A CPKC union is conducting a strike poll of members, claiming the railroad took advantage of a service crisis to make workplace job changes on the troubled Kansas City Southern network.
The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) Local 457’s General Committee of Adjustment is polling members on a possible strike vote, General Chairman Samuel Habjan confirmed in a brief phone interview with FreightWaves late Saturday. The results of the poll are expected today. Habjan would not speculate on the results of the poll, or the union’s plans.
An email signed by “union members local 781” and obtained by FreightWaves claimed that the railroad was using the service crisis to cut jobs and reduce some employees’ working hours.
The email said that CPKC (NYSE: CP) was already facing a personnel shortage prior to a botched software changeover in May that caused a service crisis on the former KCS, aggravated by leaner operating practices and aggressive cost-cutting.
“Earlier this month, SMART-TD reached an agreement with CPKC to permit the temporary use of “loan-out” crews from other territories to help address the shortage,” the email stated. “However, following this arrangement, CPKC management proceeded to cut approximately half of the established yard jobs in Shreveport (La.) Terminal. They placed the loan-out crews on a separate [job] board and began assigning them work in place of long-standing KCS and Louisiana & Arkansas [Railway] employees.
“This decision has effectively restricted the seniority rights of the union employees already on the property and further strained local operations.”
Seniority is based on an employee’s length of service with a railroad, and often dictates which job assignments an employee can choose from.
Calgary-based CPKC merged with KCS in April 2023, creating the first single-line carrier serving the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The service disruptions caused significant problems for shippers on legacy KCS lines, including chemical producers in Louisiana, forcing CPKC to deploy personnel to verify the location of individual railcars by hand.
CPKC in a filing last week with the Surface Transportation Board said that local service on the KCS was improving, and that it expects service to return to normal levels later this month.
“From day one of this combination, we have been fully transparent with our unions and worked with them closely concerning operational needs and changes,” CPKC said in an email late Sunday to FreightWaves. “The same has been the case in this situation. Last month, CPKC signed an agreement with the SMART-TD (GCA 457) general chairman to allow the temporary use of CPKC train crews, also represented by SMART-TD, from another CPKC property in order to support the ongoing service recovery in the southern U.S. following the May systems cutover.
“Operational changes put in place during the service recovery and use of the temporary crews have all been done in accordance with the existing collective bargaining agreement for the former KCS territory, as has the application of the June agreement governing the use of temporary crews which was shared with the general chairman. CPKC has met and offered to meet again with local union leaders to discuss their concerns.”
Habjan did not return emails and calls late Sunday seeking the results of the poll.
This article was updated July 13 to include a statement from CPKC.
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