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USW reaches tentative pact with CN Rail

March 5, 2024

United Steelworkers (USW) union members in Canada have reached a tentative labor agreement with CN Rail.

USW said the new three-year deal comes after months of negotiations that started last October. The current collective agreement with the Canadian railroad company expired on Dec. 31.

“Our members do important work in ensuring the continuing viability of our national railways, and I am pleased that we were able to reach an agreement that fairly compensates them for their efforts,” Cole Kramer, USW Local 2004 president, said in a statement on March 1.

The union noted that the contract covers 3,000 workers who maintain and repair railway tracks and bridges across Canada.

USW said ratification meetings would be held in March via regional in-person and online townhall meetings. The union said results would be released in late March or early April.

CN Rail in a statement said no details of the tentative agreement would be released until after the ratification vote.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.