The Teamster's Canadian Rail Conference (TCRC), a union representing members of both CN Rail and CPKC has given a 72-hour strike notice.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board set the date that strike action could occur as August 22, after finding that rail service was non-essential in Canada.
Earlier this month both CN and CPKC announced that they would be locking out employees on August 22, shutting down rail operations across Canada.
In a statement on the notice, the TCRC Negotiating Committee stated that the contract which had been offered by the companies, "Includes significant and unacceptable changes to our work rules. The company's lack of willingness to negotiate in good faith has left us no choice but to proceed with the strike notice."
David Przednowek, CN Rail's vice president of grain, says in a recent interview that they've seen little progress at the table.
"As to where things are right now from a bargaining perspective, CN's made four offers to the TCRC since January, those offers have all been rejected and no single counter offers have been received at this time, so no meaningful progress at the bargaining table."