United Steelworkers union reaches new deal with CN Rail

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 2004 has reached a tentative agreement for a new contract with CN Rail, covering 3,000 workers across the country.

“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.”

The new three-year deal comes after months of negotiations, kicking off in October 2023, with the current collective agreement having expired on Dec. 31, 2023. USW Local 2004 represents 3,000 CN employees who inspect, maintain and repair the railway’s track, bridges and infrastructure across Canada.

“We are proud of this new deal that we were able to reach after many long weeks,” said Cole Kramer, USW Local 2004 president. “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.”

The new agreement is being unanimously endorsed by the union’s nine-member bargaining committee. Ratification meetings will take place during March via regional in-person and online townhall meetings. Results of the ratification vote are expected by the end of March or early April.

The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of our strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation – including good wages, benefits and pensions.

Shannon Devine, USW Communications Department, sdevine@usw.ca, (cell) 416-938-4402