CN seeks injunction for striking truckers at Surrey yard
Railway says its Surrey yard is not part of the Port Metro Vancouver dispute, but truckers inteferring anyway
CN Rail is seeking an injunction to stop striking Vancouver container truck drivers from blocking access to its container yard in Surrey, B.C.
The railway says the Surrey yard is not part of the striking truckers' dispute with Port Metro Vancouver, but since March 11 it has been "unlawfully" included in the job action.
The yard at 104 Avenue and 176 Street unloads containers trucked in from customers or brought in by trains that are then shipped out by truck and train.
The railway has also launched a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages from what it claims is "irreparable harm" caused by the trucker's "unlawful" actions. The injunction application names the United Trucker's Association and Unifor-VCTA.
In the court statement, CN Rail says the UTA representing non-union truckers has withdrawn its services and begun to disrupt other container trucks from accessing or leaving its yard, and in one specific case, physically intimidated a driver.
"The effect of the defendant's conduct is to make it inconvenient, if not impossible for truck drivers to access the VIT in order to carry out transloading activities," says CN in the court document
According to CN that means delays in the transport of hazardous goods whose storage could pose a safety risk and delays in the transport of perishable goods which will result in an "erosion of CN's reputation and goodwill in the community."
The striking container truckers which service the ports are demanding standardized wages and an end to long, unpaid waits at Port Metro Vancouver terminals.