Arbitrator Unveils Innovative Collective Bargaining Agreement for CPKC

As reported by CPKC, the Canada Pacific Kansas city has successfully negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) after several months of challenging discussions that included a short work stoppage in August 2024.

This recent deal, announced on May 30, was facilitated by an autonomous arbitrator and impacts around 3,200 workers including locomotive engineers and yard personnel.The contract features a retroactive wage increase of 3% effective from January 1, 2024, extending through to the end of 2027. Additionally, it enhances healthcare and disability benefits while providing extra pay for those working night shifts.

During the summer of 2024, tensions escalated between CPKC and Canadian National Railway (CN) as they faced off against TCRC ahead of an August deadline for a new agreement. When negotiations stalled, both railways opted to lock out their employees until Canada’s labor board intervened with binding arbitration just one day later to resume discussions.

On April 7th, an arbitrator presented a collective bargaining agreement for TCRC members at CN; however, this was met with criticism from the union for not addressing key issues like scheduling flexibility or fatigue management.

SupplyChainBrain has reached out to TCRC representatives regarding their thoughts on the CPKC contract and is currently awaiting feedback.