Unifor National Council 4000 CN Bargaining Survey Results
July 28, 2014

Below are the results of our Unifor National Council 4000 CN Bargaining Survey amongst our CN membership whom are governed under Collective Agreement 5.1, Agreement 5.1 Supplemental and Agreement 5.4. The surveys were distributed nationally in preparation for our negotiations with CN later this year. Over 49 percent of our members participated in the survey that is used by our bargaining committee in determining and prioritizing our overall bargaining agenda. 

No.	Demand	% of Total Surveys
1	Improve Sick Days	67%
2	Improve Benefits	63%
3	Improve Wages	60%
4	Improve Pension	21%
5	Improve Vacation	15%
6	Work Ownership	15%
7	Maintain Pension at 55 Years of Age – 85 Points	13%
8	Improve Work Environment/Respect/Too Much Stress	13%
9	Improve Boot Allowance	12%
10	Improve Shift Differential	12%
11	Massage Therapy/Chiropractic/Alternative Medicine Benefits	12%
12	Establish Weekend Differential/Premium	10%
13	Re-establish Paid Coffee Breaks (Montreal & Brampton Intermodal)	10%
14	Less Spare Board Positions – More Regular Assignments	10%
15	Paid B.C. Medical Service Plan	10%
16	Improve Dental	9%
17	Banking of Overtime	7%
18	Minimum 2 Rest Days on Spare Boards	7%
19	Improve Vision Plan	7%
20	Family Days	7%
21	Restore Seniority Rights	7%
22	COLA	7%
23	Clothing Allowance	5%
24	Personal Days	5%
25	Improve Orthodontics	5%
26	Stop Harassment by Management	5%
27	Improve Health Care Spending Account	5%
28	No Forcing to Work Stat Holidays	4%
29	Safety	4%
30	Tool Allowance	4%
31	Family Day Stat Holiday	4%
32	Double Overtime	4%
33	More Weekend Rest Days	4%
34	Benefits for Retirees	4%
35	10-hour Assignments – 3 Rest Days	4%
36	Better Training	3%
37	Eliminate Step Rates after Probation	3%
38	8-hour Hostler Rate on LMU Position	3%
39	10-Hours Rest or More Between Spare Board Shifts	3%
40	Extend ESIMA Coverage	3%
41	Implement Regional Wage Difference	3%
42	Stop Forcing between Assignments at Intermodal	2%
43	Profit Sharing	2%
44	Hire More Staff	2%
45	More Options for Mechanic Expenses	2%
46	Higher Rate for Mechanic Road Work	2%
47	No Deductibles	2%
48	Replace Greenshield	2%
49	Enshrine Retirement Incentives into ESIMA	1%
50	No Layoffs for Life of Collective Agreement	1%
51	Supervisors Lose Seniority When Promoted	1%
52	Transfer Payment of OT to Rest Days	1%
53	Flagman Rate Increased to Shunter’s Rate	1%
54	Sabbatical Leave	1%
55	More Flexibility with Member Mutuals	1%
56	Limit Vacation to 1 Week at a time for Jr. Members @ Tcona	1%
57	4hr Call on Spare Board	1%
58	Improve GWL Appeal Process	1%
59	Increase Pay for Fleet Clerks	1%
60	Increase Matched Shares in CN Share Investment Plan	1%
61	Retirement Option at 80 Points	1%
62	Jobs Too Busy – Reclassify Pay Rates	1%
63	Oral Swab Testing Only	1%
64	Include Rule G Bypass in Collective Agreement	1%
65	Eliminate Regional Rates in Collective Agreement	1%
66	Raise Mechanic’s Rate to Trades Standards	1%
67	Options for Sr. Members to Work During Transcona Shut Down	1%
68	Increase Bereavement for Brother, Sister & Step Child to 5	1%
69	12hr Shifts	1%
70	Adherence to Article 11.8 at Intermodal	1%
71	Company to Provide Winter Clothing	1%
72	Triple OT on Christmas Day	1%
73	Increase Training Rate	1%
74	Stop Forcing of OT	1%
75	Only 2wks Vacation at a Time	1%
76	Stop Excessive Discipline	1%
77	Safety Bonus	1%
78	No Contracting Out During Life of Collective Agreement`	1%
79	Easier Access to Vacation Time	1%
80	Signing Bonus	1%
82	Annual Training Program to Keep Mechanics Current	1%
83	5yr Contract	1%

 

The Unifor National Council 4000 CN Bargaining Committee met in Winnipeg the week of June 23, 2014 to formulate our contract demands and proposals. In addition to finalizing our bargaining agenda, we also met with representatives of CN Labour Relations to settle any current and outstanding grievances in advance of commencing negotiations in the fall.

We plan on opening bargaining with CN sometime in September. We will inform our membership via our Unifor Council 4000 website, social media sites and the new Unifor RailLINE.

Unifor is scheduling a two day meeting in Winnipeg in late August of all Unifor Rail Bargaining Committees – Council 4000, Locals 100, 101 and 103. All will be in negotiations with their memberships’ respective employers at CN (100 and 4000), CP (101) and Ontario Northland (103) to discuss and implement a strategy going into bargaining with all three companies, and to formulate our common and monetary bargaining demands.