Brothers and Sisters,
 
I have some bad news concerning a new CP Engineering services decision to cut even more jobs.  On a conference call this morning, Mr. Gord Pozzobon, VP of Engineering, announced to us that they will be temporarily cutting 11 more permanent track positions.  Two (2) in Winnipeg, one (1) in Montreal, five (5) in SOSA (two complete crews) and three (3) in SOSA KLR (Kawartha Lakes).
 
The layoff notices will be issued today with an effective date on March 27th and expected recall at the end of September.
 
Mr. Pozzobon also told us that they were extending the expected recall date for the temporary layoffs of permanent positions that occurred this December (there were 47) until the end of September, 2009.
 
I asked Mr. Pozzobon how many of the positions that were laid off if December had not been called back yet and he said that all 47 had not yet been recalled.
 
This is, though not surprisingly, quite different from what CP spokesperson, Breanne Feigel, told the Calgary Herald newspaper on January 27th in response to our claims that CP's laying off of employees would have a direct impact on the safety of the infrastructure (this was in connection with the derailment in Canmore, AB that caused an evacuation). The following is a direct excerpt from that article.
 
"...But Bill Brehl, president of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, Maintenance of Way Employees Division, issued a letter to members after the derailment, criticizing the company for "running a skeleton maintenance force"and projecting maintenance cuts next year.

"This means that more and more vital upkeep, maintenance and infrastructure renewal will be put off. This means that the infrastructure will continue to deteriorate and that the risks will continue to rise," wrote Brehl.

Feigel said maintenance workers were laid off in December, but he noted every laid-off employee has already been brought back. She said there are weekly inspections and that safety is a top priority."

For the full article see: http://www.teamsters.ca/en/news/1131/cp_derailment_in_canmore_%28update%29

You'll notice that Feigel does not say "some" or "many", she states "ALL".  While Mr. Pozzobon says that none of the positions have been brought back.

This kind of information contradiction is why I find it so hard to believe many of their statistics reported or their propaganda.

Also, if you are affected in any way by a layoff or displacement, contact your direct supervisor for information on where your seniority can allow you to go.  On your BST there may be more than one choice, but if you have to go Regional it will be to the junior employee working the classification that you were laid off in. Contact only your supervisor and let them get the information. Keep track of when and how you contacted them, when they got back to you with the info and what the info was (you may need this if you later find out that there was a junior employee at a preferred location).  If you suffer any wage loss (and remember you do not have to take AV or banked time while awaiting this data) due to the supervisor not providing info promptly, contact your Director immediately. See this link: http://www.teamsters.ca/en/news/1164/contacting_cprail_when_looking_to_exercise_seniority

We have just been hit with this newest information on the layoffs and will be investigating and working on it starting immediately, going right through the weekend.  Hopefully we will be able to find ways of convincing these people that whether there are less trains or not, the track must still be maintained to a safe level.  In SOSA there have also been major cuts in the TP&E work that they had scheduled and now they are cutting further into the Basic Track Maintenance Forces in these same areas. Something has to give and when it involves trains travelling at over 30 mph, the result can be catastrophic. Especially in such a highly populated corridor as SOSA.

CP is playing a dangerous game here and as well as trying to get them to reverse these decisions that they are making, we are praying that they will do so before the tragedies that are inevitably looming.

Stay safe, stay strong, stay united,

Bill Brehl

President, TCRCMWED