CN train stopped by union’s ‘solidarity action’

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This article was published 15/03/2024 (677 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Union members slowed down trucks unloading vehicles delivered by CN rail Friday morning after stopping a train Thursday night.

The “solidarity action” by Unifor was prompted by the railway’s use of replacement workers amid a strike in Halifax. Unifor Local 100 members have been on strike at CN’s Autoport vehicle processing and transshipment hub in Eastern Passage, N.S., since Feb. 27.

Unifor said nearly 100 of its members were “a safe distance away from the track” at a rail crossing at a public roadway near CN’s Winnipeg yards Thursday, but the train stopped — apparently out of an abundance of caution — at about 7:15 p.m.

Unifor said some cars loaded onto trains by replacement workers are shipped to Winnipeg to be stored and delivered to dealerships across North America. The Friday action, involving about 50 to 60 picketers, started around the intersection of Marion and Paulette Duguay streets at about 7:30 a.m.

Canada’s largest union in the private sector represents 239 employees at Autoport.

Unifor said similar actions might happen in Winnipeg and elsewhere in Canada if the use of replacement workers continues.