Port Metro Vancouver Strike is over: Details of Unifor-VCTA Agreement released
March 28, 2014
First a quick message to our CNTL Unifor membership
Despite some hostilities shown to our Unifor National Council 4000 membership who are Owner Operators with CN Transportation Ltd. (CNTL), Unifor Council 4000 would be remiss by not mentioning, publicly, that our membership had a legal obligation to continue working during this dispute based on the fact that their collective agreement is active until 23:59 local time on December 31, 2014.
Notwithstanding this fact, several of our members supported striking drivers on their own time by joining pickets and refusing to cross picket lines despite threats of disciplinary action by CN and CNTL management. Senior representatives of National Council 4000 and Unifor held various conference calls with CN and CNTL to work on measures of immunity for our membership for those that refused to work into the ports, as well as subsequent protection and financial support for member's whose trucks incurred damages. For the most part, CN and CNTL worked with us in recognizing the stressful and difficult situation that our members faced, for which our membership is appreciative.
In closing, we were disappointed to learn that some striking truckers called our members scabs. Our membership did not perform any work of striking Unifor-VCTA or UTA truckers. Had that been the case, we would have made a firm stand to stop our members from doing so. Work that CNTL performed is work that stems from the business of Canadian National Railway Co., CN and its subsidiaries that they would have performed had there not been a labour disruption at the ports. So calling any of them "scabs" is unfair. Unifor National Council 4000 pledged its full support to striking drivers from day one. We are making arrangements to provide Unifor-VCTA with a cheque for financial assistance during the time of their strike. We congratulate them on their new agreement and hope that it rectifies the problems they encountered that lead to this dispute.
We want to take this opportunity to thank our Unifor CNTL membership for their patience and diligence during this stressful situation.
Unifor Council 4000 followed this situation closely from the very beginning in an effort to keep our CNTL membership informed and up to date. So in carrying on with this commitment, we are posting the details of the agreement reached on March 26, 2014 between Port Metro Vancouver, the federal and provincial governments, Unifor and container truck drivers. The agreement is accessible at the bottom of this article.
Details of the new agreement reached in Victoria on March 26 (from the files of Unifor)
Container truck drivers showed considerable resolve and solidarity during the work stoppage, making the following negotiated gains possible:
Hourly rate: An unprecedented minimum benchmark hourly wage that is initially anticipated to be set at $25.13 on hire and $26.28 after one year of service. Approximately 54% of the workforce is hourly drivers whereas the original plan was silent for these workers. The federal regulation will be changed to operationalize this new benchmark.
Fuel reimbursement: A change to the current formula that will result in the doubling of the rate from 7% to 14%. Although it was required, many non-union drivers did not receive a reimbursement.
Container rates: Rates to increase from the 2006 “Ready rates” by 12% (up from original offer of 10%). The rate will be paid on all containers, whether full or empty and paid on a round trip basis. A mechanism will be established to ensure that off-dock rates will also be consistent with these revised rates.
Waiting time reimbursement: The original 14-point plan provided a $25 flat reimbursement after two hours of waiting. The final negotiated agreement pays $50 after 90 minutes, $75 after two hours, $100 after 2.5 hours, and then increases by $20 for every 30 minutes after that.
Line-up measurements: Waiting time checkpoints will be measured farther back than before, to where line-ups actually begin.
Undercutting: All companies will be audited and "penalties for rate violators shall be severe and shall include cancellation of licenses for companies and individual drivers.” Auditing will now cover off-dock movements.
Sectoral review: Instead of just doing a review and issuing a report, Vince Ready will now be "seized to issue recommendations on all points in the plan that will be reviewed, finalized, and acted upon" within 90 days.
Although the final agreement used the government’s 14-point plan as the starting point, ground-breaking sectoral gains were made during the negotiation process.
Click here to read the new agreement
For background information and the updates that we provided, please click here > to access our Port Metro Vancouver Dispute Updates page
Despite some hostilities shown to our Unifor National Council 4000 membership who are Owner Operators with CN Transportation Ltd. (CNTL), Unifor Council 4000 would be remiss by not mentioning, publicly, that our membership had a legal obligation to continue working during this dispute based on the fact that their collective agreement is active until 23:59 local time on December 31, 2014.
Notwithstanding this fact, several of our members supported striking drivers on their own time by joining pickets and refusing to cross picket lines despite threats of disciplinary action by CN and CNTL management. Senior representatives of National Council 4000 and Unifor held various conference calls with CN and CNTL to work on measures of immunity for our membership for those that refused to work into the ports, as well as subsequent protection and financial support for member's whose trucks incurred damages. For the most part, CN and CNTL worked with us in recognizing the stressful and difficult situation that our members faced, for which our membership is appreciative.
In closing, we were disappointed to learn that some striking truckers called our members scabs. Our membership did not perform any work of striking Unifor-VCTA or UTA truckers. Had that been the case, we would have made a firm stand to stop our members from doing so. Work that CNTL performed is work that stems from the business of Canadian National Railway Co., CN and its subsidiaries that they would have performed had there not been a labour disruption at the ports. So calling any of them "scabs" is unfair. Unifor National Council 4000 pledged its full support to striking drivers from day one. We are making arrangements to provide Unifor-VCTA with a cheque for financial assistance during the time of their strike. We congratulate them on their new agreement and hope that it rectifies the problems they encountered that lead to this dispute.
We want to take this opportunity to thank our Unifor CNTL membership for their patience and diligence during this stressful situation.
Unifor Council 4000 followed this situation closely from the very beginning in an effort to keep our CNTL membership informed and up to date. So in carrying on with this commitment, we are posting the details of the agreement reached on March 26, 2014 between Port Metro Vancouver, the federal and provincial governments, Unifor and container truck drivers. The agreement is accessible at the bottom of this article.
Details of the new agreement reached in Victoria on March 26 (from the files of Unifor)
Container truck drivers showed considerable resolve and solidarity during the work stoppage, making the following negotiated gains possible:
Hourly rate: An unprecedented minimum benchmark hourly wage that is initially anticipated to be set at $25.13 on hire and $26.28 after one year of service. Approximately 54% of the workforce is hourly drivers whereas the original plan was silent for these workers. The federal regulation will be changed to operationalize this new benchmark.
Fuel reimbursement: A change to the current formula that will result in the doubling of the rate from 7% to 14%. Although it was required, many non-union drivers did not receive a reimbursement.
Container rates: Rates to increase from the 2006 “Ready rates” by 12% (up from original offer of 10%). The rate will be paid on all containers, whether full or empty and paid on a round trip basis. A mechanism will be established to ensure that off-dock rates will also be consistent with these revised rates.
Waiting time reimbursement: The original 14-point plan provided a $25 flat reimbursement after two hours of waiting. The final negotiated agreement pays $50 after 90 minutes, $75 after two hours, $100 after 2.5 hours, and then increases by $20 for every 30 minutes after that.
Line-up measurements: Waiting time checkpoints will be measured farther back than before, to where line-ups actually begin.
Undercutting: All companies will be audited and "penalties for rate violators shall be severe and shall include cancellation of licenses for companies and individual drivers.” Auditing will now cover off-dock movements.
Sectoral review: Instead of just doing a review and issuing a report, Vince Ready will now be "seized to issue recommendations on all points in the plan that will be reviewed, finalized, and acted upon" within 90 days.
Although the final agreement used the government’s 14-point plan as the starting point, ground-breaking sectoral gains were made during the negotiation process.
Click here to read the new agreement
For background information and the updates that we provided, please click here > to access our Port Metro Vancouver Dispute Updates page
