General Information

(Source: www.rabble.ca, November 24, 2019) CALGARY — Here in Alberta, what news coverage there has been about the strike for safer working conditions by Canadian National Railway train crews and rail yard workers has focused on the increasingly agitated calls by Conservative politicians for punitive back-to-work legislation. There is very little reporting on the issues…

(Source: Freight Waves, November 24, 2019) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — As the freight rail industry looks ahead to 2020, the leaders of several Class I railroads and railroad lessors said a return to volume growth isn’t likely to appear until the second half of next year. Full story: Freight Waves Monday, November 25, 2019

(Source: Teamsters Canada press release, November 22, 2019) MONTREAL — The widely reported propane shortage in Ontario and Québec appears to be largely manufactured by Canadian National Railway (CN). Despite the strike by members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), over 1,800 locomotive engineers and over 600 supervisors are free to cross picket lines and…

(Source: Reuters Canada, November 22, 2019) MONTREAL — A strike at Canada’s biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway Co, entered its fourth day on Friday amid ongoing talks, but the Teamsters union said in a statement that “no substantive progress” has been made on key demands by striking workers. Full story: Reuters Canada Friday, November 22, 2019

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, November 21 — The lifetime maximum benefit for the Railroad Employees National Early Retirement Major Medical Benefit Plan (also known as ERMA or GA-46000) will increase from $166,400 to $171,100 on January 1, 2020. At the end of 2001, Labor and Management agreed on various procedures to administer the annual changes in the…