MONTREAL,
March 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - CN
(TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) said today it has proposed binding
arbitration to reach a contract settlement with the Teamsters
Canada Rail Conference - Conductors, Trainpersons and Yardpersons
(TCRC-CTY) after the union advised that the tentative labour
agreement negotiated with CN on Feb. 5,
2014, failed to ratify. This is the second tentative
contract that the TCRC-CTY has not ratified this year.
The TCRC-CTY represents approximately 3,000 CN
train conductors, trainpersons, yardpersons and traffic
coordinators on CN's network in Canada.
Claude Mongeau, CN president and chief executive
officer, said: "We are disappointed that our tentative agreement
with the TCRC-CTY narrowly failed ratification following extensive
negotiations with the union's bargaining committee.
"CN today tabled an offer to the TCRC-CTY to
settle all unresolved contract issues through final binding
arbitration to allow the parties to move forward without the
prospect of labour disruption. The union is now studying our
proposal, and we have requested the TCRC-CTY respond to our offer
by close of business tomorrow, March
21. We hope the union will accept it in the current
circumstances, given that CN's recovery from extraordinary winter
weather that hampered operations is in its early stages. A labour
dispute now would ill serve CN's customers, the Canadian economy or
the Company's employees."
CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) is a true backbone of
the economy, transporting approximately C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide
range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to
manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network
spanning Canada and mid-America.
CN - Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating
railway subsidiaries -- serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince
Rupert, B.C., Montreal,
Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of
Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth,
Minn./Superior, Wis., 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.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information included in this news
release is "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
matters, or any other forward-looking statement.
SOURCE CN