(Adds comments from union, context, grain and soy industry groups)
MONTREAL, May 25 (Reuters) – Canadian Pacific Railway conductors and locomotive engineers on Friday rejected the company’s latest contract offer, with their union saying negotiations would resume and raising the prospect of another possible strike at Canada’s second-largest railroad.
A strike by the estimated 3,000 workers could be called if talks fail or if CP refuses to negotiate – but only after providing 72 hours notice, Teamsters Canada said in a statement.
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference President Doug Finnson said by phone that the union expects to resume talks with Calgary-based CP on Friday.
The labor strife comes at a time of tighter rail capacity in Canada, with CP and rival Canadian National Railway facing strong demand for shipments of grain, potash and other commodities.
CP was not immediately available for comment on Friday.
“In a strike, nobody wins,” CP CEO Keith Creel said in an online message posted to employees earlier this year.
Canadian shippers rely on CP to deliver about 400,000 tonnes of grain that will not move for each week the railroad is on strike, said Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association.
While a strike would impact CP’s Canadian operations, some U.S. shippers fear it would have a ripple effect, hitting shipments south of the border since the rail extends into the Northern United States.
“It’s a concern as everything is so interconnected,” said Mike Steenhoek, president of the Iowa-based Soy Transportation Coalition.
Steenhoek said one of his members, an agricultural shipper that declined to have its name published, fears a CP strike in Canada would “result in them having to slow their processing plants down or shut down entirely.”
Calgary-based CP said on its site the company’s wages and benefits “meet or exceed those of our competitor,” Canadian National Railway.
CP is offering Teamsters employees a 2 percent annual salary increase during the three-year contract.
The workers, whose collective agreement expired late last year, are asking for more predictable schedules to combat crew fatigue, among other demands.
CP and the unions reached an agreement in April to postpone a strike, which would have been the third in six years at the railroad.
The decision was made after Canadian Labour Minister Patty Hajdu agreed with CP’s request to order the vote on the company’s final offer.
Another 360 workers that maintain track electrical equipment represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers also voted to reject the contract. (Reporting by Allison Lampert; editing by James Dalgleish and G Crosse)
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