Ratification process underway for 3 year CN Rail deal with Teamsters Canada Rail Conference

Labour peace may soon be in place for conductors, traffic coordinators, train and yardpersons with Canadian National Railway, after negotiators agreed to terms on a proposed three year deal.

The announcement of the tentative agreement was made on Thursday by CN, which revealed no details pending a union vote on the deal.

The Teamsters Canada Railway Conference, the union that represents the workers, outlined that the next stage is to  is put the contract to a ratification vote with its membership, after which terms of the deal will be released.

Some of the main sticking points before the breakthrough in negotiations were the length of work hours and the desire for more rest time between trips.

The contract settlement comes at a most fortuitous time for CN, which is currently in the midst of shipping what is turning out to be a record crop year for Canadian farmers, one expected to provide challenges for to Canada's transportation infrastructure to move the commodities.

A labour disruption would have had a major impact on all of the operations at the Port of Prince Rupert.

Some accounts of the negotiating sessions can be found below.

Globe and Mail-- CN Rail, union reach tentative 3 year labour deal
Toronto Star-- CN Rail reaches tentative deal with Teamsters union