The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) and VIA Rail may have to pay out as much as $230,000 (Canadian) to each of 230 former members as a result of a decision handed down by the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal at the end of May. The ruling says that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), as they were called before becoming TCRC earlier this year, is guilty of “breach of duty” to conductors.
1997 Merger
The problem dates back to 1997, when the BLE won a vote to combine the crafts of conductors and engineers. The conductors previously belonged to the United Transportation Union (UTU). The vote was very close and the conductors say they only voted for the BLE because the union and Via told them they would have their own separate committees, training to become engineers, and the right to work as conductors on Canadian National Railways if they were unable to work as engineers at VIA. The suit alleges that these promises were not kept and instead the next contract was bargained with little conductor input. In fact, it eliminated the conductors’ position and almost no training was provided for them to qualify for the few open engineer positions. Most simply lost their jobs.
The BLE and the company said that the election promises should not have been taken as a guarantee by the conductors, but the Court of Appeal disagreed. VIA and the union now have one last chance to receive a favorable ruling —they can appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. If that fails, then millions of dollars will have to be paid to the members who lost their jobs. No decision has yet been reached as to what dollar amount the company would pay, and how much the Teamsters Union would pay.
This situation will undoubtedly provide ammunition for the UTU’s persistent attacks on the engineers union. Prior to the BLE merging with the Teamsters, the UTU initiated several raids against them in an effort to capture their membership. The UTU has also undercut engineer job security and public safety by agreeing to remote control technology which replaces engineers on trains (UTU cut a deal allowing conductors to carry the belt packs that control the devices).
As the former BLE expands its ranks to includes more rail workers, it needs to keep its promises to all of its members and strive to build greater unity among the crafts it represents.