CHICAGO, IL,
Oct. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX:
CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today that conductors and brakemen
represented by the United Transportation Union (UTU) have ratified
a new labor contract that will consolidate work activities in the
Company's Upper Midwest region under a single collective bargaining
agreement.
The single agreement, covering more than 430 employees, will
generate greater labor flexibility and operational efficiencies in
CN's important freight corridor between the Canadian and
United States border at
International Falls, Minn., and
Chicago.
The new contract, which is effective Jan.
1, 2012, and includes general wage increases, was negotiated
in anticipation of the intra-corporate family merger of CN's
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range
Railway Company and Duluth,
Winnipeg and Pacific Railway
Company subsidiaries into its Wisconsin Central Ltd. unit. The
Surface Transportation Board approved the merger in June 2011, subject only to labor implementing
agreements. UTU members on all three properties ratified the
contract.
Jim Vena, CN senior vice-president, Southern Region, said: "CN
is pleased to have reached this milestone labor agreement with the
UTU. This single collective agreement for all conductors and
brakemen in the Upper Midwest is an important step to allow CN to
run its trains seamlessly across the Upper Midwest and to make
greater use of our employee base. This, in turn, will help us
deliver better service to our customers."
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information included in this news
release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and
under Canadian securities laws. CN cautions that, by their nature,
these forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and
assumptions. The Company cautions that its assumptions may not
materialize and that current economic conditions render such
assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made,
subject to greater uncertainty. Such forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual
results or performance of the Company or the rail industry to be
materially different from the outlook or any future results or
performance implied by such statements.
Important risk factors that could affect the
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the
effects of general economic and business conditions, industry
competition, inflation, currency and interest rate fluctuations,
changes in fuel prices, legislative and/or regulatory developments,
compliance with environmental laws and regulations, actions by
regulators, various events which could disrupt operations,
including natural events such as severe weather, droughts, floods
and earthquakes, labor negotiations and disruptions, environmental
claims, uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types
of claims and litigation, risks and liabilities arising from
derailments, and other risks detailed from time to time in reports
filed by CN with securities regulators in Canada and the
United States. Reference should be made to "Management's
Discussion and Analysis" in CN's annual and interim reports, Annual
Information Form and Form 40-F filed with Canadian and U.S.
securities regulators, available on CN's website, for a summary of
major risks.
CN assumes no obligation to update or revise
forward-looking statements to reflect future events, changes in
circumstances, or changes in beliefs, unless required by applicable
Canadian securities laws. In the event CN does update any
forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that CN will
make additional updates with respect to that statement, related
maters, or any other forward-looking statement.
CN - Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway
subsidiaries - spans Canada and
mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the
Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports
of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New
Orleans, and Mobile, Ala.,
and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth,
Minn./Superior, Wis.,
Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St.
Louis, and Jackson, Miss.,
with connections to all points in North
America. For more information on CN, visit the company's
website at www.cn.ca.
SOURCE CN