Bill Brehl - President Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance of Way Employees Division - Date/Photographer unknown.

6 January 2012

Another Union at CP Rail... Teamsters

Brothers and Sisters,
 
A few days ago, the CP board of directors announced the appointment of two new board members. Both are seasoned, experienced, railroaders who have successfully dealt with under performing railways in the past. They are:
 
·  Tony Ingram, the former chief operating officer for CSX, who also put in many years at Norfolk Southern.
 
· Ed Harris, who as we all know, was part of the CN upper management team that drove it into the most successful class 1 railroad in North America. Harris then retired, came to CP for a short sojourn, and then left earlier this year.
 
I am repeatedly asked what all this will mean to us and our membership at CP. Here is my simple take on this interesting turn of events.
 
Its interesting that at a time when CP's upper management has come under criticism from its new largest shareholder (Pershing Square), the board would turn to Mr. Ingram, who has been touted as the driving force behind the turn around at CSX when it was threatened with a takeover bid by some of its investors (Childrens Investment Fund and 3G) in 2006.
 
I don't think any CP employees (except perhaps upper management) are surprised with the appointment of Mr. Harris either. Though rumours abounded of his disagreements with Fred Green, I think that the general consensus was that he knew what he was doing in connection with running a railroad.
 
If the plan of the board is to truly deal with the mismanagement of CP which is causing its under performance, perhaps these two new members are going to be one step closer to accomplishing that.
 
We all know that CP is extremely over staffed in the VP and AVP department. I've always figured their thinking was, that they will make up in quantity what they obviously lack in quality.
 
This is not to say that CP does not have some very competent people there. They honestly do. However, it is hard for them to truly shine when they have to spend their days fixing the mistakes of the rest, all the while labouring under the litany of constantly changing harebrained "get rich quick" schemes that keep being handed down from on high.
 
It often feels that at Canada's most historic railroad, the only constant during the last five years has been the ineffectiveness of their business plan and the disregard that they have for their employees.
 
Railroads are built for the long term. To be successful, they must plan for the future and be operated on the principle of looking ahead over decades, not simply leapfrogging from quarter year to quarter year. They are an industry that is built to last, where the investment is long term and the gains, though sometimes slow, are always steady. Consistency builds stability.
 
The employees of a railroad are, and always have been, its greatest asset. CP is no exception.
 
Fred Green is not the first president of CP who has failed to recognize this, but you would think that being the 16th president he would have learned from the mistakes of others. He would be wise to recognize that the employees of CP are some of the best in the industry and that he must stop undervaluing and under appreciating them.
 
Two of the characteristics which all railway employees (regardless of the railroad) have in common with each other are that:
 
1) they are predominately unionized and,
 
2) most of them us are "lifers".
 
There are 5 separate unionized bargaining units and one bargaining association at CP. And the vast majority of employees who complete 5 years of service with CP will eventually retire here.
 
When you look at these two facts you realize that CP employees are not only protected by the security of their organizations, they are also going to be there for a long time.
 
Why on earth would any CEO (or their underlings) go to great lengths to piss these people off? How does it make sense to constantly break commitments, as well as collective agreement articles with 2/3's of your workforce? Was it competency speaking when the CEO told the world that CP didn't need 3,000 of its dedicated employees to run a railroad (and was shortly proven to be dead wrong) or when the same CEO, while announcing permanent layoffs to employees, told them to "suck it up, buttercup"? I sincerely doubt it.
 
CP's upper management has been explaining away its under performance by blaming it on the fact that it snows in winter. They say they have to deal with running a line through this inclement weather. Of course they do, its outside. Do they honestly believe that the other class 1 railroads are running their lines indoors? Wake up... everyone deals with winter. Its a fact of life, especially in Canada.
 
In reality, CP has been dealing with winter conditions for all of its 131 years. That's quite a long time to learn how. Yet every time they try to save money by cutting crews and equipment during the harsh winter months, they get caught with their pants down. And somehow, they claim that this is the weather's fault.
 
As Einstein noted, "It is insanity to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results".
 
Instead of recognizing the obvious problems created by mid and upper (mis)management, they are also blaming their under performance on the funding requirements of the defined benefit pension plan. This really is an insult to us.
 
Our pensions are a benefit that we fought for. Our retirement is our right, bought with our decades of loyal and unceasing service... often outside braving those extreme winter conditions and/or risking our lives to ensure that the trains keep running. Our pensions are bought and paid for with our time, our effort, and with our monthly contributions.
 
We will NOT give them up and we will NOT reduce them. As a matter of fact, for 2010, 2011, and 2012, all unionized CP employees went without pension improvements to try to help CP get through a difficult period... we will not do that during this round of bargaining. Especially considering we have since found out that Mr. Green and his cronies, had their pension packages greatly enhanced during the same period.
 
Brothers and Sisters, when the pension plan is in a surplus the company gets to take a contribution "holiday". This basically means that the investments are making the company's payments. However, you still have to make your monthly contribution... out of your own wages. Rain or shine, you have to make your contribution.
 
Now that the plan has slipped into a deficit, the company has to pay its share. And what are they doing? They are crying that this isn't fair and that they need changes... changes that will adversely affect your pension benefits.
 
One thing I don't care to listen to is someone lecturing me on what they "need". Especially someone whose compensation, pension, and benefit packages equate to tens of millions of dollars. Once you are personally making millions, "need" isn't something you are familiar with any longer.
 
They may "want" changes. Changes that will allow them to keep filling their pockets. But there is a big difference between "want" and "need". What they need is the patience as well as the proper investments to move forward. What we need is a livable pension... and we are not going to let them take that away.
 
Your pension and benefits are looking to be the main battleground in the upcoming negotiations with CP. As most of us have spent our whole working lives with the railroad, this is a fight that we cannot afford to lose. Regardless of the internal struggles within the company, we need both CP and the pension plan to start performing properly.
 
I firmly believe that CP can once again rise to be a leader in the rail industry as well as being an employer that we can be proud to work for. One thing is for certain, they can't do it without us and the sooner they recognize this, the better it will be. It remains to be seen whether or not Fred Green can make the 180 degree turn needed to get there... but we will continue to hope.
 
Stay safe, stay strong, stay united.
 
Bill Brehl - President TCRCMWED.