Union At CN Urging Workers Back To Their Jobs

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

In announcing a tentative deal to end the 14-day strike at Canadian National Railway late this afternoon, CN had said the 28-hundred unionized conductors and yard service workers would remain on strike through the ratification process.

However, the United Transportation Union has since issued a call for its members to put down their picket signs and return to their jobs.

"We are retaining our strike mandate during the ratification process," say the union's chief negotiators, John Armstrong and Robert Sharpe.  "However, we are urging all members to return to work during (that) process. We are hopeful that this will greatly reduce the possibility of the Canadian government continuing to move forward on back-to-work legislation until such time as the ratification process is completed and the results known."

The memorandum of settlement reached today is subject to membership ratification, with ballots to be counted at UTU’s Ottawa offices on March 26.

Members will receive a copy of the tentative agreement with their mail-in ballot.  The Union says details will not be made public until affected UTU members receive their copies of the memorandum of settlement. 

"The best option for our members is this memorandum of settlement as opposed to the third party option," say Armstrong and Sharpe.

Parliament was poised to pass back to work legislation as early as Tuesday.

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