Brothers and Sisters,
 
I received the following the other day and am now passing it on to you. I did not attend Mr. Green's first round of "Town Hall Meetings", so I'm not quite sure what NOIBN stands for.  I also heard that these meetings were geared towards management and after reading Mr. Green's message, I would have to agree.
 
Remember, that when Mr. Green calls for everyone "...to lean into the problem, and the opportunities, and to demonstrate flexibility...", he is definitely talking to management.  You have a Collective Agreement in place and your wages, benefits and rights are not flexible. There can be no cost saving "flexibility" without an agreement to do so. The same must be applied to our safety.  There can be no "cost saving" corners cut or any flexibility when it comes to your safety.... or your rights. 
 
I'm sure that Mr. Green is not advocating that his managers or front line supervisors violate the collective agreement to save money for the company.  Nor do I think that he is asking anyone to cut corners on safety or to save money by putting themselves or others at risk.  However, as he does not come out and openly instruct his subordinates that these things must not be done, there is always the chance that some of them will misinterpret his message and will bend and/or break the collective agreement to save money for their budgets.  And there is also the possibility that some will take chances with your well being and the well being of the infrastructure so as to stretch the budget dollars further.
 
When King Henry II cried out in front of his knights, " Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?", many believe that he was not advocating murder.  But Thomas Beckett ended up dead, all the same. 
 
All of us, at one time or another have seen the kind of arbitrary decisions and interpretations that front line managers can make, so when I see a phrase from the sixteenth President of the CPR such as, "...Don't wait for instructions from the NOIBN team.  Look for, and act on, cost reduction ideas now...".  I can't help but shudder at some of the ideas that these people may come up with.
 
I have the feeling that we are going to get very, very busy over the next while, dealing with these "ideas" and their consequences.
 
Your safety and the safety of your fellow members is in your hands.  Do not ever let anyone jeopardize it or put it at unnecessary risk.  Under law, you have the right to know about what you are being asked to do, as well as the risks it entails. You have the right to participate in making the workplace safer and the right to refuse unsafe and dangerous work. These rights are protected by the Canada Labour Code and by the Collective Agreement, for good reason.  Your lives depend on it.
 
The Collective Agreement and the Canada Labour Code are for your protection.  The protection of your life and your health and of your rights and benefits.  Any and all violations must be dealt with as soon as they are discovered.  And we must stay vigilant to police them and to protect them.
 
Mr. Green has a responsibility to the shareholders and he is well paid for that.  Mr. Green, as President and CEO of CPRail, also has an obligation to ensure that the agreements which his company signs, are adhered to.  That the intent of those agreements, as well as the language, is ethically, morally and legally abided by.  Mr. Green and the management of CPRail have the duty to make a profit.  They owe this to the shareholders and to the employees (who often are one and the same).  But this must be done in as safe a manner as possible.
 
We give the company our time, our skills, our effort and often our health.  In essence, many of us give the CPR the entirety of our working lives.  For this we are paid in accordance with what we bargain.  We have seniority rights, rights to expenses, to benefits and the right to be treated fairly.  We work hard for these things and the CPR benefits from our work and the work of thousands of other Unionized employees. So if someone asks you to bend or be "flexible" with your rights under the Collective Agreement or if they ask you to take risks to save costs. Refuse. Plain and simple.  Then contact your Director or contact me directly.
 
Stay safe, stay strong, stay united.
 
W. Brehl
President
TCRC MWED
 

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From: Fred Green
Sent: Thu 2/26/2009 1:09 PM
Subject: President's Update

President’s Update – February 27, 2009
FIXED COSTS

In my January 7 update outlining CP’s top five priorities for 2009 I described NOIBN - - our deliberate focus on identifying opportunities and realizing sustainable reductions in our fixed cost structure.

This, along with the four other priorities for 2009, will provide CP with strategic flexibility and allow us to seize future opportunities as the economy begins to turn.  We must be nimble, fast to react to market demands, be on top of quality, and be able to continually improve processes.  We must become more adaptive, and all of us must learn to accept and even embrace constant change.  Stability and predictability will eventually return, but volatility will be part of our lives for the foreseeable future.

The recently established 2009 PIP targets underscore the need for all of us to move quickly to do whatever we can to have a positive impact on cost reduction and on the generation of cash flow, which I will outline in a future update.

Much investigation and analysis of our fixed cost structure was done prior to the full economic recession.  Using the conclusions from that work, the NOIBN team has now built a framework to address cost management along two broad dimensions.  Their basic approach is to look at all fixed assets (buildings, track, machinery and so on), as well as the business processes that constitute 100% of everything we do everyday.  This is no small feat.  The biggest challenge is finding the point where the descriptions of processes are not so vague that you can’t get a foothold for action and, conversely, not so granular that they are mired in detail and thus hindering opportunities for positive change.

There are eight categories for the assessment of assets and 11 process "streams", which cut across functional boundaries in the company and represent numerous stakeholders.

The first step in investigating these processes is to identify the costs of the various activities within each, whether in terms of people, systems support, time and effort and, more importantly, the return on these investments.  Various teams are being pulled together to identify the current state and to propose more effective and efficient alternatives for the future.

Unlike some attempts to manage costs, where we may have reduced staff and worried about the workload later, NOIBN has a prime objective of setting a framework for the future which will align our business processes, hard assets, and available resources to the reality of the new business environment.  It is NOT a one-off, but instead will determine the permanent structure and the manner in which we will conduct business in the future.  It will be sustainable.

There will be opportunities for many of you to provide direct input to the work, either from the viewpoint of a process owner or of a stakeholder, but also as recipient of these various streams of activity.

In the coming weeks I plan to hold a second round of Town Hall meetings.  I’ll share further information on the market forces we are facing, success stories and progress about the 2009 priorities, as well as achievements that individuals and teams have taken on their own initiative to the reduce costs.  I hope you will able to join me as the first round was very valuable to help me understand what issues are on your mind as we work through these difficult economic times.

The balance of 2009 will be extremely challenging for many companies in many industries, including CP.  We will remain a key part of the North American economy and will maintain our shareholders’ confidence.  To do this, each of us must better control what is within our sphere of control.  Think about the work you do and the way you do it.  Is there a more efficient or effective way?  There is a requirement for each of us to lean into the problem, and the opportunities, and to demonstrate flexibility. Don’t wait for instructions from the NOIBN team.  Look for, and act on, cost reduction ideas now.

Further information on the NOIBN team and areas of focus can be found at: http://railcity.cpr.ca/en-ca/AboutCP/Strategy/NOIBN/Pages/default.aspx

Work safely

Fred Green
President and CEO