CN Negotiations come to a halt
February 17, 2015
At 17:00 EST on Sunday, February 15, 2015, CN requested a meeting with top level Unifor Bargaining Committee members and presented us with three ultimatums.
1. Shut down negotiations and refer our differences to a third party for arbitration. Apparently in the opinion of CN this would be “in the best interest of our employees, our customers and all other interested stakeholders.”
2. A “Term Sheet” reflecting their “offer to conclude the collective agreements governing clerical and non-clerical (Agreement 5.1 – Council 4000), Intermodal (Agreement 5.1 Supplemental – Council 4000), Shopcraft (Agreement 12 – Local 100), Excavator-Operators (Agreement 5.4 – Council 4000) and CN Savage Alberta Railway (Council 4000). The Term Sheet also made it clear that anything agreed to during negotiations were “perishable” should this offer not be accepted by 20:00 EST, February 15, 2015.
The economics included in the Term Sheet offered a 3% wage increase in each of the next 3 years and CN made reference to benefit improvements that they had bargained the previous day with the Locomotive Engineers. An agreement that we have not seen as it has not been released to the public, the other economic item was an increase to the charge you pay for prescriptions. The Term Sheet also made it clear that anything agreed to during bargaining thus far was “perishable” should this offer not be accepted by 20:00 EST on February 15th.
3. A “Term Sheet” that stated the Term of Contract and Compensation for CNTL Owner Operators (Council 4000) was a “3 or 4 year agreement with an economic package identical to that which was granted last round of bargaining, including resolution of the safety bonus and fuel subsidy as discussed between Kennedy and Lerner”. The Term Sheet also made it clear that anything agreed to during negotiations were “perishable” should this offer not be accepted by 20:00 EST on February 15th.
Union Response
After a brief caucus to give the employer’s offer the appropriate weight, at 17:15 EST the offer to arbitrate was rejected. The offer was offensive to the process, an insult to the Unifor membership who continue to perform their duties throughout the entire bargaining process and have worked so hard to create the massive profits this company enjoys today.
CN refuses to recognize or respect the bargaining process and has made little effort to reach an agreement between the parties. In the case of Council 4000, we have only a few non-monetary matters that we have bargained to work through for Agreement 5.1, 5.1 Supplemental, 5.4 and CNTL. In the case of Savage Alberta Railway, the Company still has concessionary demands on the table, the removal of the carry-over of unused sick days into the next calendar year, and to discontinue the payment of overtime to spare board members who protect work at another Home Station or Terminal as has been the practice since we first negotiated our collective agreement in May 2003. Outside of the CNTL and CN Savage Alberta Railway (CNSAR) bargaining tables, we have yet to hold any main table economic discussions with the Company for Agreement 5.1, 5.1 Supplemental, 5.4 and Agreement 12 (Local 100).
The Term Sheets were rejected, a decision later endorsed and unanimously supported by each of the Unifor Bargaining Committees: Council 4000 Agreement 5.1/5.1 Supplemental; Council 4000 Agreement 5.4; Local 100 Agreement 12; Council 4000 CNSAR; and Council 4000 CNTL. From the commencement of negotiations the bargaining committees made it clear to the employer that a settlement would be bargained at this table and that they must respect the bargaining agenda that we have set. Our agenda was set with membership involvement (bargaining surveys and discussions at membership meetings) and we must address the issues important to our membership.
We were not going to be bound by entire terms set by other unions. We are determined to follow a Unifor Pattern Agreement, one determined by our union for our membership and bargained by the bargaining committees you have elected.
All items agreed to during negotiations perished at 17:15hrs by CN
Employer to implement changes to the collective agreement February 19th
A brief summary of the changes to be implemented is a 2% wage increase to all Unifor represented workers except CNTL. In addition, CN is going to alter work rules and strip locally elected union officials of their full time representation status. Your union representation is still in place and will continue to be available when called upon.
Apparently these actions are implemented by CN “in the best interest of our employees, our customers and all other interested stakeholders”.
The Next Step
The bargaining committees are prepared to bargain and will remain at the hotel in Montreal to participate in the information meeting that will detail the Unifor contract bargained at CP. We will be scheduling strike votes across the country and as always your bargaining committee members will participate in the meetings and provide you with a full account of all the contents of the employer’s letters and the bargaining process.
Your Bargaining Committee is unanimous in our determination to negotiate a settlement that meets the objectives set by our Unifor membership.
We want to underscore again not to listen to rumours or innuendos. We will continue to communicate with our members on the ongoing status of bargaining. If you have not already done so, please sign up for RailLine by sending your email address to [email protected] and follow us on twitter at @Unifor_RailLine.
In appreciation and solidarity,
Barry Kennedy, President, Unifor National Council 4000 | Ken Hiatt, President, Unifor Local 100 | Jerry Dias, Unifor National President
On behalf of:
Unifor National Council 4000 and Local 100 Bargaining Committees
Source: Unifor RailLINE
Previous bargaining updates > Unifor Council 4000 Bargaining Updates Page
1. Shut down negotiations and refer our differences to a third party for arbitration. Apparently in the opinion of CN this would be “in the best interest of our employees, our customers and all other interested stakeholders.”
2. A “Term Sheet” reflecting their “offer to conclude the collective agreements governing clerical and non-clerical (Agreement 5.1 – Council 4000), Intermodal (Agreement 5.1 Supplemental – Council 4000), Shopcraft (Agreement 12 – Local 100), Excavator-Operators (Agreement 5.4 – Council 4000) and CN Savage Alberta Railway (Council 4000). The Term Sheet also made it clear that anything agreed to during negotiations were “perishable” should this offer not be accepted by 20:00 EST, February 15, 2015.
The economics included in the Term Sheet offered a 3% wage increase in each of the next 3 years and CN made reference to benefit improvements that they had bargained the previous day with the Locomotive Engineers. An agreement that we have not seen as it has not been released to the public, the other economic item was an increase to the charge you pay for prescriptions. The Term Sheet also made it clear that anything agreed to during bargaining thus far was “perishable” should this offer not be accepted by 20:00 EST on February 15th.
3. A “Term Sheet” that stated the Term of Contract and Compensation for CNTL Owner Operators (Council 4000) was a “3 or 4 year agreement with an economic package identical to that which was granted last round of bargaining, including resolution of the safety bonus and fuel subsidy as discussed between Kennedy and Lerner”. The Term Sheet also made it clear that anything agreed to during negotiations were “perishable” should this offer not be accepted by 20:00 EST on February 15th.
Union Response
After a brief caucus to give the employer’s offer the appropriate weight, at 17:15 EST the offer to arbitrate was rejected. The offer was offensive to the process, an insult to the Unifor membership who continue to perform their duties throughout the entire bargaining process and have worked so hard to create the massive profits this company enjoys today.
CN refuses to recognize or respect the bargaining process and has made little effort to reach an agreement between the parties. In the case of Council 4000, we have only a few non-monetary matters that we have bargained to work through for Agreement 5.1, 5.1 Supplemental, 5.4 and CNTL. In the case of Savage Alberta Railway, the Company still has concessionary demands on the table, the removal of the carry-over of unused sick days into the next calendar year, and to discontinue the payment of overtime to spare board members who protect work at another Home Station or Terminal as has been the practice since we first negotiated our collective agreement in May 2003. Outside of the CNTL and CN Savage Alberta Railway (CNSAR) bargaining tables, we have yet to hold any main table economic discussions with the Company for Agreement 5.1, 5.1 Supplemental, 5.4 and Agreement 12 (Local 100).
The Term Sheets were rejected, a decision later endorsed and unanimously supported by each of the Unifor Bargaining Committees: Council 4000 Agreement 5.1/5.1 Supplemental; Council 4000 Agreement 5.4; Local 100 Agreement 12; Council 4000 CNSAR; and Council 4000 CNTL. From the commencement of negotiations the bargaining committees made it clear to the employer that a settlement would be bargained at this table and that they must respect the bargaining agenda that we have set. Our agenda was set with membership involvement (bargaining surveys and discussions at membership meetings) and we must address the issues important to our membership.
We were not going to be bound by entire terms set by other unions. We are determined to follow a Unifor Pattern Agreement, one determined by our union for our membership and bargained by the bargaining committees you have elected.
All items agreed to during negotiations perished at 17:15hrs by CN
Employer to implement changes to the collective agreement February 19th
A brief summary of the changes to be implemented is a 2% wage increase to all Unifor represented workers except CNTL. In addition, CN is going to alter work rules and strip locally elected union officials of their full time representation status. Your union representation is still in place and will continue to be available when called upon.
Apparently these actions are implemented by CN “in the best interest of our employees, our customers and all other interested stakeholders”.
The Next Step
The bargaining committees are prepared to bargain and will remain at the hotel in Montreal to participate in the information meeting that will detail the Unifor contract bargained at CP. We will be scheduling strike votes across the country and as always your bargaining committee members will participate in the meetings and provide you with a full account of all the contents of the employer’s letters and the bargaining process.
Your Bargaining Committee is unanimous in our determination to negotiate a settlement that meets the objectives set by our Unifor membership.
We want to underscore again not to listen to rumours or innuendos. We will continue to communicate with our members on the ongoing status of bargaining. If you have not already done so, please sign up for RailLine by sending your email address to [email protected] and follow us on twitter at @Unifor_RailLine.
In appreciation and solidarity,
Barry Kennedy, President, Unifor National Council 4000 | Ken Hiatt, President, Unifor Local 100 | Jerry Dias, Unifor National President
On behalf of:
Unifor National Council 4000 and Local 100 Bargaining Committees
Source: Unifor RailLINE
Previous bargaining updates > Unifor Council 4000 Bargaining Updates Page
