June 13, 2007: The deal that ended a strike by Canadian Pacific Railway track workers includes bonuses but kept to the railway's pre-strike wage demands, according to documents distributed on Monday.
CP dropped demands for changes in seniority rules, but won changes in health insurance co-payments, according to copies of the tentative contract being sent to the 3,200 workers for a ratification vote.
The three-year deal, which is retroactive to the end of 2006, includes annual wage hikes of 3 percent, 4 percent and 3 percent. The Teamsters union said CP will also pay bonuses of 1 percent in all three years and higher expense payments.
The workers staged a three-week strike that ended June 6 with the tentative agreement. Results of the ratification vote are expected in mid-July.
CP has said it wants all its unionized employees held to annual wage hikes of 3 percent, although the railway offered 4 percent in the second year in return for the health insurance co-payments, according to the documents.