BNSF crews clear track near Lemmon, S.D., about 300 km northeast of Rapid City, in late December 2016. (BNSF.com)

Biggest U.S. rail union rejects tentative deal, raising threat of strike

Union digs in on paid sick time

Washington/Los Angeles | Reuters — Workers at the largest U.S. rail union voted against a tentative contract deal reached in September, raising the possibility of a year-end strike that could cause significant damage to the U.S. economy and strand vital shipments of food and fuel. Train and engine service members of the transportation division of

File photo of a CN locomotive in Chicago. (Photo courtesy CN)

Third U.S. union rejects national rail contract deal

Two major unions' decisions due next week

Washington | Reuters — A third U.S. rail union voted on Monday to reject a tentative national contract reached in September, but expects to continue negotiating to reach a deal. The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), which represents about 300 U.S. rail employees, rejected the agreement, said the union and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee


A freight train at Manchac, La., about 75 km east of Baton Rouge. (CN.ca)

U.S. railroads, union extend strike deadline until at least Dec. 4

Teamsters warn against 'blatant attempt to cause panic'

Washington | Reuters — A group representing major railroads and a union that voted to reject a new contract said Wednesday they had agreed to extend a potential strike deadline until at least Dec. 4. The National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) that represents 11,000 workers extended the current

File photo from a Teamster-represented engineers’ picket at CN in Winnipeg in 2009. (Dave Bedard photo)

Unions rip supply chain report’s language on strikes

Task force calls for 'new labour relations paradigm'

Recommendations from the federal government’s National Supply Chain Task Force to strengthen the country’s supply chains have drawn a cheer but also one significant jeer from unions in the transport sector. The task force’s final report, released Oct. 6, offered up 21 recommendations aimed at easing congestion in Canada’s ports, filling labour shortages and improving


Signage outside an IBEW office in Winnipeg. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

Arbitration leads to deal for CN signals staff

IBEW held 17-day strike in summer

Canadian National Railway (CN) has labour peace with its signals and communications workers through to the end of 2024 coming out of binding arbitration. The 750-odd workers, represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council 11, had agreed to take their dispute with CN to arbitration in early July, ending a 17-day strike.

File photo of a BNSF grain train crossing the Gassman Coulee trestle near Minot, North Dakota. (Photo courtesy BNSF Railway)

U.S. railroad strike averted

Biden calls deal a 'win for America;' strike's impact would have reached up into Canada

Updated | Washington | Reuters — Major U.S. railroads and unions secured a tentative deal on Thursday after 20 hours of intense talks brokered by President Joe Biden’s administration to avert a rail shutdown that could have hit food and fuel supplies across the country and beyond. Biden called the deal a “big win for


A freight train at Manchac, La., about 75 km east of Baton Rouge. (CN.ca)

U.S. rail embargoes may stymie some Canadian rail traffic

CN halts most cross-border traffic; CP also monitoring situation

Mindful of the potential for snarls on their own tracks, Canada’s big two railways are monitoring talks between a clutch of major U.S. railways and several of their labour unions to avert strikes and/or lockouts that may begin as early as Friday. As of Wednesday, three unions out of the 12 representing unionized rail workers

Signage outside an IBEW office in Winnipeg. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

CN signals staff to return to work Wednesday

IBEW, railway to go to binding arbitration

Signals and communications workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) are set to end their 17-day strike and return to work Wednesday morning. CN, in a statement Monday, said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council 11, which represents about 750 of the company’s employees across the country, had agreed to take its labour


File photo of a CN locomotive. (Dave Bedard photo)

CN service continues as signals staff strike

Talks continue after IBEW-represented employees stopped work Saturday

Canadian National Railway is reporting “normal” rail operations after its signals and communications workers walked out on strike starting Saturday. Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), which represents about 750 CN employees across Canada, served the railway with strike notice last Wednesday and started their strike Saturday morning, the company said. IBEW

Grain shippers say the real problem is a capacity shortfall, and they worry when grain volumes pick up, the problem will be even worse. photo: paterson grain

Railways catching up with grain shipper demand

But the bigger question is what happens this fall if a ‘normal’ crop rolls in

After a brutal few months of being unable to meet the shipping demands of grain companies, the two major railways have largely caught up. “Over the last two or three weeks, it’s got a little bit better,” said Mark Hemmes, of Quorum Corp., Canada’s grain monitor. “We probably have less grain left to ship now,