Current:Home > StocksCanada’s 2 major freight railroads at a full stop; government officials scramble -ProgressCapital
Canada’s 2 major freight railroads at a full stop; government officials scramble
View
Date:2025-04-11 19:58:44
TORONTO (AP) — Business and consumers throughout Canada and the U.S. were in danger of suffering significant economic harm after Canada’s major freight railroads came to a full stop Thursday because of a contract dispute with their workers.
Canadian government officials met urgently to discuss the shutdown. Canadian National and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the 12:01 a.m. EDT deadline Thursday passed without new agreements with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents about 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers.
All rail traffic in Canada and all shipments crossing the U.S. border have stopped, although CPKC and CN’s trains will continue to operate in the U.S. and Mexico.
Billions of dollars of goods each month move between Canada and the U.S. via rail, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Many companies across all industries rely on railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products, so without regular rail service they may have to cut back or even close.
Both railroads have said they would end the lockout if the union agreed to binding arbitration, while unions indicated that they were still at the bargaining table.
Business groups have urged the government to intervene, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has declined to force the parties into binding arbitration for fear of offending the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and other unions.
Canadian Minister of Public Services and Procurement Jean-Yves Duclos urged both sides to resolve their differences.
They need to do their job to come to an agreement quickly,” he said at a news conference.
Canadian Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon had meetings scheduled “all day on this extremely important matter,” according to a statement from MacKinnon’s office.
Business leaders fumed over the lack of government intervention.
“When you completely shut down the coast-to-coast supply chain, nothing good can come from that,” said John Corey, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada. “This is infuriating. People are going to lose their jobs. There is going to be a real hardship to the economy.”
Most businesses will probably have enough supplies on hand and enough room to store their finished products to withstand a brief disruption. But ports and other railroads will quickly become clogged with stranded shipments that Canadian National and CPKC won’t pick up.
For Union Pacific, one of the U.S. rails that regularly hands off shipments to and from the Canadians, the rail stoppage “means thousands of cars per day will not move across the border,” the company said in a statement Thursday.
“Everything from grain and fertilizer during the critical summer season, and lumber for building homes could be impacted,” the company said.
More than 30,000 commuters in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal were the first to feel the pain of the lockouts. They had to scramble Thursday morning to find a new way to work because their commuter trains aren’t able to operate while CPKC is shut down.
CN had been negotiating with the Teamsters for nine months while CPKC had been trying to reach an agreement for a year, the unions said.
The U.S. faced the same widespread shutdown of rail services two years ago over a labor dispute, but the government forced the union to accept a contract, despite the labor group’s concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time.
Canada’s railroads have sometimes shut down briefly in the past during contract negotiations — most recently CPKC was offline for a couple days in March 2022 — but it is rare for both railroads to stop at the same time. The impact on businesses will be magnified because both CN and CPKC have stopped.
Both railroads had been gradually shutting down since last week ahead of the contract deadline. Shipments of hazardous chemicals and perishable goods were the first to stop, so they wouldn’t be stranded somewhere on the tracks.
The negotiations are stuck on issues related to the way rail workers are scheduled and concerns about rules designed to prevent fatigue and provide adequate rest to train crews. Both railroads had proposed shifting away from the existing system, which pays workers based on the miles in a trip, to an hourly system that they said would make it easier to provide predictable time off.
The railroads said their contract offers have included raises consistent with recent deals in the industry. Engineers make about $150,000 a year on Canadian National while conductors earn $120,000, and CPKC says its wages are comparable.
___
Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska.
veryGood! (829)
Related
- Former Milwaukee hotel workers charged with murder after video shows them holding down Black man
- Record number of Australians enroll to vote in referendum on Indigenous Voice to Parliament
- Pennsylvania’s Senate wants an earlier 2024 presidential primary, partly to have a say on nominees
- George R.R. Martin, John Grisham and other major authors sue OpenAI, alleging systematic theft
- The Daily Money: Disney+ wants your dollars
- Talks have opened on the future of Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan claims full control of the region
- Fishmongers found a rare blue lobster. Instead of selling it, they found a place it could live a happy life
- Gossip Girl Alum Leighton Meester Channels Blair Waldorf in Stylish Red Carpet Look
- Illinois Gov. Pritzker calls for sheriff to resign after Sonya Massey shooting
- King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcomed in Paris with fighter jets and blue lobster
Ranking
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- 11 votes separate Democratic candidates in South Carolina Senate special election
- Father and son sentenced to probation for fire that killed 2 at New York assisted living facility
- 4 firefighters heading home after battling B.C. wildfires die in vehicle crash in Canada
- US Open player compensation rises to a record $65 million, with singles champs getting $3.6 million
- FDA declines to approve Neffy epinephrine nasal spray for severe allergic reactions
- Bellingham scores in stoppage time to give Real Madrid win over Union Berlin in Champions League
- Iran’s president says US should ease sanctions to demonstrate it wants to return to nuclear deal
Recommendation
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Judge orders Phoenix to permanently clear the city’s largest homeless encampment by Nov. 4
Jessica Simpson Says Her Heart Is “So Taken” With Husband Eric Johnson in Birthday Tribute
Princess Beatrice's Husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Shares Royally Cute Photo of 2-Year-Old Daughter Sienna
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
Video, frantic 911 call capture moments after Amazon delivery driver bitten by highly venomous rattlesnake in Florida
84-year-old man back in court after being accused of shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl
How wildfire smoke is erasing years of progress toward cleaning up America's air