Canada’s labor minister ends coast-to-coast labor crisis, forcing unions back to work – NBC New York

• Canadian Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon used federal powers to force union workers back to the docks, effectively ending strikes and lockouts for the second time this year.
• Work stoppages have hit the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Montreal in recent weeks, and cargo container congestion will take weeks to clear.
• $572 million in containerized trade arrives in the U.S. from Canada daily, according to U.S. Census data.

Canadian Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon has invoked federal powers to end work stoppages at the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Montreal, ordering binding and final arbitration between unions and port ownership.

Union strike action and port property blockades have hit both coasts of the US’s key northern trading partner. Vancouver and Prince Rupert were closed since Nov. 4, while port workers in Montreal were locked out by port management on Monday.

But the damage to the supply chain has been done, and it will take weeks to clear the container congestion for both Canadian and American companies.

“The disruption these disputes have caused to retail supply chains has been severe, and all during our busiest time of the year,” the Retail Council of Canada said in a statement to CNBC. “The ripple effects will continue to be felt. It will take weeks for our sector to recover, but Canadians can rest assured that they will continue to get all essential retail goods in the coming days.”

Trade with the United States will last weeks to recover also. About 20 percent of U.S. trade goes to the Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, where strikes broke out after union leadership and industry representatives failed to reach an agreement before the end of the cold spell. ILWU Local 514’s contract expired on March 31, 2023, with 96% of union members voting in favor of a strike in September.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, cross-border rail trade between Canada and the U.S. accounted for 14 percent of total bilateral trade of $382.4 billion in the first half of the year. About $572 million in containerized trade arrives in the U.S. daily from Canada, according to US Census data.

Stephen Lamar, CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, told CNBC he is relieved operations will resume at Canada’s three busiest ports and hopes the negotiations will result in a long-term, mutually beneficial agreement. “The closure of Canadian ports is diverting ships and contributing to congestion and delays across North America. As Canada faces reduced rail capacity due to mandatory winter train length safety restrictions and the US West Coast faces residence times of two years for high railother outages would put a lot of strain on transportation networks,” Lamar said.

In a news conference, MacKinnon said the negotiations had reached a “complete impasse” and that the move was necessary to avoid any economic and reputational damage to Canada.

“If these work stoppages continue, the impact will worsen and our well-earned reputation for reliability will be put at risk by these standoffs, over $1.3 billion worth of assets are affected every day,” he MacKinnon said.

It is the second time Mackinnon has intervened to stop a strike in recent months. Under section 107 of the Canada Labor Code, the Minister of Labor can order binding arbitration to end labor disputes. In August, he ended the blockades at Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Canadian National Railway Company by referring negotiations to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Existing collective agreements will remain in place until a new agreement is reached between the port and port unions.