27 July 2007
General Committees at CP Polling the Membership for Strike Vote
The four TCRC General Committees at CP Rail representing
Locomotive Engineers, Conductors, Trainmen, and Yardmen are presently in the process of polling the membership to obtain strike
authority in the event that the present negotiation process does not result in an acceptable settlement for the TCRC Membership.
The four General Committees represent over 4,500 members employed at CP Rail, and negotiations have been taking place since the initial
exchange of bargaining proposals on 9 Sep 2006. To date there have been 10 negotiation sessions consisting of 46 days of
face-to-face meetings. The parties are meeting again during the week of 30 Jul 2007 in further attempts to
obtain a negotiated settlement.
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Officer, Mr. Paul Macdonnel, is presently assisting the parties and the minimum 60 day period of
conciliation is scheduled to expire on 28 Aug 2007. The parties may extend this period by mutual agreement, however there
is no agreement to do so at this time.
TCRC National President D.J. Shewchuk has also provided his authority under the TCRC Bylaws for the four General Chairmen to poll the
membership, set a strike date, and take the membership on strike should it become necessary in order to obtain an acceptable contract
for the membership.
The strike ballots will be mailed to the membership beginning on or about 30 Jul 2007. The return date for the ballots is
24 Aug 2007. Membership strike authority under the Canada Labour Code is in effect for 60 days from the date the ballots
are counted.
The TCRC Negotiating Committee remains committed to negotiating an acceptable contract settlement in favour of the Union
Membership.
|
