The latest news that I have:

CANADIAN NATIONAL

-The CN management claims that the strike by the United Transportation Union of Canada is illegal. According to the company, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) will convene on 19 February to determine whether the strike by the 2,800 members of the UTU of Canada was legal.

CN's claim was filed on 10 February and argues the strike's illegality due to CN's belief that the UTU's strike notice was deficient and that the UTU of Canada did not have proper authority from the UTU International to declare a strike.

Reports from unofficial and/or enthusiast circles suggest that legal action may yet be pending against striking workers.

-Paul Thompson, President of the UTU International, has seen fit to issue a statement in which he declares the strike action to be unauthorized in accordance with Article 85 of the UTU Constitution. Mr. Thompson also quotes UTU Canada General Chairperson Rex Beatty as saying that, "[T]he union's constitution can't supersede the Canadian labor code."

UNITED TRANSPORTATION UNION OF CANADA

-Despite the claim of the UTU of Canada, there is not ongoing strike information provided to UTU members at utucnnegotiations.ca. Their last posting is of 09 February. Heck, I'm ahead of that.

-Another Canadian union has declared solidarity with the UTU of Canada. The United Steelworkers' National Director Ken Neumann declared this past Saturday that the union supported the UTU's strike against CN. According to Neumann, the USW and the UTU signed a "strategic alliance" in summer 2006, and the support expressed for the UTU is a part of that. Among the USW's members are 4,000 MOW personnel at the Canadian National and 1,200 clerks and similar positions at the Canadian Pacific Railway.

-The Federal Agriculture Minister, a fellow named Chuck Strahl, has indicated that the Goverment have no intention to intervene in the strike at this point in time. The Canadian Wheat Board---the "largest single rail shipper in Western Canada"---had apparently asked Ottawa to intervene. Ottawa declined, citing the current case before the CIRB and the fact that CN management was apparently capable of maintaining service at this point in time. The CWB is, in the words of mapleleafweb, "the sole marketer of western Canadian wheat (and barley) that is sold for human consumption, both domestically and abroad."

COMMENTARY

Mr. Thompson's message makes me wonder just what kind of strike fund or other resources the UTU of Canada can call on to stick it out. In his words, "[O]ur brothers and sisters in Canada have been put in a position of having to fend for themselves."

I have not heard of any strike-related violence or any strike-related accidents. I can only hope and pray that none of these sort of things occur.

I hope that this publication serves some value to those who are interested in the situation. My apologies for not updating this sooner.

UPDATE: A Canadian chap who's done work for organized labor up there has an opinion, posted here. He is, of course, not fond of the UTU International's position.

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DISCLAIMER: I have no pecuniary interest in the Canadian National Railway or any other railroad. I have no interest or association with any element of railroad labor organization. My interest in this is purely from the perspective of an amateur industry enthusiast.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 07:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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