How Canada reached the brink of an unprecedented railway stoppage

August 19, 2024

Canadian National Railway, one of Canada's two main rail companies, formally notified the Teamsters union in Canada on Sunday that it would start locking out union workers early on Thursday.

"Unless there is an immediate and definite resolution to the labour conflict, CN will have no choice but to continue the phased and progressive shutdown of its network which would culminate in a lockout," it said in a statement.

"Despite negotiations over the weekend, no meaningful progress has occurred, and the parties remain very far apart."

Canada's other main rail operator, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, has already told the Teamsters union it will start locking out members early on Thursday. This means the vast majority of rail transit of goods in Canada would grind to a halt by Thursday, barring last-minute labour agreements between the companies and their respective arms of the Teamsters' union.

Separately, Teamsters also issued a 72-hour strike notice to CPKC late on Sunday...

This was excerpted from the 18 August 2024 edition of CBC News.

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