CN Reaches Another Ground-Breaking Labor Agreement With Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.Business Editors CLEVELAND & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 2002 Canadian National (CN)(TSX:CNR)(NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :CNI) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) was a labor union founded in Marshall, Michigan on May 8, 1863, as The Brotherhood of the Footboard; a year later, its name was changed to The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. (BLE) announced today the signing of a progressive labor agreement covering 415 locomotive engineers who work on CN's former Illinois Central properties in the United States. The tentative agreement - modeled on one ratified by BLE members on CN's Wisconsin Central Division earlier this year - would eliminate all prior work rules and agreements in exchange for guaranteed time off and job security for all BLE members currently qualified as locomotive engineers. The new agreement would also see engineers paid an hourly wage, a modernization of the mileage- and rule-based compensation system that dates from the era of the steam locomotive but remains standard in the rail industry. The three-year agreement, which is subject to BLE ratification, would take effect Aug. 1, 2002. Rick Radek, BLE international vice-president, said: "This agreement mirrors the success we had in negotiating a new compensation model for our members on CN's Wisconsin Central Division. This innovative approach to rail industry wage and working conditions will improve labor relations on the railroad and secure a better balance between work and home life for our members." E. Hunter Harrison E. Hunter Harrison (born 1944) is a Tennessee-born railroader who currently is the president and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian National Railway (CN). Life Born in Tennessee, he began as a carman-oiler at the Frisco Railroad in Memphis, Tennessee in 1964, , CN's executive vice-president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , said: "The fresh and innovative thinking displayed by both the BLE and CN labor relations officers is relegating age-old labor-management practices to the past. This is an important step in an industry whose traditionally complex labor agreements for train and engine employees have for years generated misunderstanding and confrontation. With this agreement, CN achieves greatly enhanced employee productivity while BLE members obtain job security and significant lifestyle improvements." Founded May 8, 1863, the BLE is the oldest labor union in North America, representing 59,000 professional locomotive engineers, conductors, trainmen, train dispatchers, and other rail workers in the U.S. and Canada. Canadian National Railway Company Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE: CNI, TSX: CNR) is a Canadian rail transportation company that operates the Canadian National Railway. It was created in December, 1918 as a Crown corporation of the Government of Canada to nationalize several bankrupt rail systems spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico Noun 1. Gulf of Mexico - an arm of the Atlantic to the south of the United States and to the east of Mexico Golfo de Mexico Atlantic, Atlantic Ocean - the 2nd largest ocean; separates North and South America on the west from Europe and Africa on the east , serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. CN's former Illinois Central properties include the Illinois Central Railroad Illinois Central Railroad (IC) former U.S. railroad founded in 1851 that merged with the Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) in 1999. After receiving its charter in 1851, the Illinois Central Railroad built its first line from Galena to Cairo, Ill. , running from Chicago to New Orleans, and the Chicago, Central & Pacific, which connects Chicago and Omaha, Neb., and Sioux City, Iowa <noinclude></noinclude> Sioux City (IPA: [su: 'sɪti]) is a city located in northwest Iowa in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 85,013. . |
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