This ripped off of the CBC web site: MONTREAL - Canadian National Railway Co. said Friday it has signed a new four-year contract with the union representing 2,250 workers who do track and bridge maintenance in Canada. CN said details of the new collective agreement are being withheld pending ratification by the members of the United Steelworks of America. A mail-in vote on the agreement will take place over the next several weeks. The railway said the deal, which covers Jan. 1, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2007, includes higher wages and improved benefits. The United Steelworkers was certified as the bargaining agent for the CN track employees in late November. "Getting an agreement with CN was a top priority for our union when these workers became members," said United Steelworkers' national director Ken Neumann. The company said it is still in negotiations in Canada with the 2,500 crew members of the United Transportation Union outside of the northern Quebec area; the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, who cover 1,750 locomotive engineers; and the 630 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, who maintain signals and communications equipment.
Probably it is backdated, but for what purpose? There could be a side letter of agreement, or a part of the contract, that certain parts apply to the backdate and certain parts do not. It is a contract, and if you have it in your hands, then you know what it means to one person, and only one. All else is speculation. That is how lawyer's, and others, make money!!
