Rail Presentation Speaking notes (Local 100)

1. Technology-focused where automation attempts to replace workers
2. Safety-focused where technology augments and improves safety-focused performed by workers.

The focus for the labour movement in rail right now is to make sure automation results in an augmentation of work.

Automation technology should not be implemented unless it increases safety and provides some benefit to workers while increasing productivity.

Automation should therefore be strictly regulated by the government. However, the government seems to be passing off this responsibility to the companies.

Rail employers have driven down employment across the sector. These numbers are from the USA, but the same thing is happening in Canada.

The numbers collapsed well before the pandemic because of the implementation of new logistic processes in-house. This happened with government approval. Those numbers are not going to come back without some push around safety.

The regulators say they are focused on safety, but it is clear that this is not playing out.

Investments are being made, but there has been no change or an increase in accidents on our railways.

The decline in accidents during/after the pandemic was the only slight reprieve from an increase in accidents along our systems.

These accidents are now tracking up again.

Remote surveillance of the system could be beneficial to safety. Unfortunately, because there is no regulation over the use of drones, it is being primarily used for worker surveillance. Both to discipline workers and to blame them for things that go wrong.

• Companies invest in technology to replace workers.
• Without government regulation, it will be like this because companies invest in technology primarily to boost profits, not to make things safer.

• Not possible to replace all workers with automation safely.
• Transport Canada's safety focus is reducing human mistakes (through culture)
• Companies' focus is reducing the number of people
• But, while all mistakes are human mistakes, humans also fix issues. You cannot take people out of the equation.
• The solution is usually more workers, redundancy, and technological supports, not the replacement of workers.

Our enforcement and language in our scope clauses needs to cover the automation work.

We need new regulations to protect our jobs.

Regulators should be doing independent tests and monitoring implementation.

We need the government to independently fund and operate the research on this, like in the USA.

• Write augmentation into law.
• Oversee digital inspection tech.
• Set minimum standards.
• Independent government research institute should be established.

• Regulators need to increase standards
• Regulators need to actually hire people to regulate the implementation of the standards.
• Training needs to regulated.
• This costs money.

• Infrastructure investments are also needed.

• Trucking is the major competitor to the rail network.
• The rise in automated trucking will put pressure on rail companies to continue to cut-back on employee numbers.
• Automated trucking will arrive with move to electrification of trucking.
• Intermodal trucking will see technological changes faster than rail.

• Intermodal sector is tied to trade

  • International Trade has peaked.
  • Trade is undergoing massive disruption (geopolitics, "friendshoring")
• Trucking companies are going bankrupt because of this economic disruption.

• VIA Rail High Frequency Rail initiative
• Campaign goal: Establish a common national vision for public passenger rail in Canada.

• Current campaign phase: educate the public.

  • The P3 will transfer operations to a private company.
  • Government subsidies: $100s of millions
• https://backontrack.unifor.org/

We have a lot of bargaining coming up.

We should be using the checklist at the end of the Bargaining Worker Power document to support our bargaining.

Bargaining committees should meet with the sector group to find common elements to table. But, also build public-facing campaigns around:

• automation
• vision for public passenger rail
• safety
• investment
• vision for freight rail services in Canada around climate change issues and transportation of goods.
• Unifor is linking the shift to green energy essential minerals (mining) to transport. All those that new mining and material transport should be done by rail.

• CN, CP, Ontario Northland, and VIA Rail rail bargaining in late 2023-2024.