IN THE NEWS: Canadian border agents set Friday strike deadline

Trucking Dive
June 10, 2024
Larry Avila

FROM THE ARTICLE: Canadian border agents will begin job action at 12:01 A.M. EST Friday unless a new labor deal with the country’s government can be reached before then, the union announced Monday.

The new strike deadline is the latest salvo in ongoing negotiations between the two parties. While union representatives threatened to strike last week, the parties on Friday agreed to extend mediated talks through Wednesday. Now, union representatives are making it clear a new strike is not entirely off the table if the extension fails to result in a deal.

The negotiating parties include the Treasury Board of the Canada Secretariat, on behalf of the government, and a bargaining unit from the Public Service Alliance of Canada and Customs and Immigration Union, on behalf of thousands of workers at the Customs and Border Services Agency. The parties have been operating without a contract for over two years.

“We are still hopeful we can avoid a strike and potential disruptions at Canada’s borders,” Public Service Alliance of Canada National President Sharon DeSousa said in a statement. “No worker wants a strike, but we’ve set a firm deadline for this government to come to the table with a fair agreement.”

Logistics experts say it is better to be prepared.

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Paul Brashier, vice president of drayage and intermodal with ITS Logistics, said Monday in an email to Supply Chain Dive that if a strike happens, shippers should consider booking freight to U.S. ports of entry. The only effective way to move any freight entering Canada would be to “dray off from ports, cross dock and one-way trucking,” he said.

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