News Labour Relations
Strike over at CN Autoport facility in Nova Scotia, but Unifor decries ‘disgraceful behaviour’

Unifor members at CN Autoport have ratified a three-year collective agreement, ending a 37-day strike at the facility in Eastern Passage, N.S.

“This was a very difficult strike for our members and a very tough round of bargaining given that CN decided to undermine our fundamental right to strike and to bargain fairly and freely by using scabs as of day one of the dispute. It was and is disgraceful behaviour, designed to intimidate and break the spirit of our Local 100 members,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President.

“I am very proud of our members. Their spirit was not broken. They have shown courage and dignity in standing up to the bully tactics of CN Autoport. They have shown that solidarity makes a difference. And CN can be guaranteed that Unifor will not rest until we achieve anti-scab legislation in every province across Canada.”

Wage increases, pension improvements

The agreement sees wage increases in each year of the agreement and lump sum bonuses in years one and two, as well as an additional paid personal day, improvements to vacation, pensions, and the cost of benefits.

Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray said she will continue to work with Unifor members at Autoport and across Nova Scotia to get provincial anti-scab legislation on the books to support workers’ right to fair and free collective bargaining.

“We will continue this campaign in the names of our members at Local 100 and we won’t stop until we win,” said Murray.

Unifor continues to advocate for the immediate passage of Bill C-58 federal anti-scab legislation.

More than 230 workers

Unifor Local 100 represents 239 employees at the Autoport vehicle processing and transshipment hub in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia. A wholly owned subsidiary of CN Rail, Autoport is one of the busiest facilities of its kind in North America, processing and transshipping close to 185,000 vehicles annually, it said.

“This agreement marks a solid step forward for Autoport workers,” said Cory Will, President of Unifor Local 100. “We can take pride in knowing we have fought back and got a better agreement for our members.”