Calgary Alberta - Canadian Pacific (CP) and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) are still negotiating over the terms of a new collective agreement, both sides said early Wednesday.
 
Should negotiations fail, TCRC members could go on strike following a 72 hour advanced strike notice to CP.
 
The union confirmed it has not yet issued that notice that it would conduct a work stoppage.
 
Teamsters members voted earlier this month to conduct a work stoppage should negotiations between the union and CP fail to produce a new labour agreement.
 
A strike could have occurred as early as midnight Wednesday if TCRC had issued a 72 hour advance notice beforehand.
 
CP, TCRC and federal mediators met throughout the weekend in the hope of achieving a negotiated settlement and averting a work stoppage, CP told FreightWaves, adding that those negotiations are continuing in Calgary.
 
The last four-year labor agreement expired 31 Dec 2021.
 
The union has said the main points of contention include wages, benefits, and pensions, while CP says it has offered a two-year collective agreement that includes wage increases and agrees to 20 union demands on benefits and work rules.
 
A potential strike would affect more than 3,000 locomotive engineers, conductors, train persons, and yard persons working at CP.
 
Stakeholders on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border have been pressing CP and the Teamsters to avert a work stoppage, saying it could disrupt a supply chain still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Joanna Marsh.