MONTREAL — More than 6,000 mechanical and other workers at CN Rail (TSX:CNR) and Canadian Pacific Railways (TSX:CP) have overwhelmingly voted in favour of strike action ahead of a resumption of contract talks next week.
The Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents about 6,100 employees at Canada’s two largest railways, said the workers supported a strike mandate in order to demonstrate their opposition to demands for concessions. CN Rail locals represent 3,400 shopcraft, clerical and intermodal employees, along with 575 owner-operator truck drivers for CNTL, a CN subsidiary. They voted 82 to 100 per cent in favour of a strike, if necessary. The union has set a strike deadline of Jan. 25 at 12:01 a.m. Canadian Pacific Local 101 represents 2,100 mechanical workers across the country, who voted 89 per cent in favour of a strike, if necessary. Its strike deadline is Feb. 8 at 12:01 a.m. Negotiations are set to resume on Monday in Montreal.