Via Rail chugs toward nationwide strike Wages at centre of dispute with CAW Nine days of voting begin on Monday RICK WESTHEAD BUSINESS REPORTER The union representing 3,000 on- and off-train employees at Via Rail Canada Inc. says it has broken off talks with the company on a new labour contract and its members will be in a position to strike before month's end. A strike at Via Rail would throw a crimp into the travel plans of possibly millions of Canadians during the busy summer season. The Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents all of Via Rail's employees except train engineers, said the company on Thursday made its "first and final" offer on a new contract after 10 months of talks. The union had sought a 3 per cent pay hike in each of the next three years, said CAW official Doug Olshewski. Via Rail countered with a 2 per cent increase in each of those years. The company refused to increase staffing levels, introduce sick leave and sweeten its pension plan, Olshewski said. "They basically want our members to subsidize the company, and we're not going to do that just because it's a crown corporation," Olshewski said. "There are some real horror stories out there about people not getting to eat because the trains are understaffed," he said. "Morale is really low." CAW members in Halifax are scheduled to vote on whether to strike on Monday, and the union will hold similar votes across the country over the following eight days. Via Rail employees in Toronto would vote next Wednesday through Friday. Voting concludes in Vancouver on July 20, with the votes counted two days later. The CAW must give the company 72 hours' notice of a strike. "Of course it's a busy time, but ... we've been negotiating with them since last October and we've been without a contract since December 31," Olshewski said. Edward Houlihan, senior manager of labour relations at Via Rail, couldn't be reached to comment. Via Rail ran a deficit of $184 million last year, up from $153.7 million the prior year, and the company has said it plans to cut costs after its first quarter revenue was lower than expected. The company's pension plan has an $18 million shortfall, Olshewski said. Even though the union's financial advisers have said that a 0.2 per cent increase in interest rates would negate the pension deficit, the company has refused to consider improving the plan, he said. Via Rail last made a contribution to its pension plan in the mid-1990s. Abe Rosner, a CAW official representing Via Rail's shop craft employees — who maintain and repair trains — said the union needs to use timing to its advantage. "July and August are the busiest times of the year and unfortunately this is when we need to get Via's attention," he said. "A job action at another time of the year doesn't have the same impact." Canada's rail system last faced the prospect of a crippling strike in 1995. At the time, the government approved legislation requiring an end to the work stoppage, which had sidelined passengers and disrupted shipments. More than 30,000 Canadian railway workers, including those at Via Rail, Canadian National Railway Co., and Canadian Pacific Ltd.'s CP Rail System, were involved in that labour dispute. This time around, however, it's unlikely that Ottawa would step in, said Fred Lazar, a York University professor who follows the transportation industry. "People can drive or go by bus or by plane," Lazar said. "It's not critical or essential." Lazar said the CAW may have miscalculated that Via Rail will meet its demands. "The last budget, (Finance Minister Ralph) Goodale and (Prime Minister Paul) Martin made it clear that they were going to phase out the subsidies for Via Rail," Lazar said. (credit Toronto Star - 2004/07/10)
Thanks for the update Milne. I didn't see this one show up during our outage and with Summer here I'm sure this might be important to some to be aware of.
Canadian Auto Workers union given strike mandate by 2,500 Via Rail employees 09:20 AM EDT Jul 22 MONTREAL (CP) - Unionized Via Rail employees have given a strike mandate to the Canadian Auto Workers union by a majority of nearly 83 per cent, the union said on Wednesday. A CAW official said employees could walk off the job at any time, provided the union gave Via 72 hours' notice. The 2,500 employees include reservation and sales agents, station staff, onboard employees and maintenance workers. "Our members' message was loud and clear," Gary Fane, chief union negotiator, said in a statement. "Of course they would prefer a good settlement to strike action, but they're prepared to apply some pressure if need be." The CAW said it was committed to resuming talks as scheduled next week with Via and a special government-appointed mediator. Via made a contract offer to its workers two weeks ago that included a two per cent annual pay raise. The offer was rejected, and the union says it wants a pay increase no lower than the three per cent raise accepted earlier this year by Canadian National Railway workers. Pensions, disability insurance, sick leave and staffing are other issues in dispute. A walkout would hit during high season for tourism. Via workers last voted in favour of a strike in 1995. The federal government stepped in with legislation to prevent the work stoppage, but the new Liberal government has said it prefers a hands-off approach. cbc.ca
VIA and CAW Reach Tentative Agreement on New Labour Contract MONTREAL, Aug. 5 /CNW Telbec/ - Earlier this evening, VIA Rail Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) negotiated a tentative agreement, for new 3-year collective agreements covering more than 2,400 station, on-train, maintenance and clerical employees. CAW members employed by VIA will be asked to ratify the contract in a vote that will begin shortly. Details of the terms of the contract will be available after the vote.
I sure hope that the contract is worthy of acceptance. Strikes always do so much long term damage. It's good to see them averted. Boxcab E50
CAW Via workers ratified the contract offer today. http://www.caw.ca/news/newsnow/news.asp?artID=555 Milne Hall http://groups.msn.com/CobourgRailfans http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CanadianRailwayNews http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/Via_Rail_Canada
