Canada’s two major freight rail companies locked out over 9,000 Teamsters union workers who operate the trains over a dispute between the two companies, bringing operations to a stop.
According to reports, the Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Southern (CPKC) networks cross the US-Canadian border, and the shutdown could disrupt operations in a number of industries in the United States and Canada.
The report further mentions that the dispute between CPKC and Teamsters is over wages and working conditions. This is the first time both companies have shut down at the same time because of a labor dispute. Both companies have said they would end the lockout if the union agreed to binding arbitration.
Binding arbitration is a process where a neutral third-party arbitrator makes a final and binding decision in a dispute between two or more parties.
