronto and Ottawa.

Politically this is a significant problem for the federal government, currently held in power by the labor-friendly NDP party. The latter's leader has threatened to bring down the government and force an election if the government intervenes in the dispute.

 

[jiml]

U.S. railroad operator Union Pacific has warned that a potential rail strike in Canada will have "devastating consequences" on the North American economy.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/cana...n&cvid=a1fc9976250946e7bbde48115c2dac26&ei=77

 

[jiml]

Both railroads locked out their employees at midnight last night. It has been very quiet here near the CN main line, however the first VIA train of the morning passed as usual, only slightly late.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Call me crazy but it almost seems like there should be a law or regulation that either prevents both class one railroads from engaging in simultaneous nationwide strikes/lockouts or that fast tracks immediate third party arbitration if and when simultaneous nationwide strikes/lockouts do occur.

 

[jiml]

Call me crazy but it almost seems like there should be a law or regulation that either prevents both class one railroads from engaging in simultaneous nationwide strikes/lockouts or that fast tracks immediate third party arbitration if and when simultaneous nationwide strikes/lockouts do occur.

I think most people would agree with you. Some blame has to go to the railroad management who were dumb enough to sign contracts with the same expiry - the first time this has happened in Canadian history. Like no one noticed and saw a potential problem?

 

[railiner]

A total freight shutdown? Maybe a good time to ride the Canadian? Should see nothing but green signals…

Joking aside, a total shutdown could be a national emergency, requiring government intervention.

On the other hand, if trucks manage to keep the nation moving, the rail’s stand to lose their relevance in essential transportation…

 

[JamesWhitcombRiley]

Anyone know why it's a lockdown not a strike? The companies want to control the timing or the tactics?

On the other hand, if trucks manage to keep the nation moving, the rail’s stand to lose their relevance in essential transportation…

I'll bite. Many goods can only be moved by rail, water, or sometimes pipeline. I believe the material that was exploded in East Palestine, OH, was prohibited from highway transportation. As for other goods, traincars hold multiples of what trucks do, and barges hold larger multiples of what traincars do. Grain for example. Already there was a shortage of automobile railcars in Canada, so I'd guess there aren't enough for the highways.

 

[Stremba]

https://nypost.com/2024/08/22/world...-could-cause-major-economic-disruption-in-us/

Saw this today about lockouts on Canadian railroads, including Canadian National. I know CN has track in the US and IIRC some Amtrak routes use this track. Anyone know if any Amtrak routes are impacted?

 

[zephyr17]

Neither CP nor CN US lines are part of this Canadian labor dispute, so Amtrak in the US is entirely unaffected.

Further, CN RTC controllers (dispatchers) have a valid contract and are not going out even in Canada. Since all Amtrak service in Canada is on CN or BNSF dispatched lines, the lines used by Amtrak are open to traffic and the Maple Leaf (not technically an Amtrak train in Canada) and the Cascades are operating.

Note that CPKC RTC controllers are striking/locked out.

At this point in time, VIA is not much affected either, since they mostly operate over CN. An added bonus for the moment is they do not have those pesky freight trains to contend with. An exception is the Sudbury-White River RDC, which is suspended since it operates over CP.

Edit: since CN MOW workers are going out I guess there is a possibility of further delay in the resumption of the Adirondack, assuming CN itself is performing the upgrades.

 

[jiml]

The federal government has imposed binding arbitration:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/cana..._&cvid=0df2e62c39c74c8bb3a0c220d6711823&ei=12

As can be discerned from the article, they did not reconvene Parliament to do this so this is likely to have repercussions beyond the dispute itself.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The shutdown demonstrated how closely linked Canada and the United States’ economies are, with many industries depending on the free movement of goods across the border for their efficient operations. About 30% of the freight carried by the two railroads cross the US-Canadian border, and without rail operations there is not nearly enough truck capacity to move the goods.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/22/business/canada-rail-shutdown-ends/index.html

 

[zephyr17]

Breaking news, Candian government is ordering the parties into binding arbitration. Lock out/strike is ending.

"I have also directed the board to extend the term of the current collective agreements until new agreements have been signed, and for operations on both railways to resume forthwith," he said.

Quote from CBC article, linked below, is attributed to Minister of Labour Steve McKinnon.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cn-railway-cpkc-lockout-job-action-negotiations-1.7301419

 

[jiml]

It is important to note that this is a suggestion - a rather strong one - as opposed to actual law. It would be necessary to reconvene Parliament (currently on summer recess) to force the parties to arbitration. While it is assumed that both management and the union will accept the terms, the last time the Feds tried this during a WestJet strike it was rejected by the union and the dispute continued.

 

[MccfamschoolMom]

The news report I saw (via "The Flyover" email newsletter) claimed that commuter rail had been impacted by the strike/lockout. If this is so, would the commuter rail referred to in the news report include VIA Corridor Service trains? Or perhaps just municipal commuter rail service in some of the large cities? (Like whatever might be comparable to Metra in Chicago.)

 

[jiml]

The news report I saw (via "The Flyover" email newsletter) claimed that commuter rail had been impacted by the strike/lockout. If this is so, would the commuter rail referred to in the news report include VIA Corridor Service trains? Or perhaps just municipal commuter rail service in some of the large cities? (Like whatever might be comparable to Metra in Chicago.)

The commuter rail lines affected were those on tracks owned by CPKC. This included 3 Montreal area routes, the Vancouver service and one Toronto GO line (Milton) plus GO's downtown Hamilton station. In the case of the Toronto area operations almost all the affected passengers would have had another option within a 15 minute drive since all other GO services were normal. This is in sharp contrast to the fear-mongering by the news media and headlines like "Commuter Chaos" featured on supper-hour newscasts.

The only impact on VIA was the suspension of the Sudbury-White River RDC. VIA's brief passage over CPKC tracks between Brockville and Ottawa was handled with ease, with no conflicting freight trains, and the Canadian used an all-CN routing in mid-Ontario instead of CPKC in one direction and CN in the other.

 

[zephyr17]

The news report I saw (via "The Flyover" email newsletter) claimed that commuter rail had been impacted by the strike/lockout. If this is so, would the commuter rail referred to in the news report include VIA Corridor Service trains? Or perhaps just municipal commuter rail service in some of the large cities? (Like whatever might be comparable to Metra in Chicago.)

The commuter trains that were affected were those on CP. Those on lines dispatched by CN continued to run. Vancouver's West Coast Express between Vancouver and Mission halted. One line in Toronto hosted on CP, was halted, most of the extensive GO Transit/Metrolinx rail network is on CN (though I understand Metrolinx may have assumed ownership and control of some lines). The EXO lines serving Lucien L'Allier in Montreal, since those are on CP.

VIA's Corridor services were unaffected. They announced only the Sudbury-White River service was halted They are mostly on CN and VIA owned rail on their "Corridor". There is a very short stretch on CP in Smiths Falls between the VIA's Brockville and Smiths Falls Subs. I do not know how they handled that, but Toronto-Ottawa service continued.

 

[jiml]

The latest, according to Canadian Press, says picket lines have come down at CN locations and services are expected to resume throughout today. However, the strike continues at CPKC with the passenger impacts noted above.

 

[zephyr17]

However, the strike continues at CPKC with the passenger impacts noted above.

If the strike against CPKC continues, I imagine that today's eastbound Canadian from Vancouver will stay on CN in the directional running in BC's Fraser and Thompson canyons.

 

[jiml]

If the strike against CPKC continues, I imagine that today's eastbound Canadian from Vancouver will stay on CN in the directional running in BC's Fraser and Thompson canyons.

Yeah, forgot about that, although there had been some all-CN running there recently due to some combination of track work, landslide, flooding or similar. No one has updated that recently.

Apparently the Teamsters at CPKC intend to challenge the government direction in court.

CPKC said it was prepared to discuss the resumption of service at the meeting with the CIRB, but the union refused and wants to make submissions to challenge the constitutionality of MacKinnon's direction.

The speed things like that move might suggest early next week before a resolution at CPKC.

 

[jiml]

Things are returning to normal at CN; at CPKC not so much:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/poli...n&cvid=cfd343de2de44dda9deeb1366cd8a5ed&ei=61

CPKC said it was unable to resume service because the union “refused to discuss any resumption of service, and instead indicated that they wish to make submissions to challenge the constitutionality of the Minister’s direction.”

 

[jiml]

Uh-oh, not so fast:

CN railway workers have issued a strike notice for Monday morning pushing back against attempts by the Liberal government to bring the massive shutdown of the country’s rail system to an end.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/cana...n&cvid=d53a1d7da5c44899ba3f0e6751290951&ei=25

 

[Bob Dylan]

Uh-oh, not so fast:



https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/cana...n&cvid=d53a1d7da5c44899ba3f0e6751290951&ei=25

Sounds like the Lawyers have the Meter running! Pop plenty of Popcorn!

 

[zephyr17]

VIA 2(23) is staying on CN up the Fraser Canyon per asm.transitdocs.com.

 

[Rover]

Arbitration hearing between Canadian railroads and union ends with no decision on back-to-work order

https://apnews.com/article/canada-railroads-cpkc-csx-6e13bb31a3708d11e961174e6c47a558

The union filed a 72-hour strike notice against CN on Friday morning shortly after it announced that it planned to challenge the arbitration order, union spokesperson Marc-André Gauthier said.