Skip to content

‘I’d like to be taken care of’: Nelson CP Rail employees join national work stoppage

Labour negotiations are currently being mediated
28532144_web1_220324-KWS-Teamsters_1
L-R: Cam Pfaff, Tom Leeming and Ron Neufeld were among the members of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Local 563 picketing in Nelson on Monday. Photo: Tyler Harper

For nearly two decades, Ron Neufeld has made his living guiding trains throughout the West Kootenay.

But on Monday, the conductor was among a small group of employees representing Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Local 563 picketing near Nelson’s Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) office.

Approximately 3,000 CPR workers were off the job after labour negotiations broke down between the company and union on Sunday morning.

Neufeld said he would rather be working than standing near the highway with a sign hung around his neck. But a fair deal, he said, was worth the inconvenience.

“We do give a lot of our life to this company. We don’t work Monday to Friday, nine to five. I’ve missed a lot of family events. So that being said, giving this part of my life to this company, I’d like to be taken care of when I retire.”

Union members voted 96.7 per cent in favour of a strike action, according to Teamsters Canada. Who initiated the work stoppage first after the Saturday midnight deadline passed, however, is being contested by both sides.

Tom Leeming, a locomotive engineer, said he’s disappointed in CPR’s tactics.

“They’re painting a picture that makes us look bad,” said Leeming. “They’re playing very dirty. They said they’ve been bargaining in good faith for about six months. They haven’t attempted to bargain at all until last week.”

Improved wages and benefits are among the topics at the bargaining table, but Leeming said the pension is his greatest concern. The union, he said, is asking for less than a five per cent increase to the maximum of what CPR will pay.

Cam Pfaff, who has been a locomotive engineer for almost 25 years, agrees with Leeming. He wants to make sure younger employees are taken care of.

“I started at 18 years old and it’s been a great career for me. I’d like to see the young people hired on and stay. The pension’s the biggest part for anybody at any job. It doesn’t matter if it’s a railway.”

Leeming said he doesn’t expect the impasse to last more than a week, but it’s unclear how it will end.

Labour minister Seamus O’Regan said Monday he is taking part in federal mediation and prefers to avoid back-to-work legislation, which was used by Conservative governments during railway talks in 2009 and 2012. The federal government also threatened legislation in 2015 before a deal was reached.

A week-long strike among Canadian National Railway employees also ended prior to a federal intervention.

Leeming said the Nelson terminal may be small, but CPR makes stops throughout the region and delivers supplies to some of its biggest employers such as Teck in Trail and Mercer Celgar near Castlegar. Those businesses will be impacted, he said, the longer the stoppage goes on.

“In the grand scheme of things in the entire West Kootenay, it means a big deal.”

READ MORE:

Ottawa under pressure as CP Rail stoppage enters second day, talks continue

Safety board says flaw in rail found, but not fixed before 38 cars derailed in B.C.

Kalesnikoff passes random audit of operations in Arrow Lakes area

@tyler_harper | tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.



Tyler Harper

About the Author: Tyler Harper

I’m editor-reporter at the Nelson Star, where I’ve worked since 2015.
Read more