On Tuesday, the Teamsters Canadian Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents approximately 3,200 Canadian National Railway (CN) employees working as train conducts and railyard coordinators, initiated strike action. CN and TCRC are in the midst of contract negotiations after the worker’s last contract ended in July 2019. As of the posting of this story, freight shipments were being affected by the work stoppage across Canada’s rail system.

In a statement to customers, CN announced “Without our 3,200 professionally trained conductors, CN cannot maintain our high standards of service. Unfortunately, we are forced to wind down our rail operations as we do not have sufficient qualified managers to safely maintain normal freight operations during this strike.”

The striking workers say their concerns include long hours, fatigue, and what they consider dangerous working conditions. This dispute also comes on the heels of CN’s announcement that it is cutting jobs across the railway as it deals with a weakening North American economy.

Trans-Border will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed of any new developments. If you have any questions, please reach out to Bill Carey, Import Compliance Manager, at bcarey@tbgfs.com or (800) 493-9444.