Although 750 CN workers are on strike, industry analysts say the impact will be minor unless the job action drags on..Negotiations that began in October could not avert the strike by Canadian National signals and communications staff represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers..On June 20, CN Executive VP and COO Rob Reilly wrote employees to say the company had “met or exceeded every one of the union’s demands,” such as better scheduling to ensure two consecutive days off, an increase in the all-inclusive expense allowance, and overtime procedures based on seniority..CN also offed a 10% increase in wages over three years, better health coverage, higher meal per diems, and a doubling of mileage reimbursements when travelling for business..“While we are disappointed in the current situation, we remain open to resolving the outstanding issues through an agreement or through binding arbitration,” Reilly wrote..Greg Gormick, a consultant for On Track Strategies, believes the strike won’t last long..“My feeling is that this one will be resolved fairly quickly,” Gormick said in an interview with Western Standard..“We shall see. The sooner it’s all resolved for everyone's good, the better. And it's not just for the railway stockholders, for the railway executives, and for railway labour. I always consider it in terms of its impact on the economy.”.The post-COVID-19 supply chain woes continue and won’t be helped by job action. However, Gormick says some longer-term factors have also left railroads with limited resources to deal with hiccups — and not just at CN..“The companies have been squeezing the workers, particularly the union workers, to keep grinding out ever-growing larger, quarterly dividends. And that's why we get the long trains and we get workers whose lives are jerked all over the place, on call. I've had this conversation with a couple of the remaining friends who are still active at CN and CP (Canadian Pacific Railway),” Gormick said..“This is all part of the problems that I won't say railroads have brought upon themselves, but have been brought on them by shareholders who want to squeeze as much out of the properties as they can without really realizing what it takes to run a railway. And in the end, it goes back to government policy.”.The timing of the strike could have been worse. Western farmers and elevator companies were complaining about poor rail service earlier in the year. But Mark Hemmes, who monitors grain shipments for Quorum Corp, says railways have caught up to demand. He’s not worried about the strike..“I don't think it's going to have much of an impact. And that's not to denigrate what the signals guys do to keep running trains. They've got management people that are trained to go. They can't immediately fix the signals issue, though they'll Band-Aid it. And I'm sure that they'll solve this thing in fairly short order,” Hemmes said in an interview with Western Standard..“There's not a hell of a lot of grain moving right now. If you've got grain in your bins, it's almost as good as having cash. Some [farmers] are still seeding. And those ones that have seeded are probably out spraying. So they're not too keen on delivering grain. If you look at the futures prices for the next few months, there isn't any change, the prices are going to stay high.”
