U.S. lawmakers and agricultural shippers are warning that a potential strike by Canadian railroad workers could damage both nations’ economies and have requested that the Canadian government recognize the essential nature of agricultural rail transportation.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National Railway (CN) workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference voted in late June to authorize a strike. Before a strike can occur, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) must issue its ruling on the shipments required to continue during a work stoppage. This ruling is expected to be finalized by Aug. 9.
This is the second time the union has authorized a strike this year. Members previously approved a strike on May 1, but the federal government requested that CIRB begin its safety investigation. CN noted in a July 12 statement that no work stoppage can occur until either party files the required 72-hour notice after CIRB issues its decision.
Meanwhile, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, sent a July 17 letter to Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, stressing the need to keep railways open and operational.
“Railroads play a key operational role in the trade relationship, offering a cost-efficient and reliable means of transportation,” Cramer wrote. “Any disruption to the transport of these essential products poses risks to consumers and our economies.
“Those in the agricultural community are particularly vulnerable to a possible strike,” continued Cramer. “They rely heavily on rail transport during the harvest season. Disruptions to this transportation option would delay the delivery of agricultural goods and a strike could lead to potential food shortages and higher prices for consumers. This concern is exacerbated by the fact there are limited alternative transportation options available to shippers should a disruption occur.”
After Canadian rail labor unions voted to strike in May, NGFA said in a letter to CIRB that “shutdowns or slowdowns of rail-dependent facilities would result “in harmful consequences for Canada’s agricultural producers and industry as well as domestic and global food security,”
NGFA noted that many of its member companies rely on rail services that transit to and via Canada. A strike or lockout “would lead to ripple effects across the entire industry.”
For example, the livestock industry depends on rail to deliver corn and other feed grains, and biofuels operations, flour mills and agricultural export facilities require uninterrupted rail service. “A stoppage of rail service would materially harm Canada’s farmgate prices for commodities, Canada’s ag shippers and exporters and its global customers,” NGFA stated.
“The impact of a strike would be particularly severe as trucking is not a viable option for many agricultural shippers due to their high-volume needs and the long distances for many of the movements,” NGFA noted.