Canada - The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) is involved in a dispute with Canadian Pacific (CP) over wages, benefits, and pensions the union reported on 10 Feb 2022 that it served notice to Minister of Labor Seamus O'Regan Jr. in accordance with the Canada Labor Code.
 
TCRC said it is conducting a strike vote among its more than 3,000 locomotive engineers, conductors, train and yard workers.
 
Results are expected later this month.
 
Representatives from the union and CP are currently meeting with an O'Regan-appointed mediator, according to TCRC, which noted that a "legal work stoppage can only take place 21 days after the conciliation process is complete."
 
In a statement to Railway Age, CP said that it "has negotiated in good faith with the TCRC since last September, and those labor negotiations are continuing. CP has an excellent track record of successful collective bargaining with our unions, and is seeking a new agreement with TCRC to create labor stability that is essential for Canada's economic recovery from the pandemic and supply chain challenges."
 
The Teamsters Union represents 125,000 members in Canada, 16,000 of whom work in rail transportation.
 
It is affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which has 1.4 million North American members.
 
Marybeth Luczak.