CN and Unifor reach tentative agreement

Dec 10, 2024
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content, Farms.com

Unifor had set a Jan. 1 strike deadline

A strike between CN and some of its employees may have been averted.

On Dec. 9, both the railway and Unifor announced the two sides have reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract.

The current deal expires on Dec. 31, and the 3,300 affected employees working in mechanical, clerical and intermodal positions planned to strike on Jan. 1, 2025, if a new contract couldn’t be signed.

Union members still need to ratify the agreement, of which no details have been shared publicly.

Ratification votes will occur in the coming weeks, Unifor said in a statement.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is pleased to see the two sides coming to an agreement.

“Thank you to the parties for putting in the work to get a deal and to federal mediators for their support,” he said on X. “Negotiated agreements are always the best way forward.”

Canada’s ag community continues its calls for the federal government to make the transportation and handling of agricultural and perishable goods as essential.

While CN and Unifor are headed towards ratification on a new deal, CN and another union will begin negotiations in the new year.

Binding arbitration meetings between CN and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) will occur over seven days in March 2025.

This past August, the Canada Industrial Relations imposed binding arbitration on the two sides. CN and the TCRC agreed on an arbitrator in October.

Video: A Farm Song (Busy) | Parody of A Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey

Lyrics:

My days begin with workin’, Alarm’s at 5 o’clock,
I Fill 5 gallon buckets, The feeders and the troughs,
This five to nine ain’t workin’, why the heck do I work so hard?,
I can’t worry ‘bout health problems, I can sleep in when I’m gone,

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

I’ve been working pretty stressed but,
I ain’t changing for some cash,
Lord knows that I’m very blessed (More chores),
But I gotta say it’s hard,
Workin’ outside gettin’ charred,
Living out here on the farm, (more chores)

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history
There’s another 20 chickens that still need feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm getting’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Fun, here on ranch that’s what you can’t ignore,
Might be pretty hard but I love it to its core,
Flannel’s gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores (Tell ‘em sing with me)

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
Watching cattle in the dark, don’t miss me,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
(Yeeeeeehaw)
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
It’s the best bro, go get yourself a farm