The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) has taken a bold stand against Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s (CPKC) attempts to strip workers of their essential protections and compromise their safety. With CPKC serving a lockout notice and CN following suit, the stage is set for a critical showdown in Canada’s rail industry.
These reckless actions by CPKC and CN aren’t just an attack on the TCRC, but an attack on every rail worker fighting for safe and fair working conditions. The blame for any disruptions rests squarely on the railroads’ shoulders, as they seek to drag working conditions back to another era.
RWU Brothers and Sisters stand in solidarity with the TCRC — an injury to one is an injury to all. If CN and CP have their way with the railroad workers in Canada, we know what that will mean for railroaders in the US. Class 1’s raked in over $85 billion in revenue in 2023. Between 2010 and 2020, Class 1 railroads paid out $196 billion in buybacks and dividends. They cannot claim to be victims; they are extorting money from the workers and the public. We are done with privatizing profits and socializing the losses.
We are done with Class 1s decreasing the quality of life for workers, on the job and off, while safety hazards increase on the job and for trackside communities. We’ve seen on-the-job accidents increase, the number of freight carloads decrease, and employment numbers plummet—this is a monster of their own making. Rail workers should not have to pay for Class 1’s reckless operating decisions.
Regardless of country, union, or craft, railroaders must stand together, or divided we all fall.
We stand in unwavering support of TCRC and all rail workers as they fight to defend their rights, their safety, and the future of our industry.
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