Ottawa Ontario - The US style of Labour Relations has resulted in many discharges, serious discipline and violations of the Collective Agreements. Hundreds of grievances are flowing through the system, and many of them end up at arbitration. It can take a long time for the grievance procedure to run its course and there are limitations on how many cases can be arbitrated. The present capacity of our Arbitration system has a limit to how many cases can be scheduled each month, and we largely share that capacity with each of the other Rail Unions and Rail Companies.
 
Each of the five TCRC General Committees at CP representing Rail Traffic Controllers, Locomotive Engineers, Trainmen, and Yardmen, has been working as hard as possible handling the massive increase in grievances, discipline, and discharges. Many cases have worked themselves through the system and the Union has been successful in the majority of cases.
 
The Division Officers have done a fantastic job representing the membership at the Division level. Local Chairs, Vice Local Chairs, Legislative Reps, and all the other Division Officers are facing adversity and continue to work hard. Their hard work is not taken for granted, and is one of the primary reasons for the TCRC success at arbitration. Cases cannot be won without facts and evidence. It's usually the Division Officers that are called on to provide that information. We all need to continue supporting our Division Officers, as they are a very important aspect of the Union solidarity and the strength of the Union. The ultimate strength lies with the Union membership. Unity and solidarity will eventually prevail over bullying, harassment, and dirty management tricks. But it all takes time and a lot of effort by a lot of people all pulling in the same direction.
 
In 2013 the 5 TCRC General Committees at CP went to final and binding arbitration being successful in 24 of the 29 cases presented before the arbitrator.
 
Discharges:  The TCRC was successful in achieving reinstatement in 19 of the 22 arbitrated discharge cases.
 
Collective Agreement violations:  The TCRC was successful in 5 of the 7 arbitration cases which dealt with Collective Agreement violations.
 
Continued Violations:  In some cases CP continues to violate the very same clause and issue previously won in arbitration by the Union. This forces the Union to take the same case back to the Arbitrator again. We view this as a US style Labour Relations delay tactic and if the actions of the Company cross any legal lines, we will escalate to the proper legal forum.
 
The TCRC General Committees continue to schedule cases for arbitration, with the discharge cases taking priority. Some Collective Agreement violations must wait for an open spot in the arbitration schedule which may be frustrating to some members, however, the arbitration system is not the problem. The problem is an employer who follows a US style of Labour Relations by trying every possible trick to overload the system and frustrate the Union membership.

Douglas Finnson - Vice President TCRC.