Truckers slowed freight traffic in and out of CP Rail's main intermodal terminal in Vaughan - Date unknown Rick Madonik.

31 July 2012

CP Rail Wins Injunction to Stop Truck Protest

Toronto Ontario - Freight traffic is moving again at CP Rail's main intermodal terminal in Vaughan, after the railway won a court injunction late Tuesday to put an end to a trucker protest.
 
About 80 owner-operators, who are locked in a contract dispute with three CP subcontractors, parked their vehicles early Monday and set up a picket line that disrupted traffic in and out of the busy terminal on Rutherford Road near Highway 427. Big rigs were parked along the side of the road as well in the centre lane on Monday as they waited to enter.
 
The terminal, which usually sees about 1,900 trucks come in and out on a daily basis, handles the vast majority of CP's Toronto-area intermodal traffic, containers that are easily transported from rail onto trucks.
 
"CP has been granted a court injunction to stop the protest at our Vaughan terminal by truck drivers who work for three independent trucking companies," said spokesman Ed Greenberg.
 
"The dispute between the drivers and the trucking companies was a concern for our railway and we felt it was necessary to take this step to get our terminal back to normal operations."
 
The three companies are General Cartage, Canada Drayage Inc., and Sim-Tran.
 
The owner-operators say they are protesting a new three-year contract, introduced 9 Jul 2012, that changes how they are paid, effectively cutting their wages by about 30 percent.
 
It is the latest headache for the Calgary-based railroad, which has faced a bitter proxy fight that led to a management and board shakeup, as well as a nine-day strike in May.
 
Hunter Harrison was appointed president and CEO in late June, replacing Fred Green, who quit on the eve of the 17 May 2012 annual meeting after it became apparent shareholders overwhelmingly supported Pershing Square Capital Management's Bill Ackman, who led the proxy fight.
 
Harrison, who retired from the top job at CN in 2009, has promised to bring more efficiency to CP's operations and deliver higher profits to shareholders.
 
Vanessa Lu.