CUSTOMER ADVISORY

Dear Customer,

Unifor, the union representing 3300 Mechanical, Clerical and Intermodal employees in Canada across three collective agreements has recently filed a Notice of Dispute with the Canadian Minister of Labour.

Unifor and CN Rail had officially opened negotiations on September 23, 2024. The dispute was filed only three days into the negotiation process.

The current collective agreements are due to expire on December 31, 2024.

CN has announced this morning that in response to the dispute filing, the Minister of Labour has appointed three conciliators to assist the parties in reaching an agreement.

The conciliation period will last for 60 days, concluding on December 2, 2024, followed by a 21-day colling-off period. There can be no work stoppage before January 1, 2025 (as the collective agreement remains in effect until December 31, 2024).

We continue to monitor the situation and will provide further updates as new information is received.

Sincerely,

HENSALL GLOBAL LOGISTICS

Dear Customer,

Yesterday, in an address to the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) had announced that they will refuse to work overtime from 7am on Thursday, Oct. 10th for an indefinite period.

In response to the advisory, the MEA has countered with the following notice:

“The MEA today advised the Port of Montréal Longshoremen’s Union (Local 375) that the complete cessation of overtime has a significant impact on deployed crews and the tasks required for operations.

As a result, the MEA has decided that employees assigned to shifts with incomplete crews will not be paid. This measure is necessary considering that incomplete shifts will cause imminent slow downs or even halt operations at the Port, which will result in consequences for the public.

The MEA has formally asked the Union to withdraw this strike notice, the pressure tactics of which are scheduled to begin at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 10, and will last indefinitely.

The MEA reiterates its willingness to continue negotiations and asks the Union to follow the procedure dictated by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in order to reach a negotiated agreement as quickly as possible.”

We continue to monitor the status of the ongoing negotiations in Montreal and will advise as further information is made available.

Sincerely,

HENSALL GLOBAL LOGISTICS

Dear Customer,

Please find excerpt from an article published by CTV News.

“The longshoremen's union at the Port of Montreal is announcing further pressure tactics: they will refuse to work overtime from 7 a.m. on Thursday for an indefinite period.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, affiliated with the FTQ, represents more than 1,200 longshoremen at the Port of Montreal.

Negotiations to renew the collective agreement have been going on for a year; the current agreement expires on Dec. 31, 2023.”

Please note that CN RVs are being restricted on the Termont corridor as they work through the backlog created by the terminal closures last week.

We continue to monitor the status of the ongoing negotiations in Montreal and will advise as further information is made available.

Sincerely,

HENSALL GLOBAL LOGISTICS

Dear Customer,

Please find excerpt from an article published by CNN Business:

“Striking members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) will be back to work on Friday, the union announced Thursday evening, as it reached a tentative deal with the management group representing shipping lines, terminal operators and port authorities.

The union agreed to extend the contract it had with the United States Maritime Alliance, the management group known as USMX. That deal, which had expired at the end of Monday, will be now extended until January 15 and have the union members back on the job while the final details are worked out in a full agreement that will need to be ratified by the rank-and-file.

A tentative deal would still need to be ratified by the rank-and-file ILA members before it can take effect. But with ships stuck at sea unable to come into US ports to unload and load goods, the union has agreed to have workers return to work on Friday.

Still, should the members vote against the deal, the strike might start once again.”

We will continue to monitor the situation for further update in the weeks / months ahead and advise as new information surrounding the contract ratification is made available.

Sincerely,

HENSALL GLOBAL LOGISTICS

Dear Customer,

Please find excerpt from an article published by CBC news:

“Dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast began a strike early on Tuesday, their first large-scale stoppage in nearly 50 years, halting the flow of about half the nation's ocean shipping after negotiations for a new labour contract broke down over wages.

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union representing 45,000 port workers had been negotiating with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group for a new six-year contract ahead of a midnight Sept. 30 deadline.

The ILA said in a statement on Tuesday it shut down all ports from Maine to Texas at 12:01 a.m. ET and had rejected USMX's final proposal made on Monday, adding the offer fell "far short of the demands of its members to ratify a new contract."

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris are closely monitoring the strike and expect its impact on consumers to be limited, the White House said Tuesday.

"The president has directed his team to convey his message directly to both sides that they need to be at the table and negotiating in good faith — fairly and quickly," the White House said in a statement.

Biden administration officials had met with both USMX and ILA ahead of the strike to encourage a deal. But Biden's administration has repeatedly ruled out the use of federal powers to break a strike in the event of an impasse.”

We continue to monitor the situation and will provide further updates as new information is received.

Sincerely,

HENSALL GLOBAL LOGISTICS

Dear Customer,

CP has issued the following update to the industry:

“Please be advised that due to the strike underway at Viau, Maisonneuve Termont terminals, as of 07:00 this morning, expected to last till Thursday October 3rd, CPKC’s Vaughan Intermodal Terminal will not accept any export loads billed to these ports, along with any empty billed to these destinations as well.

Please note that the ingates remain open for exports to Racine and Cast.Expected reopening is for 00:01 EST, Thursday, October 3rd. We will reissue a new broadcast, if there’s any changes to plan.”

Sincerely,

HENSALL GLOBAL LOGISTICS

Dear Customer,

The union representing longshore workers at the Port of Montreal have begun a three-day strike further to the strike notice issued Friday.

The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) has confirmed that the work stoppage began this morning at 7am at the Viau and Maisonneuve Termont terminals.

The work stoppage is expected to last until 7am on Thursday morning.

At current, only the two noted terminals operated by Termont Montreal are being impacted. The operator has a long-term contract for handling the business of Mediterranean Shipping Company.

In an article published by Ajot.com, it was noted that union advisor Michel Murray appears to single out one issue that provoked the industrial action – alleging that Termont was not respecting the existing collective agreement by halving the number of foremen on stevedoring operations. The article also suggested that Mr. Murray has communicated that if an agreement can be reached with Termont where they will stop this practice and respect the existing contract the union will cease their work stoppage.

Mediated negotiations continue.

In the interim, CN has advised that they have stopped accepting export traffic to Viau and Maisonneuve Termont terminals.

We continue to monitor for updates to planned vessel calls and will provide revised dating where applicable.

Please reach out to your Hensall Global representative if you have any questions / concerns or file specific inquiries.

Sincerely,

HENSALL GLOBAL LOGISTICS

Dear Customer,

Please find below information just received in a notice from CN Rail:

“We wanted to inform you that the longshoremen's union at the Port of Montreal has issued a 72-hour strike notice, effective this morning at 07:00 EST. As a result, Termont terminals will be closed from Monday, September 30th, to Thursday, October 3rd.

In preparation for this strike, CN will stop accepting export traffic to TERMONT and VIAU terminals from Sunday, September 29th, through Tuesday, October 1st. We are working closely with stakeholders and will provide updates as the situation evolves.

Please note that diversions to other CN-served ports may incur surcharges for volumes beyond capacity commitments per tariff 9100 item 10500 and 10700. If you have questions or need assistance, contact your Account Manager or our Customer Experience team.”

We will provide you with more information as we receive further updates on the situation.

Sincerely,

HENSALL GLOBAL LOGISTICS

Dear Customer,

Please find except from an article published today by the Canadian Press:

“Two terminals at the Port of Montreal could be paralyzed next week, as the Syndicat des débardeurs du port de Montréal (Port of Montreal Longshoremen’s Union) filed a 72-hour strike notice on Friday – which could lead to a walkout starting Monday morning.

In a press release, the union confirmed that it had issued its strike notice at 7 a.m. on Friday morning, meaning that its members could stop work as early as 7 a.m. on Monday.

In the event of a strike, it would last for three days, until 6:59 a.m. next Thursday. The union specifies that the strike would affect only Termont Montréal’s two terminals.

Representatives of the Port of Montreal Longshoremen’s Union are scheduled to hold a press conference later on Friday to provide an update on negotiations.

Earlier this week, the Port of Montreal’s 1,150 longshoremen rejected the latest comprehensive offer from the Maritime Employers Association by 99.63%. They also gave themselves a strike mandate.

On Tuesday, the bargaining committee and executive committee of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local had recommended that the longshoremen reject the offer.

The Port of Montreal longshoremen’s collective agreement expired on December 31.”

Will continue to follow and will provide further updates soonest.

Sincerely,

HENSALL GLOBAL LOGISTICS

Dear Customer,

Please find below, a brief summary of the current status of labour negotiations in Montreal, Vancouver and the US East Coast.

Montreal

Earlier this week Local 375 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the Port of Montreal longshoremen, held a strike vote.

The union has voted by a majority to adopt a strike mandate.

The five-year collective agreement between the CUPE and the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) had expired on December 31, 2023.

No disruption of port services can occur before a party has provided a 72-hour strike notice.  The union has up to 60 days to execute its strike mandate.

Discussions between the parties continue today with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Vancouver

In the West, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) completed their hearing regarding the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 514 pay and manning proposal.

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) had challenged the proposal claiming it was illegal and in bad faith.

The ILWU had secured strike mandate in early September with members voting 96% in favour of strike.  No strike or lockout notice has been issued by either party.

Both sides continue to await the decision of the CIRB to determine next steps.

US East Coast

Lastly, the possibility of labour action on the US East Coast persists.  The International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) representing 45,000 dockworkers continues to threaten to go on strike October 01, 2024 if no deal is reached.

The union contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2024.

Negotiations between the two parties have been stalled for months, with both sides this week issuing conflicting statements about their willingness to bargain.

Carriers have begun laying out contingency plans, including pre-emptive halting of inland cargo movement and announcement of congestion-related surcharges.

We continue to monitor for new developments on all fronts and will provide update as new information is made available to the industry.

In the interim, if you have any questions / concerns or file specific inquires please reach out to your Hensall Global Logistics representative.