Tag: CPKC

Home>News>CPKC

UPDATE (Aug. 23, 2024): The Canadian government acted to intervene in the rail dispute in Canada the evening of Aug. 22. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will update our guidance to members as time passes.

As many of you are aware, a significant situation is unfolding across our northern border. It’s important for all SMART Transportation Division members to understand what this means and how it could impact us.

Solidarity with our Canadian brothers and sisters

SMART-TD stands firmly in solidarity with our Canadian colleagues who are working to negotiate an equitable agreement. We recognize the challenges they are enduring and support their fight for fair working conditions. Our Canadian brothers and sisters are standing firm, and we are committed to supporting their cause.

Current impact and future risks

At this time, major disruptions to American rail traffic have not occurred. However, this situation has the potential to impact our operations significantly if the flow of freight between the U.S. and Canada is interrupted for a long period as the result of a labor dispute. Rail’s busiest season is just around the corner, and any ongoing disruption could lead to delays and logistical challenges for us.

The Aug. 22 lockout

Canadian rail carriers chose to implement a work stoppage while grain is still in the fields and before the holiday rush for commercial goods. This timing is likely aimed at minimizing complications related to the movement of these critical commodities during peak periods. The Canadian government intervened, and rail labor in Canada has announced its intention to strike. The situation is very fluid and can change quickly, as it did hours after the lockout was announced Aug. 22.

What we can do

As members of SMART-TD, it is essential for us to stay informed about the situation and to support our Canadian colleagues. We need to be vigilant and prepared for any potential impacts on our own operations and advocate for a resolution that respects workers’ rights and ensures fair treatment across the industry.

For SMART-TD members who interchange with Canadian railroads at our national border, it is important to remember your rights in this situation. SMART-TD’s office wants all our crews to be fully aware of their rights to abstain from duties that jeopardize their safety. In the event that you encounter a picket line, Section 92 of Article 21B in the SMART Constitution states that “When a strike of any other nationally recognized labor organization is in effect and danger to the safety of our members exists in or about the area affected by the strike, and/or if there exists any substantial present or potential threat of danger to the members en route to or from their work, and/or to the members’ families, it is the policy of SMART to support its members in declining to enter the territory directly affected.”

If you are ordered to perform duties that include crossing a picket line that puts your safety at risk, you must immediately inform management that you are not willing to do so., You should then inform your local chairperson and give them a detailed explanation of the series of events.

In solidarity, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and update you on any developments. Let’s remain united and proactive, ready to address any challenges that may arise from this lockout.

Thank you for your continued support and commitment..

— SMART Transportation Division

CPKC, formed through the merger of the Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern railroads, is one of only two Class I railroads in the United States that have not negotiated with SMART-TD members for paid sick time. As with other railroads, they have adopted a strict policy to punish absenteeism. As a result, managers can dish out discipline and dismissal even if an employee must take UNPAID time off to recover from a high fever or while contagious.

Nobody wins when sick workers are punished for being sick

The new CPKC policy went into effect on December 1, 2023. They followed in the footsteps of Union Pacific and BNSF, who also want extreme employee availability. All these policies are designed to allow lower headcounts while increasing schedule flexibility for the managers. But, by pushing these policies too far, the railroads wear out their crews. The unions cannot change the policies directly, but we can fight their enforcement.

“The carrier is simply dragging its feet. We’ve had nearly two years for CPKC to come to the table after the uproar over time off during the last national negotiations,” General Chairperson Sam Habjan of GCA-457 (former Kansas City Southern lines). “They were super quick to get their merger done, but when it comes to taking care of the people doing the work, it’s been a slog.”

SMART-TD can reverse bad management decisions

The fact that these policies are both absurd and inhumane explains our high win rate when cases are brought to a hearing. SMART-TD’s success at overturning bad management choices may also explain why the railroads dish out steeper punishments if a railroader exercises their right to a hearing and loses. By raising the stakes, the railroads try to prevent their bad choices from being challenged. We win anyway — SMART-TD protects our members.

How SMART-TD members can get help

If any SMART-TD member is being unfairly targeted by their boss, they should talk to their local chairperson ASAP. The local chairperson can estimate if a hearing will be successful and can pull in the General Committee or additional union support if the situation demands it. SMART-TD wants to fix these policies, which starts with each railroader reporting their manager’s misdeeds. The more evidence we have and the more precedent we use and establish, the easier these cases become.

“The best way to combat these ‘policies’ is to challenge them,” Habjan said. “The union exists expressly to counter this nonsense. Talk to your local chairpersons and engage with your union. They’re trying to put fear in the workers when they know that SMART-TD officers are ready to stand up for our people. They’re afraid of the power of what we can do.”

SMART-TD is negotiating improved sick-day and time-off policies, one carrier and one property at a time, coast to coast. As the largest freight rail union in the United States, we are making progress. The time has come to call CPKC to the table. Respecting our members is in CPKC’s best interest.

Canadian carriers need to do better for their U.S. crews

It’s simple. No one should be forced to work while they are sick. Everyone should have the ability to take a day or two each week to attend to personal business. Rested and alert railroaders do a better job than fatigued ones. Canadian crews are protected by governmentally mandated time-off policies. Americans who work for Canadian companies don’t inherit those protections, which makes them vulnerable.

We show up to do a tough job and we are proud to do it well. But everyone has a physical limit. If we collapse from overwork, CPKC suffers. Experienced workers are safer and more efficient in the field than new hires, even if the fresh faces have learned all the rules.

This is a crisis in the making. CPKC has copied their peers’ punishing unplanned time-off policies. Without negotiating a just attendance and sick leave policy to balance it, CPKC will suffer. So will their customers. Once lost, rebuilding their ability will take years, even after refreshing their headcount.

CPKC’s policy

The CPKC policy includes the following language: “CPKC T&E and Yardmaster employees who book off sick or unpaid personal leave on two or more available workdays in the calendar month will be subject to attendance review for that month. Disciplinary action may result.”

First
Offence		Second OffenceThird OffenceFourth
Offence		Fifth Offence
Employee option:
Admit culpability and waive a formal investigation*
• Formal Reprimand

Or:

Elect a formal investigation and if found culpable may be assessed
10 demerits		Employee option:
Admit culpability and waive a formal investigation*
• 10 demerits

Or:

Elect a formal investigation and if found culpable may be assessed
15 demerits		Employee option:
Admit culpability and waive a formal investigation*
• 15 demerits

Or:

Elect a formal
investigation and if found culpable may be assessed
20 demerits		30 demerits, up to and including dismissal
At company
discretion, up to a 30-calendar day suspension or 30 demerits deferred in lieu of dismissal for accumulation of
demerits;
consider continued employment/last chance agreement (Consult with LR)		Any combination thereof, up to and including dismissal
* Admission of Responsibility/ Waiver as provided for in the employee’s Collective Agreement

When a railroad takes a broken-down old yard engine, paints it, reupholsters the interior and, of course, updates it with inward-facing cameras, they tell us it has been refurbished. They act like the yard crews should thank them for a massive improvement!

But that new paint job is no help at all when we’re trying to pull an ore train up a 3% grade. It’s the same POS, just a little shinier.

When the Canadian Pacific absorbed Kansas City Southern, (former) KCS crews hoped that life MIGHT be about to get a little better.

It turns out the “refurb” attendance policy is still that same garbage SD-40 they always knew not to trust.

CPKC: meet with us so we can give this thing the overhaul it deserves.