Potential Canadian rail strike could damage the country’s economy

More than 9,000 Canadian rail workers could soon walk off the job, threatening a significant disruption to the country's supply chains. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents various rail workers including train conductors, engineers, yard workers, and rail traffic controllers, is looking to start the lockout on May 22. This strike could affect both major railways—Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).

“The simultaneous work stoppage at both CN and CPKC would disrupt supply chains on a scale Canada has likely never experienced,” TCRC President Paul Boucher said at a press conference. “After six months of negotiations with both companies, we are no closer to settling when we first began. Both companies are trying to strip our collective agreements of safety-critical rest provisions.”

The dispute centers on the rail companies' proposals to modify rest period provisions, which TCRC argues could jeopardize workplace safety. CN has countered, stating that the union's resistance to a more modern, hourly-based agreement is hindering efforts to protect the Canadian supply chain and the North American economy.

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