August 19, 2024 – More than 9,000 workers at Canada’s two major railways could be either on strike or locked out as of Thursday, disrupting supply chains relied upon by many industries. The union representing thousands of workers at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. says it has served a 72-hour strike notice to the railway. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference issued a news release saying unless the parties can reach a last-minute agreement, workers will be off the job as of 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Thursday. Not long after the union’s statement, CN Rail issued a notice that it intends to lock workers out at that same time unless an agreement or binding arbitration is achieved. The company says no meaningful progress has occurred despite weekend labour negotiations. “Unless there is an immediate and definite resolution to the labour conflict, CN will have no choice but to continue the phased and progressive shutdown of its network which would culminate in a lockout,” the company said in a release. Both CPKC and Canadian National Railway Co. have been halting shipments in preparation for potential work stoppages by a combined 9,300 workers at the two railways. Canaan Transport is currently embargoing certain export shipments in preparation of a rail strike which would lead to significant demurrage and chassis charges for customers who are not prepared.