CN workers threaten strike, vow to fight Canada moves to end rail shutdown

The union representing Canadian National Railway workers said Friday it will strike next week in a new threat to the economy after vowing to challenge the government’s decision to end an unprecedented rail shutdown.

The Teamsters union has filed notice that drivers, train drivers and other workers at CN in Montreal will strike on Monday, just days after returning to work on Friday.

A Canadian government official had no immediate comment.

A CN spokesman said trains are starting to run and the company’s plan to resume operations is underway.

“We are focused on getting back to work,” said CN spokesman Jonathan Abecassis. “Teamsters are focused on getting back to the picket line.”

The looming strike is the latest twist in a labor dispute at Canada’s top two railways that locked out more than 9,000 unionized workers Thursday, triggering a simultaneous rail shutdown that business groups say could cause hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage.

A blockade at rival Canadian Pacific Kansas City has yet to be officially lifted after the Canadian government moved Thursday to end the rail shutdown, which involved both railroads simultaneously for the first time.

Related: Why the Canadian freight rail shutdown will affect North American supply chains

The dispute prompted Canada’s Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon to ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board to issue a back-to-work order. Union and railroad officials met with CIRB, an independent body, Friday morning, the Teamsters said on the X social media site.

Teamsters spokesman Chris Monette said by phone earlier in the day that the union would challenge the constitutionality of the minister’s referral, without providing details.

Monette said CN workers will return to work Friday, although the union has not received any return-to-work protocol from the railroad.

“Back to work is going to be chaotic this morning,” he said.

Monette said CPKC members will not return to work because the railroad has not yet ended its lockout.

CPKC said late Thursday that it is preparing to restart operations in Canada and that more details on the timing will be provided once it receives the CIRB’s order.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Ismail Shakil and Jonathan Oatis)