BISMARCK — Governor Doug Burgum today sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan asking them to take all action necessary to help prevent a work stoppage on Canadian Pacific Railway and protect the supply chain for North Dakota farmers and businesses.
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents about 3,000 CP locomotive conductors, engineers, train and railyard workers, has been unable to reach a collective bargaining agreement with CP and has threatened a strike. On Wednesday, CP announced a lockout of the TCRC workers starting Sunday unless a negotiated settlement agreement is reached or TCRC agrees to binding arbitration.
“A work stoppage would be detrimental to our communities, compounding an already stressed supply chain that is still recovering from pandemic disruptions and managing rising transportation costs,” Burgum stated in the letter, noting CP annually transports more than 11 million tons of products from North Dakota to Canada and over 2 million tons in the other direction, including agricultural commodities and fuels. “We are grateful for the long-term partnerships we have enjoyed with CP and Canada and urge you to take all action necessary to protect the supply chain and avoid the disruption of goods between North Dakota and Canada.”
