The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada), which represents about 7,400 longshore workers at various Vancouver and Prince Rupert port facilities, said Tuesday afternoon its longshore caucus had voted to reject terms of settlement proposed last week by federal mediator Peter Simpson’s team.

Instead, ILWU Canada said, its membership “will be back on the picket line for a fair and negotiated collective agreement” as of 4:30 p.m. PT.

Service for bulk grain vessels at West Coast ports is exempt from the work stoppage under Canada’s Labour Code.

Several farmer and ag industry groups had been publicly calling for federal action to end the strike, however, as containerized pulse crops, perishables such as meat and produce, fertilizer and other goods face potential delays.

The union caucus “does not believe the recommendations had the ability to protect our jobs now or into the future,” the union said Tuesday.

Work was to resume at B.C. ports last Thursday evening after the port management group, the B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), said a tentative agreement had been reached and the longshore workers’ 13-day strike would end.

Simpson and his team had been directed by federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan to draft terms for an agreement to take to the union and management for their review — an option that was open to O’Regan under the Canada Labour Code.

However, ILWU Canada had not said last Thursday whether it would put the mediator’s proposed deal to a ratification vote.

Rather, it said Tuesday, with the “record profits” BCMEA member firms have collected in recent years, “the employers have not addressed the cost-of-living issues that our workers have faced over the last couple of years as all workers have.”

Also, the mediator’s proposal called for a collective agreement with a four-year term, which ILWU Canada said “with today’s uncertain times, is far too long. We must be able to readdress the uncertainty in the world’s financial markets for our members.”

BCMEA, in a separate statement Tuesday, said ILWU’s “internal caucus leadership rejected the tentative agreement, before it was even taken to a vote of the full union membership.”

The employer group said the proposed “fair and comprehensive package could not satisfy some of (ILWU’s) internal caucus leadership, and in rejecting this tentative agreement, ILWU leadership is choosing to further harm Canada’s economy, international reputation and most importantly, to Canadians, their livelihoods and all those that rely on a stable supply chain.”

BCMEA said the proposal had called for “considerable hikes in wages and benefits” that are “generally above the established norm of recent private and public sector union settlements in British Columbia and Canada.”

The tentative deal had also included “specific provisions that addressed the union’s concern regarding ‘contracting out’ work and measures to improve training, recruitment and retention of ILWU trades workers now and in the future,” the employer association said.

Among those provisions, BCMEA said, the deal called for “benefit coverage for all casual trades workers, a tool allowance, and a commitment to increase apprentices in the industry by 15 per cent.”

A statement was not yet available early Tuesday evening from O’Regan or Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, both of whom were attending the Atlantic Growth Strategy Leadership Committee meeting with Atlantic Canada’s premiers Tuesday in Moncton. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The B.C. Maritime Employers Association said in a release Thursday morning it had reached a tentative pact with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada) on a new four-year collective agreement “that recognizes the skills and efforts of B.C.’s waterfront workforce.”

The deal ending a 13-day strike came after federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan on Tuesday night tasked federally appointed mediators with drafting terms for a new agreement based on progress made in talks to date.

O’Regan had set a deadline of Thursday evening for the union and management to decide whether the mediator’s terms were acceptable.

He and federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, in a joint statement Thursday, said the ILWU and BCMEA are now “finalizing details for the resumption of work at the ports.”

BCMEA said Thursday morning it’s “committed to working closely with ILWU Canada and their locals and supply chain partners to safely resume operations as soon as possible.”

Thanking federal mediator Peter Simpson and his team as well as O’Regan for their help in reaching the tentative deal, the employer group said it “recognizes and regrets the significant impact this labour disruption has had on the economy, businesses, workers, customers and ultimately, all Canadians.”

Parties at Vancouver and Prince Rupert now “must collectively work together to not only restore cargo operations as quickly and safely as possible but to also rebuild the reputation of Canada’s largest gateway and ensure supply chain stability and resilience for the future,” BCMEA said.

O’Regan and Alghabra, in their statement Thursday, concurred that the scale of the disruption at the West Coast has been “significant” and “has shown just how important the relationship between industry and labour is to our national interest. Our supply chains and our economy depend on it.”

Service for bulk grain vessels and cruise ships at B.C.’s ports was exempt from this work stoppage. However, several farmer and ag industry groups had publicly called for federal action to end the strike, as containerized pulse crops, perishables such as meat and produce, fertilizer and other goods were potentially at risk from delays.

Past that, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) said in a separate release Thursday the strike “has caused severe backlogs that will take weeks to process. The damage to manufacturing supply chains is significant, as production slowed in the lead-up to the strike and will take even more time to get back up and running.”

CME said it’s been estimated that a day of a port shutdown takes up to a week to make up, “meaning it will take months for the sector to recover.”

O’Regan and Alghabra emphasized Thursday that “deals like this, made between parties at the collective bargaining table…are the best way to preserve the long-term stability of Canada’s economy” and “we do not want to be back here again.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Unifor, which represents about 3,000 CN employees, said Friday its members voted to ratify four new two-year collective bargaining agreements taking them through to Dec. 31, 2024. The tentative agreements were announced March 20.

“When we opened contract talks with CN last fall, while the company was reporting massive profits, we were insistent that rail workers deserve to be compensated well and treated with respect,” Lana Payne, the union’s national president, said in a release.

“This agreement represents a significant step forward for our CN Rail members, including important improvements in wages, benefits, and job security.”

“Despite the diverse crafts represented by this union, we have been successful in improving alignment on our path forward to deliver better and safer service,” CN CEO Tracy Robinson said in a separate statement Monday.

The four agreements cover members of CN’s Unifor Local 100, which represents skilled trades in mechanical shops, and Council 4000, which represents intermodal, clerical and mechanical workers and excavator operators.

Unifor said its national bargaining committees had been in negotiations with CN since last October, leading up to their previous contracts’ expiry at the end of December 2022.

The Unifor-led employees had voted in favour of strike action in early March and had been in a position to strike as early as March 21. However, the union said negotiators decided at that time to keep talks going rather than hand in the required 72 hours’ notice to trigger a work stoppage.

Despite the number of employees who would have potentially been off the job in the event of a Unifor-led strike or a lockout, CN had said in early March it would not expect any impact on operations, as it had “contingency plans in place and the safe operations of our railway will continue.”

“Coming out of a pandemic and with global economic uncertainty, the bargaining committee knew it had its work cut out for them but with the support of members from across the country, we stood firm and were able to negotiate a fair contract,” Local 100 president Cory Will said Friday in Unifor’s release.

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan on Friday tweeted congratulations to the company and union on their new agreements, adding “The best deals are made at the table.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Olymel and the CSN-affiliated Syndicat des travailleurs d’Olymel Vallee-Jonction (STOVJ) announced Tuesday afternoon that unionized workers at the company’s Vallee-Jonction plant, south of Quebec City, have voted to ratify an agreement-in-principle reached Sunday between company and union brass.

The STOVJ said in a release its members voted 78 per cent in favour of the deal Tuesday, casting secret ballots electronically. The vote ends a strike that’s run since April 28 and ratifies a new collective agreement that runs to March 2027, Olymel said.

The new agreement calls for salary increases of about 26.4 per cent, including a 10 per cent increase in the first year, averaging out to a 4.4 per cent increase for each of the next six years, STOVJ president Martin Maurice said in the union’s release.

The deal also provides for a lump-sum payment of $65 per year of service per member and a 50 per cent increase in Olymel’s contribution to group insurance for family coverage, he said.

“The result of the vote shows us that our members are satisfied with the gains we have obtained,” he said.

The new agreement, however, was also mediated under a deadline set by Olymel, in which the company said it would scrap the Vallee-Jonction plant’s evening shift by the end of the year if unionized employees didn’t reconsider their rejection of an earlier agreement-in-principle by Sunday night.

Cancelling the evening shift would have meant layoffs for about half of the 1,050-odd unionized employees at Vallee-Jonction.

“Under these circumstances and in the context of a rapid resumption of operations, Olymel’s management (has) decided to maintain the evening shift at this plant and to renounce (the shift’s) abolition as previously announced in the event that the strike could have gone on longer,” the company said Tuesday.

Alexandre Laviolette, president of the Federation du commerce-CSN, hailed the deal’s outcome as the result of an ongoing struggle by all slaughterhouse workers in the province for “wages that recognize their hard work.”

As a result, he said, “the table is therefore set for current and future negotiations in the slaughter sector.”

‘Highly competitive’

The deal means “working conditions and employee compensation will thus be improved, while maintaining the company’s ability to operate in a highly competitive market,” Olymel first vice-president Paul Beauchamp said in Tuesday’s release.

That said, “such a long strike is still to be deplored and lessons will have to be learned,” and management “will do everything in its power to ensure that plant operations resume in a calm and constructive atmosphere.”

Beauchamp also called attention to “the great resilience of the pork producers heavily affected by this conflict.”

The Vallee-Jonction plant has capacity to slaughter about 35,000 head per week. With that plant offline, Quebec hog producers worked with the company to move some market-weight animals to slaughter in other provinces — in some cases as far west as Olymel’s plant at Red Deer, Alta. — and to sell younger piglets and weanlings to free up barn space.

Despite those moves, however, Rene Roy, president of les Eleveurs de porcs de la Beauce, estimated in an interview that the resulting backlog of market-weight hogs in barns in the province was slightly above 170,000 head and counting as of Monday afternoon.

Keeping heavier-weight hogs in barns over the hot summer months means having to manage the temperatures in those buildings, along with the number of hogs per pen, he said.

Olymel said the Vallee-Jonction plant “should gradually regain its weekly slaughter capacity” and it “should resume winning over and serving clients accustomed to quality products from this facility,” noting “the resumption of activities should gradually reduce the pressure on hog producers.”

Before that, though, the company must ensure equipment is in working order, the plant is “sanitary” and workers are available to form teams for day and evening shifts, Olymel said.

Employees were expected to be recalled to work starting Tuesday night and resumption of operations “should therefore extend over a few days.” Thus, “in the best scenario,” the plant could resume slaughter work “as early as Friday.”

Provincial Labour Minister Jean Boulet, whose department provided conciliation teams to help resolve the dispute — and who appointed a special mediator, Jean Poirier, after Olymel issued its layoff ultimatum — hailed the outcome of the vote on Twitter, reiterating Tuesday that a “blitz of mediation” over the weekend had “borne fruit.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The union members’ vote takes place Wednesday and Thursday (May 8-9).

ILWU and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) have been bargaining since the collective agreement expired in March last year.

A letter from ILWU president Rino Voci explained that voting ‘yes’ to a strike does not mean a strike will happen immediately. Rather, it means unionized workers could go on strike within the next 60 days, with 72 hours of notice provided to the employer.

“A yes vote gives your negotiating committee the support it needs to bring us closer to getting a new industry agreement deal without a strike,” Voci wrote.

A strike could disrupt shipping activity at the Port of Vancouver. Longshoremen at Prince Rupert and on Vancouver Island, as well as ship and dock foremen in the Lower Mainland, are also included in ongoing negotiations.

The ports, located at Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet, Roberts Bank at Delta, and at Surrey serve many shipping lines that move Canadian products around the world. A strike could create a significant snafu for Canada’s agricultural commodity exports.

“Any extended strike would quickly back up grain shipping into the Prairies,” said Mike Jubinville of MarketsFarm.

“The biggest portion of Canada’s annual grain shipping season has passed, but plenty of grain still flows this time of year.”

In a worst-case scenario, significantly delayed shipments would result in grain elevators backing up, and cash basis prices widening.

— Marlo Glass writes for MarketsFarm, a Glacier FarmMedia division specializing in grain and commodity market analysis and reporting.

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The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, whose train and engine (T+E) unit represents about 3,050 Canadian conductors and engineers at CP, announced Wednesday its membership had voted 67.1 per cent against the extension.

Negotiators with CP and the Teamsters reached a tentative deal Sept. 6 on a memorandum of settlement, pending ratification, to renew their collective agreement for a year under the terms of their last contract, which is set to expire Dec. 31.

CP in September hailed the tentative deal as providing the affected staff with “a number of benefits and certainty over the next year, while protecting customers’ and future customers’ interests.”

“We look forward to working with the union membership to better understand this result and to discuss next steps,” CP CEO Keith Creel said in a release Thursday.

“While disappointed, I have been clear that we are focused on improving our relationship with our T+E employees and that commitment remains unchanged.”

CP noted Thursday it has had a “successful 2017 with its unions, negotiating a number of long-term agreements ahead of expiry.”

CP said it would meet with union leadership Thursday on next steps. Teamsters chairmen, in a memo Wednesday to local chairs, said they would provide “further updates on contract negotiations as they develop.”

CP’s previous contract talks with its conductors’ and engineers’ unit, in 2015, ended in a one-day strike followed by binding arbitration under threat of federal back-to-work legislation.

A two-week strike and back-to-work legislation followed the same unit’s contract talks with CP in 2012. — AGCanada.com Network

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The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) said Thursday CN has “refused” to extend conciliation talks, now due to end Saturday, by another 60 days. The engineers’ last collective agreement with the company expired Jan. 1.

Without an extension, the union said, a work stoppage by the 1,700 affected employees could occur as soon as a mandatory 21-day “cooling-off” period ends.

“While negotiations are ongoing, we believe that more time is required to address the significant issues and concerns the TCRC is facing,” Roland Hackl, chairman of the TCRC’s general committee for CN staff in Western Canada, said in a release.

“We are concerned that CN is once again attempting to run the clock out and rely on government intervention,” he said. The federal government has passed back-to-work legislation in “virtually all” cases of unresolved labour conflict between CN and its unionized workers, the union said.

CN’s TCRC-represented engineers last went on strike for five days in 2009 before agreeing to arbitration, under threat of back-to-work legislation. The CN engineers ratified a subsequent three-year agreement with the company in early 2012.

This time, the union said Thursday, it had proposed and CN refused a new bargaining process in which the union and company would have to pay “predetermined amounts” to charities in lieu of strike action or a lockout.

The process would have also required CN to reach an agreement with the Teamsters “without government interference,” Hackl said.

In current talks, the union said, one of the major “sticking points” is CN’s demand for removal of “all rest provisions that allow our members to manage fatigue.”

The union had said in 2012 that the engineers’ now-expired collective agreement had “improved” clauses related to rest time.

CN did not release any official statement Thursday.

The Montreal-based company last week announced it reached a tentative four-year deal with a separate TCRC committee representing its 180 rail traffic controllers in Canada. Results of a ratification vote are due by the end of next month. — AGCanada.com Network

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