Canadian rail union files lawsuits challenging back-to-work orders

AP Business Writer

The Teamsters union that represents workers at both of Canada’s largest freight railroads has filed the lawsuits it promised challenging the orders that forced employees back to work and got the trains moving again. The head of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said Friday that “we are confident that the law is on our side, and that workers will have their voices heard.” The union doesn’t want to let the precedent stand that the government can block a strike and take away a union’s leverage in negotiations. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government intervened in this contract dispute after both Canadian National and CPKC locked out their workers Aug. 22.