A three-year collective agreement with CN Rail has been ratified by 3,000 members of the United Steelworkers union (USW) who maintain railway infrastructure across Canada.
“This is a fair contract that recognizes the crucial work our members perform every day to ensure CN Rail’s success and that contributes significantly to the economic prosperity of communities across our country,” said Cole Kramer, president of USW Local 2004.
USW Local 2004 represents 3,000 workers who inspect, maintain and repair CN Rail’s track, bridges and infrastructure nationwide.
“This new collective agreement provides stability for our members and for the company for the next three years. It provides monetary gains and improvements in working conditions that our members have earned through their dedication and hard work,” Kramer said.
Following months of negotiations, a tentative agreement for a new contract was reached in late February between the union and CN. Local 2004 leaders then engaged in a series of meetings with union members over several weeks, which culminated with ratification votes approving the agreement.
The three-year contract provides wage increases of 3% each year – retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024 – as well as additional wage adjustments for certain classifications that represent increases as high as 7.5% in the contract’s first year.
Other gains include significant increases to travel expense coverage, various allowances and shift premiums, as well as improvements to health and welfare benefits.
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.
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