Ottawa – Unifor has reached a late night deal with CN, avoiding a lock-out of 4,800 workers.
“We’re pleased that we were able to reach a negotiated agreement and avoid a major national lock-out of our members,” said Unifor President Jerry Dias.
“We were able to find solutions to the concerns raised by our members – this is best achieved at the bargaining table.” Dias said the agreement has the unanimous endorsement of all of the Unifor bargaining committees.
Ratification meetings will be scheduled in locations across the country over the next three weeks. Details of the agreement will only be disclosed following ratification.
Talks between Unifor and CN were assisted by Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services. Talks resumed this morning in Ottawa after a high level meeting yesterday which cleared a path forward on several of the key stumbling blocks. Unifor had committed to federal mediators that if CN does lock out Unifor members, the union will not disrupt the Montreal commuter service.
Unifor has six collective agreements with CN Rail, which cover mechanics, clerical workers, excavator operators, locomotive engineers (Savage Alberta Rail) and truck drivers. Unifor Local 100 represents skilled trades in mechanical shops and Unifor Council 4000 represents intermodal, clerical, mechanics and owner operators. Unifor is the largest union at CN with more than 4,800 members.
